Cornish Americans

Cornish Americans(Cornish:Amerikanyon gernewek)areAmericanswho describe themselves as havingCornish ancestry, an ethnic group ofBrittonic Celtsnative toCornwalland theScilly Isles, part of England in the United Kingdom. Although Cornish ancestry is not recognized on theUnited States Census,Bernard Deaconat theInstitute of Cornish Studiesestimates there are close to two million people of Cornish descent in the U.S., compared to half a million in Cornwall itself and only half of those Cornish by descent.
Cornish surnamesand personal names remain common, and are often distinct from English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Manx names, although there is a similarity to the related Welsh and Breton names in many instances. Similarly, the majority of place names in Cornwall are still Brittonic. TheCornish languagehad died out as a primary spoken language by the end of the 18th century, but a revival of the tongue has been ongoing since the early 20th century.
Tangier Islandis an island in lowerChesapeake BayinVirginia: some inhabitants have aWest Countryaccent that traces back to the settlers (including the Cornish) who arrived there in the 1600s.
The coincidence of the decline of themining industryinCornwallin the 19th century and the discovery of large amounts of mineral deposits abroad meant that Cornish families headed overseas for work. Each decade between 1861 and 1901, a fifth of the entire Cornish male population migrated abroad – three times the average for England andWales. In total, the county lost over a quarter of a million people between 1841 and 1901.
Large numbers of Cornish people moved to the United States, and while some stayed in New York City and otherEast Coastports after arriving, many moved inland to mining areas inCalifornia,Wisconsin,PennsylvaniaandMichigan. One such area wasMineral Point, Wisconsin, in which the largest group of immigrants were Cornish miners attracted to the lead mining opportunities, and by 1845 roughly half of the town's population had Cornish ancestry.Today theCornishtown ofRedruthis twinned with Mineral Point.
Mineral Point, WisconsinservesCornish food, such aspastiesand figgyhobbin,and Cornish pasties are sold at ex-Cornish mining towns in America, especially inButte, Montanaand theUpper Peninsula of Michigan.
InCalifornia, statues and monuments in many towns pay tribute to the influence of the Cornish on their development.In the city ofGrass Valley, the tradition of singing Cornish carols lives on and one local historian of the area says the songs have become "the identity of the town". Some of the members of today's Cornish Carol Choir are in fact descendants of the original Cornish gold miners. The city holdsSt Piran's Daycelebrations every year, which along with carol singing, includes aflagraising ceremony, games involving the Cornish pasty, andCornish wrestlingcompetitions.The city is twinned withBodminin Cornwall.
Cornish culture continues to have an influence in theCopper Countryof northernMichigan, theIron Rangesof northern Michigan, Wisconsin andMinnesota, andButte, Montana.
There were many famousCornish wrestling championsfrom the U.S.including many world champions.
Cornish immigrant miners are depicted in the TV seriesDeadwood, speaking theirnative language, even though Cornish had died out in the 18th century before a revival in the 20th century; the actors in the relevant scenes are, in fact, speakingIrish, a fellow Celtic language, but not mutually intelligible as Irish/Gaelic is from a different branch of theCeltic languages, whereas Cornish being much closer to, and a part of the same branch, as the still thrivingWelshandBreton, and the now extinct Brittonic languages of Great Britain such asCumbricandPictish.
Legends of the Fall, a novella by American authorJim Harrison, detailing the lives of a Cornish American family in the early 20th century, contains several Cornish language terms. These were also included in the Academy Award-winning film of the same name starringAnthony Hopkinsas Col. William Ludlow andBrad Pittas Tristan Ludlow.
Several notable Americans were either born in Cornwall or have family connections to the county.