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Many of our namesakes – Eustace, Eustice, Eustis –
can trace their ancestry to Cornwall. Cornwall is a duchy (county)
occupying the southwestern most area of England. It is a peninsula
bounded by the English Channel on the south and the Atlantic Ocean on
the west and north and terminates in a point on the west called Land’s
End. It shares a border with only one other county, namely Devon to the
east. The Scilly Islands, located just offshore to the west, are also
part of Cornwall. Anciently, the Cornish were a Celtic people, related
to the ancient Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Britons, who lived in Cornwall
since the introduction of farming around 3000 B.C and had their own
language. The old Cornish name for Cornwall was Curnow. Cornwall has
also been occupied and influenced by the Romans, Saxons and Normans.
The Eustis (and variants) family in Cornwall
divides historically into two main groups. The first family group spans
the Cornwall-Devon border of which there are occasional records from the
13th century to the 15th. There are wills of the Cornish
family in Morval and Menheniot as early as 1578-1594. From the end of
that century, the parish registers show the presence of the family at
St. Sampson and Bodmin. The l8th century records a number of marriages
at Pillaton. The parish church of Tavistock is dedicated to St.
Eustachius (the largest of only three so dedicated in England). A family
in St. Budeaux prospered in Elizabethan times and expanded their land
holdings far into north Cornwall.
The second group, which may or may not be related
to the first, can be found in western Cornwall, in the parish of Crowan
and surrounding parishes. The earliest documented ancestor of this
branch was Richard Eustis. According to the Protestation Returns of
1641, a Richard Yestes and William Yestes were living in Crowan parish.
The Protestation was an oath of allegiance to the Church of England. A
bill was passed in Parliament in July 1641 requiring those over age 18
to sign. Church wardens, ministers, constables
and overseers of the poor first took the oath then oversaw the taking of
the Protestation oath by their parishioners.
The relationship of William to Richard is uncertain
but he was probably either his father or brother. He is likely the
William Eustis of Crowan who married Jane Brothes in Breage parish in
1639. The Hearth Tax of 1660-1664 shows Richard Ustes and John Ustes
living in Crowan. As William is not listed in this roll, it can be
assumed that he had died, moved away or was exempt from the tax.
The seating plan of the parish church of Crowan for
the year 1666 provides further insight into the family’s structure and
social status. Churchgoers were seated according to social rank, whether
by assignment or purchase. The highest ranking pews were closest to the
pulpit, the lowest furthest from the pulpit. Richard Yestes was seated
in the second row in the south aisle, with John Yestes seated in the row
behind him. From this it can be inferred that both were adults by 1666
and that Richard had a higher social rank than John, suggesting a
father/son relationship. Richard’s wife was seated on the north side in
the fourth seat of the middle row and John’s wife on the south side of
the same row.
Richard and Mary (surname unknown) had a son named
John, who was christened on 30 May 1624 at Crowan.
The
surname is written as Ustos in the christening record.
(John did not sign the Protestation as he was not yet 18.)
John resided at Kerthen Wood (alternately Kirthen Wood), a settlement
or village in Crowan parish near Townshend, and was married to Elizabeth
(surname unknown). John died there between 15 August 1692, when he made
his will, and 7 May 1694, when the will was probated. Elizabeth was
buried in the Crowan churchyard cemetery on 5 Oct 1700. John and
Elizabeth and had 5 known children, one daughter and four sons, John,
Eleanor, George, Henry and Richard. Many, perhaps most, of today’s
Cornish namesakes descend from one of these four sons, which accounts
for the strong DNA matches among different branches of the Cornish
families. Eustis was the most common spelling of the surname in earlier
times, but by the mid-1800s the Eustice and Eustace spellings appeared
more frequently. Whether still in Cornwall or elsewhere in the world,
descendants today include those with all three spellings, though Eustice
seems to be the most common of the three.
It is being circulated that the aforementioned
Richard Eustis was a son of Richard Eustes and Alice Hornabrooke of the
parish of Morval and grandson of yet another Richard. This is an
unsubstantiated leap. There is no documentary evidence to support such
a connection – nevertheless the dubious ancestry is spreading rapidly
and becoming incorporated into more and more family trees. Richard’s
ancestors were most probably also from Crowan or nearby, but due to a
dearth of records for this early time period, it is doubtful his
ancestry will be traced further with any confidence.
