Map Extract ... Cornwall ... England

x

This map and the ones below show the area of Cornwall

where "The Penberthy Story" took place

x

x

Places that are mentioned below include

St Ives	Carbis Bay
Towednack	Lelant
Ludgvan	Redruth
St Just	St Erth
Nancledra

x
The following information links to

Section #150

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

PART ONE ... The Surname of Penberthy

Recorded in the spellings of Penberthy and Penbarthy, this is an English and specifically Cornish, locational surname
It originates either from the village of Penberth in West Cornwall or from some now 'lost' medieval site called Penberthy or similar

The name is believed to translate as 'the end of the trees' which seems a rather obscure description, but parts of Cornwall are very short of trees
In the small communities of the medieval period when by and large surnames were first formed, almost any natural or man made feature in the countryside could provide the basis for a surname or a place name

Many church register recordings are to be found in London before the names actual 'natural' home, and this is no different
This is because of the delay in getting outlying regions of Britain to commence the compulsory church register recordings of Births and Marriages, whch started in the city of London from about 1536
This 'delay' was in some areas over a century

In this case early examples of the recordings include:-
Johannes Pinberye, who married Sybilla Kinge at the famous church of St Martins in the Field, Westminster, on September 1st 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary, known as 'Bloody Mary' 1554 - 1558, and
Mary Penberthy who married Bennett Sakerly at St Just, Cornwall, on September 8th 1605

PART TWO ... Penberth

Penberth is a coastal village and cove on the Penwith Peninsula in Cornwall United Kingdom
It is situated approximately eleven kilometres southwest of Penzance
Penberth Cove is one of the last remaining traditional fishing coves in Cornwall
A handful of local fisherman still make their living from fishing for mackerel, lobster and crab

On the west coast of Cornwall, in the West Penwith area, not more than a few miles from Porthcurno, there lies in a valley, a picturesque hamlet called Penberth, comprising of a small number of cottages and a natural harbour which protects it from the rough seas of the Land's End peninsula
There is no documentary evidence to link the family and the hamlet, but I think there is more than a reasonable chance that such a connection would have existed

PART THREE ... Church of St Erth ... Reverend Penberthi

Click HERE and HERE for more information on this Church

x Church of St Erth x x x

There was also a Reverend Penberthi in charge of the Church of St Erth from 1455 to 1460
Could he also have been a relation ?

x
The following information links to

Section #139

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's...Great-Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great
Grand-Parents (Penberthie)

Joh'es Penberthie

'Unknown'
x

Subsidy Rolls

Subsidy Rolls are records of taxation in England made between the 12th and 17th centuries

The earliest documentary evidence of the name is to be found in the Subsidy Rolls of 1597 and 1599, used by the King to raise revenues
These mention a Joh'es Penberthie of Unye Lelante who paid in bonis, three pounds

x
The following information links to

Section #126

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's...Great-Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great
Grand-Parents (Penberthie)

Willmus Penberthie

'Unknown'
x

Subsidy Rolls

Subsidy Rolls are records of taxation in England made between the 12th and 17th centuries

The Subsidy Rolls of 1624 list a Willmus Penberthie of Uny Iuxta Lelant as paying in bonis, three pounds

x
The following information links to

Section #116

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's...Great-Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great
Grand-Parents (Penberthy)

William Penberthy

'Unknown'
x

In the Cornwall Protestation Returns of 1641, four Penberthys are listed ... William, James, John and William

One of the most interesting documents in the possession of the Cornwall Record Office at Truro is the will of William Penberthy of Uny Lelant, dated 6th February 1666
William made this will by word of mouth on his death bed
He dictated it to Richard Thomas and John Penberthy
In it, he left £5 to each of his children and named his wife as his executrix

From his inventory, dated the 29th September 1667, and produced to the Probate Court, it could be seen that he was a wealthy man
He was half-owner of Wheal An, a mine in Polmanter, along with two tin bounds elsewhere, and owned his own house and various fields
The total came to £46.0l.06 ... quite a substantial amount for those days !

