SITUATED in the extreme south west of England, Cornwall's narrow peninsula is surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean, which spreads forth for thousands of miles before the eyes of its coastal inhabitants.
For generations, our proximity to the sea has seen Cornish folk fish for both sustenance and wage.
But from the mid-1800s many of those who set sail had no intention of returning with a catch. They were leaving these shores in search of a fresh start.
As part of the Europe-wide migration from the 'old world' to the 'new' these men and women would become known as the Cousin Jacks and Jennies. They wo Save uld build foundations for the future in places as far-flung as South Africa, Australia and Peru.
Migration
While stepping foot on these distant, exotic shores these Cousin Jacks and Jennies never lost sight of where they came from – for many it was the reason they were able to move away.
By the time of the great migration, mining in Cornwall was declining.
The copper market crashed in 1866, coinciding with discoveries of foreign mineral deposits. The increased competition drove prices down further.
Having led the world in mining industry skills and technology it did not take the Cornish long to see the opportunities available to them abroad.
Through perfecting deep-lode mining with the aid of steam engines the Cornish built a reputation as the finest hard-rock miners in the world which placed them firmly in the vanguard.
And so, from 1841 to 1901, the county is believed to have lost around 250,000 people. Whole families moved abroad, but it was lone men who made up the majority of the migrants. Sometimes they would come back to Cornwall but in many cases they would either start an entirely new life or bring their loved ones to them.
News and stories from across the world became commonplace and the pages of The Cornishman regularly featured updates on the exploits of Penwithians from the Transvaal to Southern Australia and elsewhere.
As the Cornish spread, so did their ways. Pasties, saffron buns, wrestling and the like all stayed a part of the immigrant's life as they sought to maintain a link to the past.
In parts of the world such as Bendigo in Australia, this link to their past is maintained through the Cornish Association of Bendigo and District.
This Saturday's open day, hosted by the Newlyn Archive Group, looks at our Cousin Jacks and Jennies and the whole range of occupations which took them abroad.
The archive's Pam Lomax said that while a considerable number of those who left Cornwall were mine workers, people left to pursue all sorts of opportunities.
"There were men who left to join the auto-trade in Detroit," she said – before telling the story of Phyllis Gotch who headed for Cape Town as an entertainer with the Rayne Mouillot New English Vaudeville Company.
"She was the daughter of the artists Thomas Cooper Gotch and Caroline Burland Yates. While she grew up in Newlyn, Phyllis trained as a singer and left for Cape Town in 1911 after getting a job with a touring company." On arrival in Cape Town she quickly found that things were not as she had hoped for – the company were low-class vaudeville performers and she was expected to wear frilly dresses and take part in high-kicking dance routines.
Before leaving Newlyn, Phyllis had attracted the attentions of Pat Docherty, a mining engineer, who followed her to South Africa later that year where they married.
Parted
On the outbreak of the First World War, Phyllis returned home, but Pat was unable to leave. Sadly the couple would never see each other again as Pat died in 1918.
The open day will feature displays of photographs complete with stories telling of lives like Phyllis' and other Newlyn migrants. But the information is not all based on what occurred abroad. An interesting feature saw the archive team researching homes in Newlyn which were named after foreign towns.
"Among those," said Pam, "is one called Mysore after the place in India." It was quite common for those who struck gold abroad to send money home or to return flush with cash. Often they would build houses and name them after where the money came from – in this case India.
The archive is looking for people to come and tell stories of relatives who left Newlyn, with helpers on hand to record your recollections. At noon Liz Harman will tell the tale of four brothers who left for Michigan, America. The open day will run from 10am to 3pm in the Trinity Centre, Newlyn.
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