If Richard did move into Crowan from elsewhere,
there is no evidence that it was from Morval, which is a great distance
from Crowan. Morval parish is located in eastern Cornwall not far from
the Devon border. Crowan parish is in western Cornwall – there are at
least 20 parishes between them. He more likely would have come from a
nearer parish, as traveling any distance, particularly for the working
poor, was difficult. Even if Richard and Alice of Morval had a son
Richard, there is no evidence he was the Richard of Crowan. Some have
assigned Richard a birth year, but it is an arbitrary guess. Richard
could have been any age between say 16 and 70 when his son was born in
1624 and thus could have been born anytime between 1554 and 1608. Even
if the all the registers of every parish in Cornwall survived for this
period – very few do – there would likely be many Richards born in this
time period. Even if Richard’s exact birth year were known, it could
well have occurred in a parish where the register does not survive –
most don’t for this period.
If anyone has documentary evidence to clearly
establish that Richard of Crowan was, in fact, the son of Richard and
Alice of Morval or to document a birth year (from an age at a dated
event), please contact the author or editor and it will be published in
a future issue for everyone’s benefit. Until then, all should avoid
perpetuation of the dubious or fabricated ancestry by not including the
Morval connection in their family tree.
It has also been asserted that Richard was the
brother (rather than the father) of John and that both were sons of
William Eustis who married Jane Brothes in Breage parish in 1639.
However, fragmentary portions of the bishop’s transcripts (copies of
parish registers made yearly for the bishop) for Crowan for the early
1600’s are available on microfilm. These were examined and the baptism
of John Eustis, son of Richard and Mary was found recorded on 30 May
1624. This, coupled with the 1666 Crowan parish seating plan
satisfactorily establishes the father-son relationship. The relationship
of Richard and John to William, if any, has not been established with
any certainty.
For more information on the descendants of Richard
Eustis of Crowan and other Cornwall Eustis (all spellings) families not
yet connected, contact:
Dawna J. Lund
Box 10583, San Bernardino, CA 92423 USA
or email:
DawnaJL@aol.com.
Back to Top
Cornish Namesakes Who Emigrated to the
USA
By: Dawna
(Eustice) Lund
Historically, mining was the principal occupation
in Cornwall, dating back at least to between 1000 and 2000 B.C. when
Cornwall is thought to have been visited by metal traders from the
eastern Mediterranean. Some of these traders may have stayed and
inter-married with the local peoples, which may explain why DNA tests of
the descendants from Cornish namesakes indicate a distant origin in the
Caucasus region of the Middle East.
Historically, Cornwall supplied most of the tin,
copper, zinc, lead, arsenic and silver used in Britain and her colonies.
Originally found as alluvial deposits in stream beds and coastal
outcroppings, eventually it became necessary to dig for the ores.
Underground mines made an appearance in Cornwall as early as the 16th
century. Inevitably the mine shafts dropped below the water table,
requiring water be pumped out before continuing any deeper.
Hence
housings for the pumps and the engines became necessary. These engine
houses were the sturdiest buildings at the mines, as they both housed
the machinery and supported the massive beams that worked the pumps. It
is not surprising that it is many of these engine houses or their ruins
dot the landscape in Cornwall still today.
The traditional Cornish Pasty, a meat and vegetable
pie something like a Calzone, had its origins as the working lunch
for miners. It was nourishing, easy to carry
underground and could be eaten with dirty fingers. The filling and
untouched portion of the pastry crust would be consumed and the dirty
portion of the pasty discarded as an offering to appease
the “knockers”, capricious spirits who might otherwise lead miners into
danger.
By the mid-19th century, the Cornish
mining industry and population had reached its zenith. Foreign
competition depressed the price of copper and tin to a point which made
mining Cornish ore unprofitable and lead to the decline and eventual
collapse of the industry. Today, there are no more metal mining
operations in Cornwall, only china-clay mining, but some mine sites and
their associated buildings have been preserved as historical reminders
of Cornwall’s mining past. In the summer of 2006, the Cornwall and West
Devon Mining Landscape was named as a World Heritage Site, acknowledging
the contribution the area made to the industrial revolution and to the
fundamental influence the area had on mining at large.