NOTE #01 - from Wally Knowles on Thursday 5th May 2011
You mention a mine being owned by the name of Wheal
All the mines were called Wheal as this was the Cornish word for a mine
It needs to have another name added to it, to differentiate from others, and in this case, it is Wheal An

x
The following information links to

Section #106

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's...Great-Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Great-Great-Great
Grand-Parents (Penberthy)

William Penberthy

'Unknown'
x

In the Borough Accounts of St Ives of 1685, Mayor Thomas Trenwith lists ...

This related to the Duke of Monmouth's Rebellion, when he landed at Lyme in Dorset, in an attempt to take the English Crown from the Catholic King James the Second
His rebellion was suppressed at Sedgemore and James, Duke of Monmouth, was executed in 1685

Monmouth Rebellion CLICK HERE for more information x The Bloody Assizes CLICK HERE for more information

William Penberthy was Burger of St Ives and is mentioned in the Charter given by James the Second to the town of St Ives in 1685, giving it Borough status

He was born about 1650 and died in 1686

He and his wife had four children
----------Isaac - baptised 30th November 1676
----------Jacob - baptised 5th November 1678
----------Rebecca - baptised 7th November 1681
----------William - baptised 12th April 1684

The Cornwall Record Office holds an Administration Bond, dated 6th November 1686, granted to Jane Moorshead, wife of Arthur Moorshead and daughter of William Penberthy, late of Uny Lelant

NOTE #01 - unsure about this statement as there is no 'Jane' listed in William's children

NOTE #02 - from Wally Knowles on Thursday 5th May 2011
You also say that you are finding it difficult to find a daughter of William Penberthy called Jane
You won't find this as Jane was his sister not his daughter
She was born in 1650 and married Arthur Moorshead in 1670
It states that she was the daughter of William Penberthy, but this was William senior, as William Penberthy in the will had a father also called William

x
The following information links to

Section #096

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's...Great-Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Great-Great
Grand-Parents (Penberthy)

William Penberthy

Grace Pearce
x

x Monarch of Great Britain during William and Grace's adult lives x George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1st August 1714 until his death on 11th June 1727 x CLICK HERE for more information

William's son, William, was a miner and married Grace Pearce at St Just on 31st December 1709

x St Just Church

They had four children
----------Margaret - baptised at St Just 15th June 1710
----------John - baptised 4th November 1711
----------Grace - baptised 1st May 1713
----------William - baptised 19th November 1715

It would seem that William Senior died on 12th April 1729 and was buried in Uny Lelant Churchyard

x
The following information links to

Section #087

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's...Great-Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Great-Grand-Parents (Penberthy)

William Penberthy

Sarah Penberthy
x

William and Grace's son, William, was sent out to work in the mines at a very young age to help supplement the family's income

He was informed by relatives that there was plenty of work to be found in the Redruth area and that they would provide him with accomodation
Whilst staying with them, he met and fell in love with Sarah Penberthy, a cousin of his
They were later married at Redruth Parish Church on 21st December 1736

x Redruth Parish Church

The couple had six children
----------Richard - baptised 19th October 1737
----------Darah - baptised 19th December 1739
----------William - baptised 7th March 1740 - died early in his life ??
----------William - baptised 23rd March 1745
----------Jno - baptised 16th June 1747
----------John - baptised 22nd February 1749

The family later moved to Uny Lelant Parish in search of work

William senior died in 1797

x
The following information links to

Section #076

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's...Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Great-Grand-Parents (Penberthy)

William Penberthy

Hannah Stephens
x

x A Cornish Couple Cornwall Mines ... circa 1780's x x x x x x x x x x x ... and a look at their lives ...

