South Wheal Frances · AditNow Community

Mine exploration, photographs and mining history for mine explorers, industrial archaeologists, researchers and historians

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Miriam
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

16 years ago

Hello,

I believe that my great-great-grandfather, Abraham James, was manager of South Wheal Frances mine in the latter part of the 19th century. I would love to know if there are any archives with photographs of the mine in those days. I live in Essex now, but am planning a trip back to Cornwall in 2009 to do some genealogical excavation. I'd be very grateful for any suggestions of where to start digging. :flowers:

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Roy Morton
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Hi Miriam, and welcome to the site.
South Frances has always been a favourite place for me. this is one of the only old photos I have available at present. Doubtless you will be furnished with many others once your post has been picked up. You are in good hands here as far as finding a knowledge base.
It's like a second home here. 🙂

🔗Personal-Album-342-Image-132[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-132[/linkphoto][/link]

"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"

stuey
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqSearch= ((text)='south%20frances')

Cornwall Record Office is a good one.

They may be a bit skinny though. I rate the books "Cornwall's central mining district" Northern and Southern, off the top of my head, this is about as good as you will get from a "what happened at the mine". For pictures, I reckon the Bullen series of books are pretty good for info.

That's all I can think of.

Somewhere on the interweb is a newspaper archive you can sign up for (all the papers before 1900) which allows you to do a search. Someone will be able to help and this is an enormous database.

HTH

carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Hi Miriam
You could have a look here regarding papers and pop into the Cornish Studies Centre in Redruth to research it. You can also do the genealogical stuff there as well.

http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/mhn/Newspaper1.htm

Studies Centre.

http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6773

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Probably of no particular interest to anyone but I suspect Abraham James may have been a Mine Agent rather than a Captain.
There is an Abraham James age 54 in the 1881 census living in Bullers Row and he appears again in the 1871 census living in Bond St., Redruth. He was born in Gwennap and was listed in both as Tin and Copper mine agent. Not found as yet in the 1891 census. Just a thought.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

Miriam
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

16 years ago

Thankyou to all who have replied so promptly. I'll let you know how I get on.

Merry Christmas! 🙂