cornwall england newspaper


Snippets by LaVelda



The Daily Miner, Butte, Montana, 12 Oct 1883 "Free Advertising" - "Penzance, England, Oct. 11. -- A reward of 50 lbs is offered for the recovery, alive, of WILLIE DICKINSON, a boy stolen from his home in Wisconsin, in November, 1881, and brought to Cornwall."


Grand Traverse Herald, Traverse City, Michigan, 18 Oct 1883 - "A reward of 500 lbs is offered for the recovery alive of WILLIE DICKENSON, a boy stolen from his home in Wisconsin, in November, 1881, and brought to Cornwall, England." [Note: Notice the difference in the reward in the two abstracts. I bet one of the newspapers put one too many zeros or one too less. I wonder which one was correct. 500 lbs in 1881 would be an awful lot of money! Also notice the difference in the spelling of the last name.]


The Daily Miner, Butte, Montana, 13 Jan 1885 "THE WRONG SIGNAL" - "A Miner in the Star of the West Nearly Loses His Life" - "Early yesterday morning a painful and nearly fatal accident occurred in the Star of the West mine, in which RICHARD OLDS, of Cornwall, England, nearly lost his life. OLDS and his partner on shift had just entered the bucket, wherein had been placed the drills used during the night, and gave the signal to hoist. The one who gave the signal was thinking of something else, and rang one bell only, which informs the engineer that dirt, tools, or the empty bucket is to be raised, three bells being the signal when men are on board. The engineer started the engine quickly, but, as this article will show, with most distressing results. No quicker had the signal rope been pulled, then OLD's partner, recognizing the mistake, sprang from the bucket and again seizing the rope signaled a stop, which was made. As this man left the bucket, it was tipped to one side and took OLDS with it and against the side of the shaft. His shoulder came in contact with some of the timber and he was forced downward, striking one of the upright drills, which entered the canal about twelve inches, tearing away the internal cross structures and severely lacerating the bladder. The bucket was lowered, MR. OLDS assisted to alight, and the deadly instrument taken out by his comrade, after which both men got into the bucket and were hoisted to the surface. DR. WHITFORD was immediately sent for and after his arrival, had the man conveyed to the Miner's Hospital, where everything which science could suggest was done for the wounded man, who, by this time was suffering the most intense and agonizing pain. During the day and up to 12 o'clock last night, constant attention has been paid the patient, but his wounds are of such a serious and internally dangerous character that nothing short of a miracle can save his life."


Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 18 March 1893 "The Babe Alive In the Coffin" - "An extraordinary incident is reported from Gunnislake in Cornwall. MRS. LEAN, wife of the landlord of the Tavistock hotel, gave birth to her tenth child, and she subsequently died. The doctor gave it as his opinion that the baby would not live, and soon afterward the relatives applied to him for a certificate saying that it had succumbed. The little one was placed in its mother's arms, and the coffin was screwed down. On Saturday, when preparations were being made for the funeral, the husband was startled by hearing the cry of a child. The undertaker was sent for, and on opening the coffin found that the baby was alive. Later the same day the child was once more pronounced to be dead, but the doctor would not permit of its being buried and ordered it to be wrapped in blankets for a few days. ----Glasgow Mail."


The Deming Headlight, Deming, New Mexico, 9 May 1903 "A letter was received at this office last Thursday from MR. HENRY SIMMONS, of Cornwall, England, stating that he had read an account of the death and burial of the late WILLIAM COTTON in a copy of the "Headlight" which goes to that town. A letter to MR. A. J. CLARK was enclosed and probably contained important items regarding MR. COTTON."


The Fresno Republican, Fresno, California, 28 July 1877 - "The whaleboat NEW BEDFORD, which made a daring voyage across the Atlantic, arrived at Mound's Bay, Cornwall, Saturday night. CAPT. CRAPO and his wife landing at Penzance July 22d. They encountered three gales, lost some of their clothing and were obliged to lay to for fifteen days. CAPT. CRAPO's left hand is entirely useless through constant steering."


