Eliza Elizabeth Jane Bennett grew up in the back streets of Penryn. She got married at 18 in the town’s Wesleyan Methodist chapel to Richard Datson, a journeyman stonemason. A child was soon born but died within days. Richard had emigrated to Richmond, Virginia before 1871, to be shortly followed by Eliza, who bore him … Continue reading St Gluvias: marital strife at Penryn
Tag: Bennett
Lewannick: leaving the nest. Or not
It’s back to the Launceston district as we home in on the parish of Lewannick, to the south west of the town. Around 1,300 years before the Victorians, two fellows named Ulcagnus and Ingenvus lived here. We know because they left their memorial stones behind, inscribed in both Latin and ogham. They were Irish-speakers who … Continue reading Lewannick: leaving the nest. Or not
Lamorran: Cornwall’s second smallest parish
Lamorran was unusual by the standards of Victorian Cornwall. Here, the population did not fall after the 1850s but remained stable into the 1880s. This parish on the Roseland south east of Truro was also Cornwall’s second smallest parish in terms of population with 92 residents in 15 households in 1861. (Question of the day … Continue reading Lamorran: Cornwall’s second smallest parish
Surnames from first names
Many surnames originally stemmed form first names. In Cornwall Bennet or Benet was a frequent male name in the medieval period. It came orginally from the saint's name Benedict, shortened to Benoit by the French and introduced to the British Isles by the Normans. The name was widely found as a surname in Cornwall by … Continue reading Surnames from first names
Cornish studies resources 