The combination of declining employment
at home and the discovery of new mineral reserves
overseas motivated many Cornish to seek a better life
elsewhere. Moving offered the chance of better pay and
conditions, and the opportunity to more quickly rise to a position of
responsibility. Cornwall was soon gripped by a ‘culture of emigration’,
a belief that the best way to get on in the world was to get out of
Cornwall. It is estimated that over a quarter of a
million Cornish migrated abroad in the latter half of the 19th
century and the majority of them were miners. In every decade
from the 1860s to the early 1900s, some 20% of the male working
population departed. The extent of this mass population exodus, known as
the Cornish Diaspora, is typified by the parish of Crowan, which lost
nearly half its population, declining from 3982 in 1851 to 2066 in 1911.
Our namesakes joined other “Cousin Jacks and Jennys”
– slang terms for Cornish migrants - as they scattered all over the
world to utilize their mining skills. They ventured forth to establish
homes in the mining areas of the United States, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean Islands
and elsewhere in the British Isles. As the Cornish were expert at hard
rock mining and in making and maintaining equipment to service the
mines, their skills were highly sought worldwide. It is said that, “If
you find a hole in the ground anywhere in the World, you will find a
Cornishman at the bottom of it.” It has estimated that today there
are over 6 million people in the world who can trace their ancestry to
Cornwall. For more information on the history of mining in Cornwall see
www.cornish-mining.org.
Those of our namesakes who emigrated from
Cornwall to the United States during the 19th century include
the following:
1. Richard Eustice (1821-1900) was born in
Crowan 8 April 1821 and christened there 22 Apri1 1821. He was the son
of Richard Eustis (spelling later changed to Eustice) (1796-1851) and
Ann Barkle (1798-1842) and grandson of Richard Eustis (1772-1853) and
Grace Pooley (1774-1835). He is the ancestor of the author of this
article.
The death certificate for Richard (1821-1900)
mistakenly lists his mother’s maiden name as Ann Pooley. Her correct
maiden surname was Barkle (alternately Bartle or Barkell). The informant
confused the maiden surname of the mother with that of the grandmother.
The marriage of Richard Eustis (1796) to Ann Barkle and the christening
of their first child, Anne, are recorded in Gwinear parish registers.
Richard’s father Richard (1772) signed as a witness the marriage. Ann (Barkle)
Eustis was christened 1 Apr 1798 in Gwinear and was the daughter of
William and Ann (Hockin) Barkle. This older Mrs. Ann Barkle was living
with the Eustice family in the 1841 census of Camborne parish, Cornwall.
The death of Mrs. Ann Eustis is recorded in the family bible of Josiah
Barkle/Barkell, her brother. There would be no reason for Ann’s death to
be recorded in a Barkle/Barkell family bible, if she were a Pooley.
Neither a marriage of a Richard Eustis to an Ann Pooley nor a suitable
birth of an Ann Pooley has ever been located.
Richard (1821-1900) moved with his parents to
nearby Camborne before the 1841 census. On 3 April 1842, five days
before his 21st birthday, he set sail for America from the
port of Hayle in Cornwall aboard the Brig Ruby which had sailed from
South Shields on the northeastern coast of England. After nearly two
months at sea, the ship landed at the port of New York on June 1. Also
aboard were Richard's sister Ann (Eustice) Richards, his uncle, James
Eustis, and their families. After briefly working in the mines of
Pennsylvania, Richard settled in southwestern Wisconsin, first near
Benton, Lafayette County, and later in neighboring Hazel Green, Grant
County. He worked in the lead mines and ran a small farm and was also
lay minister for the Methodist Episcopal Church. At one point he owned
or was in partnership in some profitable mines, but suffered financial
reverses and died a pauper, so poor that the family could not even
afford a stone for his grave.
On 3 April 1845 at Galena, Jo Daviess County,
Illinois, Richard married Jennifer “Jane” Carnsew, daughter of James
Carnsew and Mary Harvey, who was born 22 May 1825 in Crowan. According
to the 1900 and 1910 censuses, they had 14 children, but only 10 have
been identified by name. The others probably died young. Richard died
21 May 1900 in Hazel Green at age 79 and Jennifer died there 14 Dec 1915
at age 90.
