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Note: "Our Ancestors" by Gertrude Sherry: Thomas & Ann lived in Truro, Cornwall, England on their own piece of land called "Tregoning Hill" (near Germoe & Breage). It was farming country with a mild climate. The people grew beautiful flowers and had a wonderful vegetable garden. Besides farming, the men worked in the tin mines, were fishermen, or went to sea. (Addendum: Gertrude Sherry's visit to previous Tregemba home on Tregoning Hill in 1977) ...present owners Quiller Collick and his wife...showed us remains of the old stone building upon which their modern home was built. To one side is a covered cistern from which spot in 1588 the Cornish spotted the Spanish Armada coming up the English channel into Mount's Bay. Huge bonfires were soon blazing along the coast, thereby warning Sir Francis Drake at Plymouth of the Armada's approach. Tregoning Hill is the highest point overlooking Mount's Bay and the final defeat of the Armada attests to its historical importance. Farther down the hill...the deep pits of the china-clay mine owned by James Bluyas. China Clay was initially discovered on Tregoning Hill in 1700 and shipped out from Breage at Porthleven Harbour...at the base of the hill and across the road stood the duplex that was the old James Gluyas home. He built the house from granite rock from his quarry, with a slate roof. ______________________________ Willie's Story, by William John Tregemba printed circa 1974: Thomas Tregembo was in the English army during the war of 1812. The men of the families, at that time, all worked in the tin mines, except a few who went to sea or worked as policemen on the large estates. A small number went into the army. Since wages were low, the miners could not afford much meat. The working people seldom owned a gun because there was no place to hunt, except the large estates, and the common people weren't allowed to hunt there. One day a storm blew up and the wild geese and ducks took shelter in a cave near the village. The people wheeled out an old discarded cannon, loaded it with all kinds of metal and then shot it into the cave, killing most of the birds. There was meat on many tables for a long time. They also fished off the rocks for Conger eel, some eels would weigh forty pounds. Thomas once killed a deer with an axe. Down the coast near Mounts Bay, the Pilchard, a species of herring, would swim into the bay at certain times of the year. The bay had a smooth bottom, so seines were used to catch the Pilchard. The seines would be tied together and stretched across the mouth of the bay. As the men pulled the seines to shore other men would scoop the Pilchard into baskets. The loaded baskets were carried to small rock building with drain holes in the bottom. The women would layer the fish and salt in a building, weigh it down with rocks, and go on to the next buildings until all the fish were salted away. The miners worked long hard hours under poor working conditions. All equipment was crude. They had to climb into and out of the mines on ladders. The circulation was poor and the dust so thick it ruined the miner's lungs. Very few miners lived beyond fifty years. There was also a china quarry near where workers took out clay and shale for chinaware. _______________________________________ LDS films: Cornwall, England Records; Germoe Church Records; Breage Church records. All on file in Family Hist. Center, 7001 E. 13th. St., Wichita, KS. Germoe, England, Rolls #235, 236, & 341 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1841 Census - Parish of Breage, Cornwall, England: the age of a person was rounded off to the neares 5 or 0, it was rounded DOWN. (such as 23yrs = 20 and 29yrs = 25) ----------------------------------------------- St. Germoe Church records, Germoe, England; Methodist: Oct-08-1827 marriage of Thomas Tregembo and Ann Richards, both of this parish Feb. 15, 1837 baptism of John, born Nov. 11, 1829; baptism in the Parish of Germoe, Cornwall, ; parents Thomas & Ann Tregembo John Tregembo, age 27, miner, of Tresowas; father's name: Thomas Tregembo, miner. Christiana Hosking, age 23, of Godolphin, married in the presence of James & Edward Hosking.
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