The Fresno Republican, Fresno, California, 2 June 1883 "DR. A. J. PEDLAR returned from Gilroy Wednesday evening, where he had been called to the death-bed of his aged father, whose demise occurred on last Sunday. JONAH PEDLAR, the deceased, was a native of Cornwall, England, and came to the United States when he was sixteen years of age. He had been a resident of this state since 1852. His remains were taken to Woodland for interment, that being his former home and the residence of his eldest son, F. A. PEDLAR."


Weekly Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada, 29 Oct 1892 "Died From His Injuries" - "Grass Valley, October 24 - THOMAS RULE, who was caved on in the Empire mine last Saturday, died today from his injuries. He was for a long time a citizen of this place and one of the best of miners, aged 56 years and a native of CORNWALL, England. He leaves a wife and a number of grown children."


Weekly Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada, 3 Dec 1892 "An Apalling Accident" - "Two Miners Blown to Atoms in the Kenosha Tunnel, Virginia City" "Virginia Chronicle: This morning about 10 o'clock news was brought to town that a fearful accident had occurred in the Kenosha tunnel workings at the Sierra Nevada mine, and that two men had been instantly killed. The details of the frightful accident, so far as could be learned, are as follows: BILLY HUGHES and ED NOTTLE, who were employed in the face of the Kenosha tunnel, which is 2,000 feet from the mouth, had drilled a set of holes which they were preparing to blast. They had gone in with the powder, fuse and caps, and had reached the face and placed the powder in two of the holes, when the explosion occurred which cost them their lives. When the doctors arrived they found the bodies of the men a short distance from the face of the tunnel, blown to pieces. Both of HUGHES' legs were blown off and scattered about, one of the feet being found twenty feet away from where the explosion occurred, and the form of NOTTLE was mutilated also almost beyond recognition. Life was extinct when the doctors arrived. How the accident occurred is a matter of conjecture.

J. F. MCDONELL, who was on the same shift and went in with the men, had gathered the tools from the face of the tunnel, leaving the men to charge the holes, and had reached the station 300 feet away when the explosion occurred. the force of the concussion threw him against the side of the drift.

How the accident occurred will probably always be a mystery. An examination of the face of the tunnel after the catastrophe disclosed the fact that two of the holes had been charged with powder, but not tamped, and no fuse had been attached. The face of the tunnel was intact and the powder in the holes could be plainly seen after the two miners were lying cold in death. The supposition is that the explosion occurred from the men dropping the snuff of a candle in the powder with which they were working, or else a giant cap was stepped upon which caused the powder to explode. The matter will always remain an unsolved mystery.

The men who so unexpectedly lost their lives are well known in this city and elsewhere. BILLY HUGHES, one of the unfortunates, was a member of the last Assembly from this county, and universally esteemed. He was a native of New York, aged 36 years, a son-in-law of WM. SHULTZ, the tailor, of this city, and leaves a wife and child.

Expressions of sympathy are heard on every side at Billy's untimely death. An exemplary young man, devoted to wife and child, there are few who will not mourn with the widow and fatherless. ED. NOTTLE, the other victim of the unfortunate accident, had resided on the Comstock a score of years. He was a native of CORNWALL, England, aged 48 years. He leaves a wife and four children."


Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, Illinois, 4 December 1873 "MR. VERCOE, an English commercial traveler, was married to MISS HAWKE at St. Columb, CORNWALL, on October 27. The same afternoon he brought his wife home to Plymouth. Soon after reaching his home he was attacked with an alarming illness, and in spite of prompt medical attendance he died on the following afternoon of acute bronchitis."


The Arizona Republican, Phoenix, Arizona, 27 May 1893 'Killed In A Montana Mine" - "Great Falls, Mont., May 26. --- A dispatch from Neihart, a mining camp fifty miles from this city, says that MARTIN MCHUGH, a station tender in the Moulton mine, was caught between the cage and the wall plate and instantly killed this morning. He was working at the 300-foot station and had rung a call to hoist the cage, and when the engineer answered the call he was caught as above stated, breaking his back and receiving other injuries from which he died instantly. He was a Cornishman and had long been employed at the camp."