2. John Eustice (1827-1860) was born 7 Feb
1827 in Crowan and christened there 4 Mar 1827, son of Richard Eustis
and Ann Barkle and brother to Richard. John sailed from Liverpool aboard
the Roscius on the 11 January 1846, celebrated his 19th birthday at sea,
and arrived at the port of New York on March 7. According to family
legend there were two other John Eustices aboard, but the passenger list
has been located and it shows no other Eustice aboard at all. According
to a notation on the passenger list, his intended destination was
Canada, but if he ever actually went there, it was a short stay. He
soon joined his brother in southwestern Wisconsin, where he continued in
the mining trade that he had learned in the old country. He was married
about 1850 to Jane Oatey, who was born 29 May 1830 in Gwinear parish,
Cornwall, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Floyd) Oatey, and had five
children - four sons and one daughter. By the 1860 census, the family
had moved across the Mississippi River to Dubuque, Iowa, where he died
late that same year at the young age of 33. He is believed to be buried
in an unmarked grave in Center Grove Methodist Cemetery just outside
Dubuque. His widow returned to Lafayette County, Wisconsin and married
again in 1865 to James Liddell (alternatively Liddle or Little), had
four more children and died in 1885.
3. John G. Eustice (1806-1882) was born 10
Sep 1806 in Crowan and christened there on 26 Oct 1806, son of William
Eustis and Elizabeth Glasson, and first cousin to the father of the
aforementioned Richard and John. He was married 10 Apr 1830 in Crowan to
Ann Ward, daughter of John and Ann (Eddy) Ward, by whom he had nine
children. He arrived in the United States in 1841, spent one year in the
mines of Pennsylvania then moved to Wisconsin while it was still a
territory. Soon thereafter he bought a farm of 120 acres in Elizabeth
Township, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, and established a home for his
family who joined him from Cornwall about 1843. His first wife died 16
Jun 1849 and on 8 Oct 1853, he married as his second wife, Mrs.
Elizabeth (Smith) Green, daughter of William and Elizabeth Smith and
widow of John Green, and had two more children. In addition to farming,
John was involved in both mining and milling. He died on 13 Feb 1882 in
Elizabeth, Jo Daviess County, Illinois at age 75.
4. Richard W. Eustice (1809-1890) was born
12 Jan 1809 in Crowan and christened there on 29 Jan 1809, son of
William Eustis and Elizabeth Glasson and brother to John G. He married
Mary B. Pascoe on 23 Dec 1833 in Wendron parish, Cornwall and they had
twelve children. They moved many times as he sought mining work in new
places. After a few years in Crowan, they moved to St. Keverne parish in
Cornwall and then to Llangyfelach parish in Glamorganshire, Wales.
Finally, about 1850, he joined his brother in Jo Daviess County
Illinois. After his first wife died there on 29 Jun 1868, John remarried
24 Jun 1871 to Mrs. Prudence (Baker) Oliver. She died 14 May 1890 and he
died 25 Jan 1892 in Elizabeth, Illinois at age 82.
5. John Eustice (1845-1889) was born 19 Oct
1845 in Newton, Camborne Parish, Cornwall, son of John Eustis and Grace
Temby. He came to America before 1870. He married 27 Nov 1870 in
Carbondale, Pennsylvania to Elizabeth Ann Hill who was born 9 Apr 1855
in Lanlivery parish, Cornwall, daughter of John B and Elizabeth (Pike)
Hill by whom he had 9 children. The family lived a few years in Essex
County, New Jersey, where he likely worked in the sandstone quarries,
and then briefly in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. By 1877, he was
mining gold in Black Hawk in Gilpin County, Colorado and he died there
26 Aug 1889 at age 43. His wife remarried John Humphreys in 1890 and
died two years later on 7 Aug 1892. Many of the Black
Hawk’s historic buildings have recently been restored as a monument to
its Gold Rush era heyday.
