| Ordinary family
names for the Cornish were mostly based on occupations, nicknames,
the place where they lived, or often, the first name of the
father. Some of this information will be translated by our
cartographers into map form, showing population shifts over
time – whether from Cornwall into England and Wales,
or overseas to the Americas,Australasia and South Africa during
the Great Migration of the nineteenth century. Original mapping
will be an integral part of the book. Creative work on the
page design and illustrations for the book is well advanced
and will continue for the next three months until the book
is ready for the printer. While the text has been written
by Bernard and his team, Cornwall Editions’ editors
have researched the images to illustrate the book. The resources
of local, national and international libraries have been used
to find the most interesting and attractive photographs, paintings
and illustrations to complement the text. The media in Cornwall
have already taken an interest in Bernard Deacon’s research.
Tim Hubbard interviewed Bernard on BBC Radio Cornwall; Nigel Pengelly
published an article by Bernard in the October 2003 issue
of Cornish World; |
a number of the local newspapers around
the county have taken up the theme. It is clear that people’s
interest in family roots continues to grow and that Bernard’s
approach - setting the present and the future in the context
of family structures of the past - strikes resonant chords.
The Cornish Family breaks some new ground in this respect,
in that it does not focus its attention solely on the discovery
of family history and the intertwining of the branches of
family trees, engaging as this study is, but asks some fundamental
questions about why such a study is ever more important. If
you haven’t already ordered a copy for yourself, or
as a gift for a family member or friend, simply visit our
website - www.cornwalleditions.co.uk or write to one of the
addresses overleaf. The Cornish Family is not only a significant
work of new research and writing but will be the cornerstone
of a collection of finelyproduced, beautifully bound volumes.
In forthcoming Cornwall Editions newsletters, we will begin
to set out some details of the titles we are now planning,
in the hope that you will join us in developing this unique
collection. |
Many people responded to the questionnaire
we sent out a few months ago and we thank all of you who did.As
our way of saying thank you, we made a small offering of a
print by Mary Fedden RA, who is often inspired by Cornish
themes and landscapes. We received a charming letter from
one of the winners of the prints, and she has kindly allowed
us to reproduce it here: