What a couple of days I have had. It was rainy and cool here so a perfect time to spend a bit of time on the family tree chasing my family history and genealogy.
Kernow and St. Pirin Forever!
For fun, I did a bit of work on my own line, the Phillipps family. I decided it was time for me to delve deeper than I had. So far I was into the 1600′s when my family was in the parish of St. Teath, Cornwall. What a bunch of pleasant surprises awaited me. More questions and leads than answers, but that is the fun of the chase!
The Parish Church and graveyard in St. Teath Cornwall
If you have followed my personal genealogy journey here and at the Onward To Our Past Facebook page (special thanks to the over 6,100 fans out there who follow by the way), you know I am a mix of Bohemian on my mother’s side and Cornish on my father’s side. Both deep and long in Bohemia and Cornwall. This is why you will find the Bohemia and Czech Genealogy and Cornish Genealogy pages here. Whoops, better not forget my Italian Genealogy page too …. as my wife is 100% Italian!
I have done considerable work on my Bohemian/Czech roots, my wife’s Italian family, but had not really done a great amount on my own Phillips line. This is due in large part to the fact that there are many more members of our extended family from other branches than the small Phillips branch …. which could be the smallest of them all.
So I figured it was high time I spent some time in Cornwall! Back in St. Teath, St. Minver, St. Breock, and a few other adjoining and not so adjoining Parishes. The interactive mapping site of the Cornwall Council is a nifty site to use to view Parishes and you can zoom in for some wonderful detail! And of course I use the Cornwall Online Parish Clerks (genealogy) all the time!
My primary source of information for this effort was the Cornwall Record Office, or CROCAT for short (Cornwall Records Office Catalog).
The Old County Hall, Truro, Cornwall
First, let me say that the staff there are first rate! I have now had interactions with three of the Archive staff and they have been fantastic to a one!
I cannot endorse strongly enough the importance of wills, deeds, indentures, and probate documents for your genealogy work, especially as you get father back in time.
One example I will show you here ….
Craddock Phillips Will showing wonderful names and even signatures
As you can see from the above there are some truly amazing aspects to this will. Not only are there names of family, but there are even signatures! What a wonderful find!
Then add to it that there was an inventory, which gives us a marvelous look into the life of this ancestral family at this time! The inventory might have been my favorite part of this package!
Craddock Phillips will inventory with values and amounts. A wonderful snapshot of life!
There are additional wills I am working on now. I am transcribing them so they can be included elsewhere for posterity and ease of understanding by others, so it is slower going, but they are truly marvelous! I love one I got from the 1600′s that was on parchment. Many holes and missing pieces due to folding over the centuries, but wow what a thrill to be able to look at and read!
I have now discovered a whole generation that exclusively used the spelling Phillippe and were in St. Neot as well, so I am heading to that parish now too and in the 1500′s. Found my first wills for these ancestors, so they are on order as of a few moments ago! Can’t wait!
Trenant Chapel in St. Neot Parish, Cornwall …. my next stop!
So …. as I said, more leads, more questions and lots to work on as I move Onward To Our Past!
Enjoy this wonderful day ….. Cinco de Mayo, the Kentucky Derby, (my son’s birthday), and the Super Moon!
Scott
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