6. William Eustis (1801-c1870+) was born 15
Apr 1805 in Camborne, Cornwall, son of John and Mary (Goldsworthy)
Eustis. He was married 9 Dec 1830 in Camborne to Mary Vine, daughter of
Joseph and Lucy (Eudey) Vine. They had three children in Camborne and
then sailed from port of Falmouth in Cornwall 30 March 1837 and arrived
in New York Harbor on May 6. They settled in British Hollow, Potosi
Township, Grant County, Wisconsin, where William worked in the lead
mines. They had six more children there, for a total of nine, and Mary
died there in 1872. It is not known if William died there or perhaps
went west with his children. By the 1880 census, one child was living
in California, two in Minnesota and one in Utah. One son, William, died
in the civil war and a set of triplets died in infancy.
7. William Eustice (1828-1889) was born in
1828 in Crowan parish, Cornwall and christened there on 1 Jan 1829, son
of Thomas and Phillipa (Davey) Eustis. He married 3 Jun 1849 in
Camborne, Cornwall to Mary Jane Gundry, daughter of John Gundry and Ann
Saunders and they had at least eight children. They came to America
about 1852 and, after a brief stay in New Jersey, settled in Grant
County, Wisconsin. He died on 23 Aug 1889 in Buncombe, Grant County,
when the mine in which he was working caved in on him. His wife died in
Grant County in 1895 or 1896.
8. John Eustice (1844-1902) was born 19 Aug
1844 in Camborne, Cornwall, son of Thomas and Sarah (Hicks) Eustice and
nephew of the preceding William. He married 28 May 1865 to Grace
Hocking, daughter of Nicholas and Grace (Bennetts) Hocking and had one
known child. John immigrated to America in 1875 and obtained work as a
mining engineer. He settled first in Morris County, New Jersey. By
1878 he was a widower when he married again in Morris County to Sarah
Jane Prisk by whom he had 9 children. About 1884 he moved to
Pennsylvania and about 1889 to Iron Mountain and finally about 1890 to
Bureau County, Illinois where he died in 1902, age 58.
9. James Eustice (1847-1911) was born 8 Mar
1847 in Camborne, Cornwall and christened in the Tuckingmill Chapel on
May 10, son of Thomas and Sarah (Hicks) Eustice and brother of the
preceding John. He left for America in 1863, but returned to Cornwall
by 1868 where he married at Tuckingmill to Elizabeth Jane Mitchell
Polglase born there 7 Dec 1850, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Rowe)
Polglase. Their first child was born in Tuckingmill in 1870 and soon
after he left again for America and made his way to the Schelbourne
Mountains in Eureka County, Nevada Territory, where gold had been
recently discovered. His wife and child joined him there a few years
later. After having two more children, his wife died 15 Nov 1881.
Shortly thereafter, on the run from the law, he fled Nevada, deserting
his three children, ages 12, 4 and 1 who were placed in an orphanage.
By 1883, he had resettled in Utah where he worked as an undertaker. He
married again in 1883 to Emma Roscoe by whom he had 10 children, 6 died
in infancy. James died in Eureka, Juab County, Utah on 11 Feb 1911,
aged 63.
10. Josiah Eustice (1849-1909) was born 14
May 1849 in Camborne, Cornwall, son of Thomas and Sarah (Hicks) Eustice
and brother to the preceding James and John. He married 26 Jun 1869 at
the Registrar’s Office in Redruth, Cornwall to Eliza Jeffery born Nov
1852 in Christow Parish, Devon County, England, daughter of George and
Caroline Jeffery. They had 10 children. Shortly after marriage, they
went to Wales where Josiah worked for a few years in the coal mines of
Gelligaer parish in Glamorganshire. In 1875, Josiah sailed for America
and the coal fields of the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania. He settled
in Plymouth in Luzerne County and was joined within a year or so by
Eliza and their two young children. Josiah worked as a fireman at the
mines and later as a breaker boss, supervising the crushing, sizing and
loading of the ore. He died at Plymouth 3 Jun 1909 at the age of 60.
His son, William James, died in 1893 in a mining accident.
11. George Eustice (1816-1898) was born 15
April 1816 in Gwinear, Cornwall son of John Eustis and Catherine Pascoe,
who were married there 22 Jul 1815. As a child, he moved with his
parents to St. Ives parish and there he married Philippa Richards,
daughter of Richard Richards and Philippa Rodda on 21 Sep 1837. After
they had four children in Hasletown, St. Ives, they sailed in August
1845 aboard the Ship Resolution to Quebec, Canada. They made their way
to Wisconsin and settled in Potosi Township, Grant County had five more
children there. George was a blacksmith and, after Philippa died in
1884, he followed some of his children to Gilroy (the Garlic Capital) in
Santa Clara County, California, where he continued that occupation until
he died in 1898.
