Exploring Cornish families far and wide

The project team of volunteers under the supervision of Dr Kayleigh Milden (CAVA) are investigating the cultural significance of family stories and customs that have been passed down through several generations.

Extensive work has already been conducted resulting in over 50 recordings with families throughout Cornwall talking about the different ways they relate to Cornwall. The recordings that can be heard at the conference reflect the experiences of families who have lived in the area for generations as well as families who have moved to Cornwall and those that also have a strong sense of spiritual belonging.

A new collection of audio and video recordings is being complied and will result in the production of five DVDs about Cornish identity, family and kinship. The DVDs will be divided into the themes of work, religion, politics, leisure and migration and will eventually be made available to libraries and schools.

The conference reflects the huge interest in family history over recent years. It expands this interest by asking questions about how people contrast family and kinship down the ages to the present and what family actually means to different people. Oral Historian Dr Milden, said ‘This is very appropriate in Cornwall, where there is a strong sense of kinship that can encompass both people who have migrated into Cornwall and those who have emigrated away from the homeland. To this day many Cornish descendants are very passionate about belonging to this global 'Cornish Family'.’

Old family photographs left in the bottom draws or in the attic can be brought along to the conference to shed some light on the history behind them by professional Photographic Historian Audrey Linkman from the Open University. She will be unravelling the social history and identifying what the photographs tell us about issues such as social class and the contemporary milieu. Audrey will also provide advice to delegates at the conference on how to deconstruct their family photos by considering elements such as dress, lighting and poise, and how all this can tell us more about the story behind family photographs.

Academics from the Cornish Studies programme at the University of Exeter’s Tremough Campus, including Dr Bernard Deacon and Dr Anna Green, will give presentations on their research into Cornish identity, memory and family accounts of life in Cornwall. The renowned Cornish author E.V.Thompson, will also be a speaker at the conference, talking on the topic of 'The Family in Fiction and Fact'. The day will also explore the variety of methods that people can use to learn more about family history, such as oral tradition, music, and literature. The theme of narrative of family and kinship will be explored at the conference by Dr Garry Tregidga. A film presentation of archive footage by The South West Film & Television Archive, relating to locations including St Agnes and Bodmin Moor will be shown giving a fascinating insight into family life in 1960’s Cornwall. There will also be stalls from organisations including the Rescorla Project, the Royal Cornwall Museum, Equality and Diversity Service, Cornwall Centre and 'Little Moscow', a research project led by Veronica Kelly, a CAVA Volunteer Outreach Officer, about the political identity of a community of railway workers in Truro.

Local residents are encouraged to attend the free conference at on Saturday 16 August at the County Hall in Truro. Dr Milden is keen to expand the increasing interest in local culture, kinship and families, she said ‘Being a oral historian, I also hope that delegates will leave the conference eager to get hold of some recording equipment and start recording members of their own family straight away!’