NOTE - in reference William and Sarah Penberthy above - it is being presumed that the first William, born 7th March 1740, died early in his life

William, son of William and Sarah, courted Hannah Stephens, who was born during 1732 and the couple were married on the Saturday 9th August 1766 at Uny Lelant Church by the Reverend William Symonds

William was illiterate and had to make his mark
Hannah was able to sign her name to the Certificate
Witnesses were George Stephens and Richard Hawes
William was listed as a miner

They had six children
----------Charles - born at Lelant and baptised at St Ives on 17th August l767
----------William - born at Lelant and bapised at St Ives on 31st March 1769
----------John - born at Lelant and baptised at St Ives on 24th June 1771
----------James - baptised at Uny Lelant Church on 27th June 1773
----------Hannah - baptised at Uny Lelant Church on 21st July 1776
----------Isaac - baptised at Uny Lelant Church on 9th May 1779

x A 'woodcut' of Mining Activities x x x x x x x x x x x x Children ready for a day's work below ground

Through his hard labour as a miner, William was able to invest in various mines within the parishes of Uny Lelant and St Ives
He rose to the position of mining captain and at the time of his death, he owned one seventh of the Wheal Mary Fox Mine, situated not far from Nancledra
This mine later became part of the well known Wheal Sisters Mine Complex

He was also able to accumulate a large estate situated in Varvas and Lore Carbis, which is today known as Carbis Bay

He bequeathed all his estate to his wife except for certain dispositions in the will to others
But, she was not to sell any stock of the estate until their son Isaac was twenty one, nor to sign or sell any land or effects
This effectively formed a trust to hold the estate until Isaac was capable of holding it legally at twenty one years of age

To his son, Charles, he bequeathed “the orchard before the Dore in Lore Garbes and the garden behind his house at Lelant and a plot of ground to build a house at the edge of the dwelling house now standing for the payment of one guinea per year until the estate was clear of incumbrances that the property was subject to at the date of the making of the will"
Also, he bequeathed one seventh share of the Mary Fox tin mine, in the Parish of Uny Lelant, to his son Charles

To his daughter Hannah, he bequeathed a one year old heifer

His wife was to have the management of the estate in Lore Garbes so long as she lived in the property and paid its incumbrances

To his sons John and James. he bequeathed the management of the estate in Vorvas, with the prior approval of their mother

The will was witnessed by Martha and John Pearce, no doubt they were William's neighbours

William died at Lelant and was buried on 11th November 1797, aged just fifty two

His will was proved on 5th May 1798, without an inventory

Interestingly, the will made no mention of William’s son, William
This might be due to the fact that either he had married without his father's approval or his father had made him a settlement upon his marriage in 1793

Hannah also died at Lelant, aged eighty four, and was buried in the churchyard on 13th September 1816

Letters of Administration were granted to Charles on 21st February 1824
A bond had to be posted as security in the sum of £200 until the estate could finally be wound up
The sureties were Henry Hosking of St Ives, mariner, and Richard Bamfell of Zennor, miner
The bond was dated 28th March 1824

x
The following information links to

Section #066

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's...Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Grand-Parents (Penberthy)

William Penberthy

Catherine Nicholls
x

William and Hannah's son, William, having been born in 1769, like many other Cornishmen worked in the mines from a very young age alongside his father and brothers

Children, some as young as seven, were employed in Cornish mines, with a mine on average having twenty percent of the workforce made up of children Young children generally started above ground, then progressed to more physically demanding jobs as they grew Boys were sent underground as soon as they were big enough ... usually between eight and thirteen years ... first to manually ventilate mine shafts, then moving onto hand barrowing or hand drilling ... they would often work alongside their fathers or other relatives as part of a ‘pare’ or team of miners Girls would generally work above ground with the older Bal-maidens ... their tasks included sorting the valuable tin ore from the waste rock and crushing the ore with a variety of different tools Other unpleasant tasks for children included cleaning off toxic arsenic soot from the calciner chimneys, with only a face mask or covering of clay to protect them Children would be expected to work the same ten hours a day as the adults, though they would sometimes learn the basics of reading and writing at Sunday school In 1842, a Mines Act was issued by the Queen which banned women and boys under the age of ten from working underground in mines and restricted work hours for children under thirteen As this was enforced, school became compulsory, machinery took over the processing of tin, so that the numbers of children gradually declined

At Uny Lelant Church on the 11th June 1793 he married Catherine Nicholls, who was born around 1770 in St Ives Cornwall
The witnesses were Thomas Davies and Richard Hawes
Surprisingly, William was able to sign his name but his wife could only make her mark

William and Catherine had five children, one of which died in infancy
----------Catherine - baptised at Uny Lelant Church on 9th February 1794
----------William - baptised at Uny Lelant Church on 27th December 1795
----------Ann - buried on 25th April 1798 at Uny Lelant at a very early age
----------Isaac - baptised on 25th April 1800 at St Ives
----------John - baptised on 14th February 1803 at St Ives Church

x
The following information links to

Section #058

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's
Great-Great-Great-Great-Grand-Parents (Penberthy)

Isaac Penberthy

Christiana Martins
x

No doubt young Isaac started work at an early age as a surface worker at one of the mines near his home at Lelant St Ives, perhaps at the Wheal Marey Fox which his Uncle Charles had a major shareholding in

On the 28th April 1823, he married Christiana Martins at the Towednack Parish Church
She was the daughter of John and Jane Martins of Towednack and was born 11th May 1800

The couple had a productive union ... in twenty one years of marriage, Christiana delivered twelve children
----------Christiana - born at Towednack and baptised there on 23rd November 1823 ... unfortunately, she did not live very long
----------Hannah Maria - baptised at Towednack Church on 3rd July 1825
----------Elizabeth - born at Towednack on 26th December 1826
----------Christiana - born at Ladydowns and baptised at Towednack on 14th January 1827
----------Isaac - born at Ladydowns and baptised at Towednack on 21st November 1830
----------Jane - born at Ladydowns and baptised at Towednack on 18th December 1831
----------Mary - born in 1833 ... cannot find her baptism
----------William - born at Embla and baptised at Towednack on 12th April 1835
----------Stephen Nichollis - born at Amalebra and baptised on 2nd September 1838
----------Martha - born at Amalebra and baptised at Towedack on 26th April 1840
----------Grace - born at Amalebra and baptised at Towednack on 18th January 1842
----------Catherine Ann - born at Castlegate and baptised at Towednack on 6th October 1844

From the Baptism Register at Towednack, one can see that the family lived at a number of different addresses
In those days it was normal for families to live in cottages provided by the husband's employers
This might explain why the family lived in so many different houses, as Isaac moved from mine to mine

The 1851 Census listed the family as living at Treassowe Downs Ludgvan
Isaac's occupation was shown as tin dresser, along with that of his sons, Isaac aged twenty one, William aged fifteen and Stephen aged twelve

The 1858 Rate Book for Ludgvan Parish lists Isaac, senior, as living at Treassowe
The house and land being valued for rates purposes at £4.5.0 and the rates as 3.5 pence
By the following year, he had only paid 2.25 pence

Isaac died during 1863 in Cornwall England

x
The following information links to

Section #048

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's
Great-Great-Great-Grand-Parents (Rowe)

John Rowe

Elizabeth Penberthy
x

Isaac and Christiana's daughter, Elizabeth, was born on 26th December 1826, but there is no mention of her baptism

She married John Rowe, born 11th February 1823, the son of John Rowe, farmer, at the Ludgvan Church on 14th June 1845

John's occupation was shown as miner in the Marriage Register

They had a very large family, nineteen children in all
----------John Henry - born at Ludgvan on 28th September 1846
----------Elizabeth Jane - born at Ludgvan in September 1847 ... she died in 1848
----------Elizabeth Jane - born at Ludgvan in June 1848 ... she died in 1849
----------Isaac Penberthy - born at Ludgvan on 13th April, 1850 and baptised on 21st July 1850 at Ludgvan Church
----------William Thomas - born at Ludgvan on 6th July 1851 ... he died in 1852
----------Christiana Penberthy - born 1853 and buried at Ludgvan Churchyard on 18th November 1853
----------Twins still born in 1854
----------Elizabeth Jane - born at Ludgvan on 6th January, 1855 and baptised at Ludgvan Church on 11th March 1855
----------Christiana Penberthy - born at Ludgvan on 13th August 1856 and baptised at Ludgvan Church on 28th December 1856
----------Twins still born in 1858
----------Unnamed child still born in 1860
----------Twins still born in 1860
----------Richard Nicholas - born at Ludgvan on 20th December 1863
----------William James - born at Ludgvan on 11th January 1865
----------Diana - born at Ludgvan on 15th July 1867 ... she died in 1873 at the age of six
----------Stephen - born at Ludgven on 26th August 1869 and baptised at the St Ives Primitive Methodists Chapel on 2nd March 1870