[Notes: Some have concluded that John Eustis,
father of George, was christened at Gwinear on 26 Oct 1794, son of John
and Charity Eustis. This is not possible for two reasons. First, in the
1841 St. Ives census, John and Catherine are found as age 60-64 and thus
born 1776-1781. Also, the burial records of Gwinear show that said 1794
John was buried in 1796, so obviously he couldn’t have been anyone’s
father. John and Charity moved to Redruth parish and had another John
there in 1799, but he is not old enough to be the ancestor.
It has also been asserted that Catherine Pascoe was
born 1785, daughter of Henry and Catherine King Pascoe. This is highly
unlikely as the death certificate for Catherine Eustis, widow of John,
states that she died of dropsy (congestive heart failure) at Hasletown,
St. Ives on 29 Dec 1842, age 64. Based on her age at death (and
confirmed by her age in 1841 census), she was born about 1778 – some 7
years before the daughter of Henry was born. As John and Catherine were
in their mid to late 30s when they married, it is likely that it was not
a first marriage and perhaps Pascoe was not her maiden/birth name, but
her prior married name.]
12. George Eustis (1811-1856) was christened
17 Feb 1811 in Feock parish, Cornwall, son of George and Phillipa (Bullen)
Eustis. He immigrated to the United States in the early 1830’s, one of
the earliest of our Cornwall namesakes to come. He settled in St.
Lawrence County, New York, where he became a farmer. He married there
28 Dec 1836 to Jane McCoy who was born Dec 1812 in Ireland, daughter of
John and Ann McCoy, by whom he had eleven children. George died in an
accident on 9 Nov 1856 in St. Lawrence County and Jane died there in
1890.
13. Tobias Eustis (1821-1889) was born 10
July 1821 in Frogmoor, Feock parish, Cornwall, son of George and
Phillipa (Bullen) Eustis and brother of George. Tobias arrived in
America on 5 July 1836, at age 15, from Lancashire, England. He first
lived in Oswegatchie, St. Lawrence County, New York, probably with his
brother, George. He then went to Oxbow, Jefferson County, New York,
where he married his first wife, Mary Markwick in 1843. In May 1847,
they moved back to St. Lawrence County, where he operated a wagon and
carriage building business at Hammond and was also a farmer. His first
wife died in 1852 and he soon remarried to Margaret Parkinson. He had
fourteen children, five by his first wife and nine by his second,
including two sons who were lawyers of some importance in New York City
and Minneapolis, Minnesota. One of these sons, William Henry Eustis
served as mayor of Minneapolis. Tobias died in Hammond 4 Jan 1889 at the
age of 67 and Margaret died in 1898.
14. George Eustis (1847-1909) was born on 3
Jul 1847 in Marazion parish, Cornwall, son of William and Jennifer
(Phillips) Eustis and grandson of William and Ann (Williams) Eustis. He
immigrated to America about 1865 and went for a short time to work in
the mines in Michigan and then by 1870 in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
His parents also came to America. His mother died in 1870 and his
father in 1890 and both are buried in Sandyvale Cemetery, Johnstown,
Cambria County. George soon moved to Westmoreland County, where he
became a mine foreman and was instrumental in opening several coal
mines. In 1868 he married Sarah Ann Richards, born 30 Apr 1850 in Germoe
parish, Cornwall, daughter of William Henry and Nanny (Potter)
Richards. They became the parents of nine children. He died 20 Aug 1909
at the age of 62 and Sarah died 22 May 1910.
15. Richard Eustice (1811-1854) was born 12
May 1811 in Crowan parish, Cornwall, son of John and Margary (Williams)
Eustis and christened there 22 Sep. He married there 28 Jul 1832 to
Johanna Stephens, born there 4 Sep 1811, daughter of John and Jane
Stephens. They had at least 8 children, including John Samuel Eustice
who married Harriet Fritz. Richard, his wife, children and his brother,
John sailed from Liverpool and arrived in America at the port of New
York in September 1841 aboard the ship, England. They settled in
Pennsylvania, first in Schuykill County and later in Carbon County.