The Arizona Republican, Phoenix, Arizona, 19 Oct 1894 "AIR THROUGH A GAS PIPE - For Two Long Days Far Under Ground - A Cornish Miner at the Chandler Mine Has a Miraculous Escape From Death" "By the Associated Press. - DULUTH, Minn., Oct. 18. - JACK COWING, a Cornishman working in the Chandler mine, had a miraculous escape from death this week. There was a cave-in where he was working on a deep level, but, luckily, some timbers over him saved him from being instantly crushed and smothered. He was able to make himself heard by tapping the walls, and a gas pipe was driven down to him from the level above to furnish air. It took two days for the miners to get to him. He found his quarters rather chilly and he was a bit hungry, but otherwise fared well."


The Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston, West Virginia, 13 Dec 1922 - "JOHN DAVIS, a Cornish villager, last week celebrated his second silver wedding anniversary. He claims to be the only Cornishman who ever lived 25 years with each of two wives. DAVIS is 92 years old."


Coshocton Daily Age, Coshocton, Ohio, 25 Oct 1909 "THEY WERE STUBBORN" - "A Story Illustrating the "Setness" of the Cornishman." "Your Cornishman can be very 'set" and stubborn. His determination of spirit is more remarkable than admirable at times, though it may be amusing. MR. HOOK, the late royal academician, was once, says MR. W. H. HUDSON in his book on the "Land's End." on the sands at Whitesand bay, working at a marine picture, when two natives came up and planted themselves just behind him. There was nothing the artist hated more than to be watched by strangers over his shoulders in this way, and pretty soon he wheeled around on them and angrily asked them how long they were going to stand there. His manner served to arouse their spirit, and they replied brusquely that they were going to stay as long as they thought proper. He insisted on knowing just how long they were going to stay there. To his annoyance, and by and by, after some more loud and angry discussion, one of them incautiously declared they would stand at that very spot for an hour. "Do you mean that?" shouted Hook, pulling out his watch. Yes, they returned, they would not stir one inch from that spot for an hour. "Very well," he said and pulled up his easel: then, marching off to a distance of thirty yards, he set it up again and resumed his painting. And there, within thirty yards of his back, the two men stood for one hour and a quarter, for, as they did not have a watch, they were afraid of going away before the hour had expired. Then they marched off."


The Elyria Republican, Elyria, Ohio, 21 Jan 1897 "Elyria's Social Circle"...MR. ED BOYNTON has returned from Cornwall, looking hale and hearty. All he lacks to make him a typical Cornishman is moleskin pants and hobnailed shoes. We welcome him back to the fold."


Freeborn County Standard, Albert Lea, Minnesota, 8 aug 1894 "Matt Mattson,a Finlander, was killed, and JAMES TIMLINSON, a Cornishman, had his thigh broken by a fall of earth at the Biwabik mine."


The Standard, Ogden, Utah, 23 Jan 1895 - 'Miner Killed at Bingham" - "Bingham, Jan. 22. -- At about 3:30 yesterday, there was a cave-in at the Old Jordan and South Galena mine at Bingham, by which NICHOLAS RULE, a man well known in all the mining camps of the west, lost his life. The coroner's jury rendered a verdict exonerating the company from all blame. Deceased was Cornishman, was about 45 years of age, and bore a most excellent reputation."


Weekly Gazette Stockman, Reno, Nevada, 9 July 1891 "WILLIAM ANGOVE was found dead in a chair in a Comstock saloon on the night of the Fourth. The deceased was a well known Cornishman, a miner and once a saloon keeper in Virginia City."


Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, Boise City, Idaho, 12 Jan 1882 "Tuesday, January 10, 1882" - "A Full Account of the Shooting of Barrett and the Lynching of Jennings, at Austin, Nevada" - "From the Lyon County Times" - "On the evening of the 12th, JOHN A. BARRETT and RICHARD JENNING had a difficulty at the International Hotel in Austin about taro checks. MR. BARRETT, who was a kind-hearted man and wanted no trouble, invited JENNINGS to take a drink. Both walked to the bar together. BARRETT then turned to speak to some other person, and was shot in the back by JENNINGS, who had drawn a self-cocking revolver. The ball struck BARRETT's spine between the shoulders. He fell to the floor paralyzed, and died almost instantly. A doctor was quickly called, but BARRETT was beyond help. It appears that JENNINGS fired three shots; one ball killing BARRETT, another lodging in the wall of the bar-room, while the third was a close call upon a printer named TRIPLETT, who was standing by. JENNINGS was immediately disarmed and taken to jail by Deputy Sheriff Parish. A Coroner's inquest was held on Tuesday morning. A widespread sympathy is felt for Mrs. Barrett , who is an adopted daughter of ex-County Treasurer, JOSEPH GILBERT. MR. BARRETT was born in Cabais, Maine, and had recently retired from business, and was about to depart for Idaho. He leaves a much respected widow and two children. RICHARD JENNINGS is a miner, and a CORNISHMAN, and came to Austin from Grass Valley, California, about two weeks before the date of the shooting. He is reported to have a wife and several children. This cold blooded murderer was neither allowed his trial in Court nor hanged according to law.The jail was entered by masked men, well armed. They led out and hung JENNINGS from the balcony of the Court House. That he deserved death is beyond doubt. That a jury would have found him guilty of murder in the first degree is certain. That regular judicial proceedings are better than lynch law in a civilized community is the opinion of all good citizens; but in exceptional cases, like this of JENNINGS, public safety requires extraordinary measures, and a vigilance Committee may be justified. The particulars of the affair were sworn to before the Coroner's jury. There was talk on Tuesday about hanging the murderer of JOHN A. BARRETT, but not sufficient enough to alarm the authorities. The jailer, as usual, slept that night in the room next to the jail. He awoke about half-past one o'clock. He thought that he heard about a dozen persons in the hall of the court house, near the door that enters into his room. A sledge hammer smashed the door panels, and several men with masks of white cotton cloth entered his room. Four revolvers and a double-barrelled shot gun were leveled at him and the key of the jail demanded. They found it in his pocket and unlocked the jail door. All went to the prisoner's cell except the man who continued to cover the Jailer with the shot gun. The sledge hammer failing to open Jenning's cell, the bunch of cell keys was found after a search of the Sheriff's office. Then the doomed man was led, with a raw-hide lariat fitted to his neck, from his cell to the platform before the front door of the court house. The lariat neck-tie was attached to a hemp rope suspended from the balcony over the door. Before he was drawn up JENNINGS said: "Oh, my God, boys, I guess I deserve this." The masked men retired. Their work was done.

News that Jennings was hung spread among the saloons then open. A crowd gathered before the court house. Coroner Laughlin arrived, cut the raw-hide lariat and had the body taken into the Sheriff's office. A doctor was summoned, but on his arrival JENNINGS was pronounced dead. The verdict was in accordance with the facts. Thus an example had been made of JENNINGS, which will be a terror to evil doers. The pistol should not be drawn on trivial occasions, in petty quarrels. Let shooting of good and popular citizens by bad men, without cause, be forever stopped by taking a lesson from JENNING's punishment and he will not have been hung in vain."


Butte Miner, Butte, Montana, 9 Sept 1876 "The Nevada miners are mainly Cornishmen and Irishmen, about equally divided, and between them there is a constant feud. The latter are Catholics, while the exiles from Cornwall are Protestants. They fight often, but not in the mines, as the law of Nevada fixes a fine of $500 for the offence of fighting underground. The reason for this heavy penalty is apparent. Dangerous tools are lying about everywhere in profusion, and when a quarrel comes to blows in a mine, it is liable to be a bloody one. as a class, the miners of all nationalities are steady, hard-working men, dressing and living well. Their labor is severe, but the hours are short. Each mine works three shifts of eight hours each. - Mining Review."


The Daily Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 30 aug 1878 "MARTIN BRENT(? or BENNETT - can't read - letters are smeared) received a letter from THOMAS PASCOE yesterday, dated Bodmin, Cornwall, aug. 13th, pretty fair time from "across the ditch". The health of MRS. PASCOE is improving."


The Daily Miner, Butte, Montana, 29 nov 1881 "From a special to the Salt Lake Tribune we learn that a miner named HENRY BRAY was fatally mashed in the Great Basin mine on Thanksgiving Day, by a forty gallon barrel of water which fell on him. Deceased was a native of Cornwall and leaves a wife. The barrel was being hoisted by the winlass out of a winze on the seventh level of the mine."





[  Snippets Home  ]    [  West Briton Home  ]    [  Next  ]