The Baptism Register indicates that the family was living at Treenven Downs Ludgvan

An Elizabeth Rowe is mentioned in the Ludgvan Church Parish Rate Book for 1858 as occupying a house and croft land at Cururyan and paying 3 pence in rates
In the 1860 Rate Book, Elizabeth Rowe is listed as occupying a house and croft land at Churchtown Ludgvan and paying one penny and a farthing in rates

The 1862/1863 Rate Book lists John Rowe as occupying a house and land at Trenowin, the gross rental value (for rates purposes) being 7 pounds, the rateable value being £5.l5.0 and the rates actually paid being 5 pence 3 farthings
By 1867, John Rowe's property at Trenowin was valued for rates purposes as £7 gross rental, rateable value £6 and rates actually paid being 3 pence

The 1871 Census listed Elizabeth and John Rowe residing at Trenowin Downs, her neighbours being her brother Isaac and her sister, Martha Nicholls
The couple’s children present were listed as Isaac aged twenty one and a tin miner, Elizabeth Jane aged seventeen, Christiana aged fifteen, Richard Nicholas aged seven, William aged five and Stephen aged two

Elizabeth's first-born, John Henry, departed for Australia from Plymouth on 30th September 1865 on the ship "The Gosforth"
The ship arrived in Port Adelaide on 25th December 1865

Soon after arriving in Adelaide, he departed for the frontier mining town of Moonta South Australia
Copper had been discovered there in 1861 by Paddy Ryan, near a wombat's burrow

Moonta Mines South Australia

Upon seeing the Moonta Mines for the first time, John no doubt felt homesick for Cornwall
The 'attle' heaps, the horse whims, the ore neatly stacked at the surface and the cottages would have reminded him of home

The community was a sizeable one, with upwards of three hundred cottages and some large houses distributed haphazardly around numerous shafts

Click on the logo opposite to read a history about Moonta and the early mining from 1861 through to 1889

The mineral leases of the Moonta Mining Company contained five major lodes and many smaller ones
The main lode tended north 20 degrees east and the other lodes were approximately parallel to the main lode
Cornish miners brought from Burra had dug miles of costeens to trace the lodes, that varied in width from a few inches to twenty feet, over thousands of yards
The earliest mining in 1861 yielded 20 to 30% copper with occasional "sturts" of 50%
So, from its beginning. the Moonta Mining Company enjoyed enormous success

The town of Moonta was well-planned and adjacent to the mining leases
It had wide streets, a central square and many acres of scrubland that had been set aside by the surveyors as parkland
Several substantial shops had been established, but there were few houses, as many miners chose to build small cottages on the mining leases rather than substantial and therefore expensive homes in town

John Rowe, senior, died at Trenowin Downs Ludgvan on 4th February 1872, aged fourty nine
His death was registered by his son Isaac
A Grant of Letters of Administration was made out to his wife, Elizabeth, on 27th March 1873, out of the Bodmin Registry
His effects being valued at under £50 and being listed as lease-hold interests

John Henry sent numerous letters to his family in Cornwall, extolling the virtues of Australia
When her husband died in 1872, Elizabeth decided to take advantage of the free immigration scheme and join her eldest son in Australia
Her little daughter, Diana, had also died in early 1873 and this may have been another deciding factor

In mid-April of 1873, Elizabeth said farewell to her family and departed for the port of Plymouth
No doubt, the last she would have seen of her native Cornwall would have been St Michael's Mount

Travelling with her to Australia were her daughters ... Elizabeth Jane Rowe (eighteen) and Christiana Penberthy Rowe (sixteen) ... and her sons ... Isaac Penberthy Rowe (along with his wife Charity Carbis Rowe and their daughter two year old Elizabeth) and Richard Nicholas Rowe (nine) and William James Rowe (eight and a cripple) and Stephen Thomas Rowe (three)