Richard died in August 1854, aged 43, of injuries incurred in an
explosion in the mine where he was working at the time.
16. John Eustice (c1804-1850+) was born
about 1804 in Cornwall (parentage not yet determined), married 30 Jun
1825 in Crowan to Christian (aka Christina) Nicholas christened 7 Mar
1802 in Sithney parish, daughter of John and Christian (Hocking)
Nicholas. They are said to have had seven children, but only four have
been identified. The oldest son, John, was born 1826 in Crowan and soon
thereafter the family moved to Ireland, perhaps to work in the Knockmahon
Copper Mine in County Waterford. While in Ireland, at least three more
children were born, William James (1830), James (1832) and Thomas Henry
(1835). Christian and these three sons arrived at the port of New York
on 3 Oct 1849 aboard the ship Mountaineer, which had sailed from the
harbor at Penzance in Cornwall, so perhaps the family had returned to
Cornwall after 1841. The father and oldest son had come to America
earlier. John settled his family in Tamaqua, Schuykill County,
Pennsylvania and was the superintendent of copper and lead mines. He
died before the 1860 census. Christian was last known living in 1880 in
Plains Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania with her son, John.
[Note: Ann born 1829 and George born 1832 in Crowan
have been mistakenly identified as their children. However, said Ann
and George were children of John and Christian (Arthur) Eustice who
remained in Cornwall.]
17. John N. Eustice (1826-1899) was born 17
Mar 1826, christened 16 Apr 1826 in Crowan, son of the aforementioned
John and Christian, arrived in the United States about 1846. He joined
a party which was exploring for copper on Lake Superior and then was
variously engaged in mining in Michigan, New Jersey, and Connecticut
(where he was in the 1850 census). By 1860 he had settled in Luzerne
County, Pennsylvania where he became a citizen in 1866. He continued his
work in mining as foreman until 1889, when he was compelled to retire on
account of failing eyesight. He was married about 1848 to Mary Raugh, by
whom he is said to have had 20 children, though only 9 have been
identified with certainty. John died in Plains Township, Luzerne
County, Pennsylvania on 11 Jun 1899 at the age of 73.
18. William James Eustice (1830-1897) was
born 1830 in Ireland of Cornish parents, son of the aforementioned John
and Christian and brother to preceding John N. He immigrated to the
United States with his mother and younger brothers in 1849 and settled
in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. He married Julia (surname unknown) and
had at least 10 children. He worked most of his life as a miner, but
for a time he owned a tavern in Wilkes-Barre. He died in 1893 of
injuries received in a mining accident. He was about 63 years old.
19. James Eustice (1832-1916) was born Apr
1832 in Ireland of Cornish parents, son of the aforementioned John and
Christian and brother to the preceding John N. and William James. He
lived in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania where he worked in the mines. He
was married about 1857 to Sarah Reed and had at least five children.
She died about 1869 and he married again in 1871 to Elizabeth “Eliza”
Cavanaugh and had six more children. His second wife died before 1900
and James died 26 May 1916 in Inkerman, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania at
the age of 84.
20. William Eustice (1816-1858) was
christened at Crowan parish 28 Apr 1816, son of Richard and Sarah
(Noble) Eustice. His father died when he was about one year old and his
mother when he was six. He married 2 Jun 1838 in St. Blazey parish in
Cornwall to Mary Williams born 1 Nov 1817 Crowan, daughter of Richard
and Ann Williams, by whom he had nine children. About 1840, soon after
the birth of their oldest child, they left for America. They lived
briefly in Tioga County, Pennsylvania and then in Ontonagan County,
Michigan and then finally, by 1850, settled near the town of Elizabeth
in Jo Daviess County, Illinois where he worked in the lead mines. He
had nearly completed building their new house there, when tragedy struck
on 3 Jun 1858. He was standing near the chimney and his son William was
taking the wash basin to the back door to empty it. A bolt of lightning
suddenly struck the chimney and followed through to the back door,
killing both father and son. Mary died 4 Jun 1902.
