From Cornwall They Came:
Following the decline of the mining
industry in the mid 1800’s, many Eustis, Eustice & Eustaces from Cornwall took
their mining skills to the USA, Canada,
Australia and elsewhereCornwall
located in the extreme southwestern part of England, is bounded on the north and
northwest by the Atlantic Ocean and the south and southwest by the English
Channel. The County of Devon borders on the east. As early as the 17th Century,
the village of Crowan in Cornwall developed into a thriving mining town where
the Eustis/Eustice/Eustace family became very evident.
Cornwall was the most important metal
mining county in the entire United Kingdom. In fact, it had the longest history
of continuous production and a total value of output that dwarfed its nearest
rivals.
While having immense copper and tin
deposits, Cornwall produced a wider range of minerals than any other district
(it was the only source of some of the rarest minerals) and was the only region
to see large-scale mining continuing down to recent times.
Lead and silver deposits, which dominated the non-ferrous mining of the Pennines
and Wales, were less plentiful but Cornwall briefly claimed England’s largest
single lead mine — East Wheal Rose — in the mid-1840s. Together with associated
districts, Cornwall produced nearly all of the England’s tin and arsenic and
most of its copper.
The tin from Cornwall has been mined
and worked since the Bronze Age. One of the largest tin mines was located near
Camborne, where many family members lived. Copper mines are located in the St.
Just and Carn Brea regions. In 1851, the mines of Devon and Cornwall were
estimated to produce one-third of the copper mined in Europe.
During the eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries, Cornwall pioneered deep mining and steam pumping
technology and its miners and managers were eagerly welcomed in mining districts
throughout the world.
For a number of reasons, the Cornish mining industry began to collapse in the mid to late 19th Century. Though some remained in Cornwall, many Eustice, Eustis and Eustace namesakes scattered all over the world where their mining skills were in strong demand.