"City of Adelaide"

This extended family of nine sailed on the "City of Adelaide" and reached Port Adelaide on 3rd July 1873, after being at sea for just over nine weeks
The "City of Adelaide" had been launched in 1864 and had established a reputation as a noted wool clipper which sailed fast and stormy passages to and from Australia

Captain John Bruce

The ship was under the command of an old Scotsman, Captain John Bruce
His policy, and that of the owner, was to put comfort before speed, but, at the same time, her run from London to Adelaide in sixty five days was one of which any ship could have been proud
This ship is today the oldest Merchant Sailing Ship in the world, afloat or ashore, and is still afloat in Scotland

Upon arriving in Adelaide, the group immediately proceeded to Moonta to join John Henry

Elizabeth managed to obtain employment as a mid-wife for two local doctors
After having had nineteen children, she was definitely experienced !!
She suffered from rheumatism in both her hips and lower spine, which later resulted in paraplegia
Elizabeth certainly earnt her money, as she was on call all hours and babies are notorious for being born in the early hours of the morning

She died at Moonta of valvular heart disease, among other things, on 26th April 1891, aged sixty four
Her burial took place at Moonta Cemetery

x
The following information links to

Section #039

on the

Coudrey
Family History Index Page
x

x
Tanya and Brett's
Great-Great-Grand-Parents (Hodge)

James Hodge

Christiana Penberthy Rowe
x

Elizabeth's daughter, Christiana Penberthy Rowe, married James Hodge, who was born 16th April 1854 at Calstock Cornwall

They married at Moonta South Australia on 15th June 1876

"Earl of Dalhousie"

James had arrived in Australia on the schooner "Earl of Dalhousie" which berthed at Port Adelaide on 12th January 1874

It is said that both Christiana and her husband James stood six foot high

The couple had nine children
----------Elizabeth Mabel - born at Moonta on 7th December 1876 - died five months later on 25th April 1877
----------Eldreda Annie - born at Moonta on 3rd July 1878 - died eight months later on 12th March 1879
----------Mary Elizabeth - born at Moonta on 19th December 1879 - died on 4th January 1927 (Wally Knowles' Grandmother)
----------Ada - born at Moonta on 7th February 1882 - died on the 22nd of that month, only three weeks old
----------Ethel Annie - born at Moonta on 16th June 1883 - died eight months later on 10th February 1884
----------Richard John - born at Moonta on 5th May 1885 - died during March the next year aged less than one year
----------Clarinda - born at Melbourne on 13th February 1887 - died on 18th August 1967
----------John Leslie - born at Melbourne on 28th March 1889 - died on 18th April 1952
----------William James - born at Melbourne on 21st October 1893 - died on 16th March 1976

As can be seen, Christiana and James lost five children under the age of one year
This was almost undoubtedly due to the two great plagues of cholera and smallpox that swept their area in those years

x A note from Wally Knowles on Wednesday 6th July 2011 Here is a photo of graves in the Moonta Cemetery of some of the five hundred youngsters who died during those two plagues May be a little difficult to see, but each mound is a grave Regards, Wally

x Monument Australia x CLICK HERE to go to the Official Web Site

James worked in the mines at Moonta until about 1885 and then shifted to Melbourne, a journey of six hundred and fifty miles
There he worked on the Victorian Railway

By 1894, the lead and zinc mines at Broken Hill were starting full production and James moved his family a distance of eight hundred miles to Broken Hill in search of work
Whilst at Broken Hill, James held the position of underground shift foreman

He was a very strict father and once dragged his daughter, Mary, out of a theatre by the hair, shouting that it was the place of the devil

In 1913, James retired and moved his family to Semaphore in Adelaide ... the place where most of the Broken Hill miners took their holidays each Christmas
Christiana named her house here "Tarnywidden" and it is said that this was the name of her house in Cornwall

She died there on 13th June 1937, aged eighty years
Her husband, James, died on 12th June 1938
He had tried to die on the anniversary of her death, but his relatives would not tell him what the date was

The couple are buried at Cheltenham Cemetery