21. Thomas Eustice (1846-1885+) was
christened 20 Jul 1846 at Perranuthnoe Parish, Cornwall, son of George
and Thomasine (Symons) Eustis. He married there 1 Aug 1865 to Mary
Ralph who was born there Dec 1846. They settled first in Camborne
parish where three children were born. Thomas left England for America
in 1870 and went to work in the mines of Central City, Gilpin County,
Colorado. Mary and the children followed in 1874 and they settled in
Clear Creek County, Colorado and had at least seven more children.
Thomas died between 1896 and 1900, probably in Jefferson County,
Colorado. Mary died there in 1910.
22. William Henry Eustice (1810-c1870+) was
born in Cornwall about 1810 (parentage not yet determined). He married
15 Dec 1838 in Crowan parish to Charlotte Rodda who was christened there
24 Mar 1813, daughter of Thomas and Honour (Pearce) Rodda. Five children
were born in Crowan before they sailed from Penzance on the ship Oregon,
arriving at the Port of New York on 6 May 1852. They first settled in
Bristol, Connecticut where a sixth child was born. During the 1870
census, the family was in Richmond, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
William had died by 1880, when his widow Charlotte was living in
Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticut. Two sons moved to Vermont.
23. John P. “Jackie” Eustice (1826-1900) was
born 17 May 1826 in the village of Troon near Camborne, Cornwall and was
christened at Camborne 20 May 1826. He married 5 Feb 1846 at Redruth
parish to Mary Ann Trevena, daughter of Henry and Ann (Ivey) Trevena, by whom he had Ann born
in Gwennap 23 Sep 1846. John’s first wife
died and he married her sister Eliza, as his second wife. By
Eliza
Trevena, he had a son, John Henry born 6 Sep 1850. Sometime after the
1851 census, John left England for America and his second wife and
daughter Ann followed later.
Family tradition says that the second wife died at sea
and
that Ann was taken in by some fellow passengers for a few years before
reuniting with her father. The 1851 census of Gwennap parish includes John Eustice, a miner, age 24, wife Eliza age 23
born Redruth, daughter Ann age 4 and son John age 7 months, both born in
Gwennap. Also in the household is lodger, John Trevena age 18 born in
Redruth. John soon left for America and was followed later by his wife
and daughter. Family tradition says that this wife died at sea. By the
1860 census, John was a miner in Polk County, Tennessee (surname
misspelled Ustell) with his third wife, Susan 23 born in North Carolina,
14 year old Ann born in England and Mary 4 and Matilda 2, both born in
Tennessee. John and Susan are believed to have divorced. John married
about 1862 as his fourth wife, Lucinda Ricketts and had at least 10 more
children in Polk County. Polk County was the location of the Copper
Basin which at the time had the largest metal mining operation in the
southeastern United States. Sometime after 1880 the family moved to
Hamilton County, Tennessee. John died there 4 Jul 1900 and Lucinda died
in 1941. Both are buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery, Soddy,
Tennessee.
24. Thomas Eustice (1811-1858) was born 9
Oct 1811 in Phillack parish, Cornwall and christened there 24 Nov, son
of John and Elizabeth (Roscrow/Roscoe) Eustice. Thomas married 23 Mar
1837 at Phillack to Susan Ley who was born in Cornwall 20 Aug 1819.
They had two daughters (Eliza and Jane) in England before Thomas left
for America about 1846. Susan and the children followed in 1849,
arriving at New York Harbor on 5 May aboard the bark Marquis of Chandos
which had sailed from the port of Hayle in Cornwall. Thomas and Susan
settled in Jo Daviess County, Illinois had another child, John. Susan
died in 1852 and Thomas in 1858.
25. William Eustice (1845-1893+) was born 20
Apr 1845 in Polladias, Breage parish, Cornwall, son of John and Rosina
(Allen) Eustis. He married Mary Jane Williams and had one child in
England before leaving for America about 1871. He settled in Morris
County, New Jersey where he worked as a mining engineer and had at least
10 more children. He probably died between 1893 and 1900. His mother
died in 1857 and his father remarried that same year to Mrs. Mary Ann
(Jeffery) Prideaux. The father and step mother and family came to New
Jersey for a short time around 1870, but soon returned to England. They
lived in Lancashire, where Mary Ann died in 1884 and John in 1899.
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