Start with what you know
Family history usually works backward from the present. Begin with yourself and your living relatives, and write down names, dates and places. Ask older relatives what they remember, and look for documents at home: certificates, letters, photographs, funeral cards, old bibles and newspaper clippings. Mark each fact as certain or uncertain, because family stories often contain a kernel of truth wrapped in later embellishment.
A family belief that “we are Cornish” is a clue, not a conclusion. Your aim is to find a documented chain of parents and children that leads to a specific Cornish parish, which is something a surname alone cannot do.
Records in your own country
Most researchers first trace the family in the country where they live. Typical sources include:
- Birth, marriage and death records. These give names, dates and often parents’ names or birthplaces. The details vary by country and period.
- Censuses. Many countries have periodic censuses that list households, ages, occupations and, often, places of birth. A birthplace noted as “Cornwall” or the name of a Cornish parish can be a strong lead, though people sometimes gave vague or inaccurate answers.
- Immigration and naturalization papers. Arrival records, passenger lists and naturalization files may name the origin. Their quality differs a great deal over time.
- Newspapers and obituaries. These sometimes state where someone was born and may mention Cornish connections.
- Church and chapel records. Methodist and other congregations kept registers and membership lists, as discussed in the article on chapel culture.
- Mining and employment records. Some company records, union lists and accident reports survive.
Records in England and Wales
Once you have a probable Cornish origin, the types of records change. In England and Wales, civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837, and national censuses were taken every ten years from 1841, with the exception of 1941. Census returns are released to the public after a long delay, and indexes and images are available through various archives and websites, some free and some by subscription.
Before civil registration, the key source is the parish register. Anglican parishes recorded baptisms, marriages and burials, and many registers date from the sixteenth century, though survival and detail vary. Nonconformist registers matter greatly in Cornwall, where Methodism and other chapel traditions were strong. Registers were sometimes handed to central authorities, so they may be held at a county archive or national collection.
Other useful sources include:
- Wills and probate records, which can show family relationships and property.
- Tithe maps and apportionments from the 1830s and 1840s, listing landholders and occupiers.
- Manorial and estate records for families connected with land.
- Mining records, including mine account books and later inquiries into accidents.
- Local newspapers, which printed notices of marriages, deaths and emigration.
County archives and local studies libraries in Cornwall hold many of these, and staff there can often explain what survives and how to use it. Catalogs and finding aids are increasingly online, but not everything is digitized.
Surnames and what they can tell you
Cornwall has a rich stock of distinctive surnames, many of which derive from place names or the Cornish language. An old saying, often quoted in books on Cornwall, holds that people with names beginning Tre, Pol or Pen are Cornish, and the prefixes explained in the article on name prefixes do appear in many local surnames. But the saying should be treated as a rule of thumb. Cornish surnames spread to other regions long before the emigration era, and many English families with no Cornish origin share common names. Surnames are a clue, to be tested against records.
Spelling also varied. Before standardized spelling, a clerk might write a name as he heard it, and the same person might appear under several forms. When searching an index, try alternative spellings and look at neighboring entries.
Common pitfalls
- Repeated names. Cornish families often reused a small set of first names across generations, and cousins in the same parish could share a full name. Do not merge two people because their names match.
- Patterns of naming. Some families followed customs in naming children after grandparents, which can help suggest relationships but is not proof.
- Wrong parish. Villages and parishes had boundaries that changed, and people sometimes married or were baptized in a neighboring parish.
- Unreliable trees. Online family trees may contain copied errors. Treat them as leads and check against original or well-sourced records.
- DNA tests. Genetic ancestry tools can suggest connections to Cornwall, but their regional estimates are approximations and should not replace documentary research.
Understanding the context
Records make more sense when you know the background. If an ancestor was a miner, then migration from mine to mine, seasonal work and emigration fit a larger pattern. The reasons for leaving are set out in the article on why Cornish miners went abroad, and the places where people landed are covered in the articles on communities in North America and in Australia and South Africa. Knowing where other Cornish families settled can point you toward the right local records.
Words and phrases in older documents can be unfamiliar. A Cornish glossary may help with dialect terms, occupations and place names found in older sources. The names of Cornish places often have meanings, and the guide to reading place names can help you identify a parish from a variant spelling.
Getting help
Family history societies, whether in Cornwall or in your own country, offer guidance and sometimes lookup services. Many Cornish associations around the world also support members who are researching their ancestry. It is sensible to be cautious about paid services that promise quick results, and to check what is included before paying. Your own results will depend on what records survive, and some lines simply cannot be traced beyond a certain point.
Above all, enjoy the process. Even without a complete tree, the records can give a vivid picture of the work, faith and movements of ordinary people, which links closely to the story of the Cornish diaspora.