William and Elizabeth Clemo's grave at Phillack

William was a master mariner and according to the 1891 census, had servants look after him and his family. Here's the entry:
19,Commercial Rd,
William J Clemo, Head, M ,47,,Master Seas Mariner, Employed, Newquay Cornwall,,
Elizabeth R Clemo,Wife,M,,49,,,Hayle Cornwall,,
Mary Clemo,Dau,S,,25,Draper's Assistant, Employed, Hayle Cornwall,,
Bessie Clemo,Dau,S,,19,Draper's Assistant, Employed, Hayle Cornwall,,
Julia Clemo,Dau,S,,17,Milliner's Assistant, Employed, Hayle Cornwall,,
Richard Clemo,Son,S,15,,Engineer Apprentice, Employed, Hayle Cornwall,,
Clarice Clemo,Dau,,,11,Scholar,,Hayle Cornwall,,
Stanley Clemo,Son,,10,,Scholar,,Hayle Cornwall,,
Elizabeth J Mitchell,Servnt,S,,42,General Servant, Employed, Hayle Cornwall,,

(Elizabeth (Bessie) Clemo was born on 23rd Nov 1871 and baptised at Phillack on the 8th Feb 1872)

After Elizabeth died he moved back to Newquay. Here he is in 1901:
1901 Census Newquay
RG 13 /2207 folio 21 page 34

Newquay, parish St. Columb minor.
Bank Street.
William CLEMO head/wid/57/retired master mariner/Newquay
Mary G CLEMO dau/single/35/Hayle
Bessie CLEMO dau/single/29/Hayle
Julia CLEMO dau/single/26/Hayle
Clarissa CLEMO dau/single/21/Hayle
Jane MITCHELL servant/single/50/gen. domestic/Hayle
Annie CARHARRICK? servant/single/27/housemaid/Crantock
Richard STEPHENS boarder/34/auctioneer manager/St. columb minor
Frederick H GEACH boarder/wid/65/living on own means/Bodmin

None of his daughters had found husbands- and neither had his servant Elizabeth Jane Mitchell. The records show that they died as follows
Burial at Phillack
CLEMO Elizabeth Richards 51 Penpol Terrace Hayle 14-Jul 1893
CLEMO William John 73 Treglyn Higher Town Road Newquay 8-Feb 1917 (Born 1844)

After a quick check on Google maps and streetview, it's clear that this entry should read Higher Tower Street, which is a shortish street of Victorian/Edwardian houses, now mostly B&Bs.

The grave is a pretty high status memorial but 100 years of exposure to the sea air is taking its toll

Charles and Annie Clemo's grave

After searching Phillack churchyard for almost an hour I managed to find the grave of my great great granfather Charles and of his wife Annie. Phillack is perched on the landward side of Hayle Towans a huge range of dunes that line St Ives bay in Cornwall. This may account for the unevenness of the ground.

John Clemo of St Columb Minor

I decided it was time to search for my ancestors on the Clemo side of the family.

After much searching I found this entry in the St Columb Minor Registry for 1841

1841 Census St Columb Minor

Newquay, 1, Josias Sleeman, 35, Mariner, In county,

Johanna Sleeman, 30, In county,

Agness Sleeman, 5, In county,

Robert Sleeman, 3, In county,

John Clemow, 25, Mason, in county,

Thomas Jane, 70, Navy Half Pay, In county,

John Clemow was Charles’ grandfather. He was a stone mason, single and boarding with a family in Newquay. There was a lot of work for a mason in those days. The work was hard and he would have apprenticed for seven years before setting out on his own. Many of the towns and all the industrial buildings in Cornwall were built of stone. Who knows which buildings were constructed from stones shaped by his hands?

After more searching I found him again in the 1851 census, still in St Columb Minor

1851 Census St Columb Minor

 Jno. Clemow, Head, M, 40, Journeyman Mason, Newlyn East Cornwall, (John)

Elizth. Clemow, Wife, M, 31, St Columb Minor Cornwall, (Elizabeth)

William Clemow, Son, 7, Scholar, St Columb Minor Cornwall,

Chs. Clemow, Son, 6, Scholar, St Columb Minor Cornwall, (Charles)

Jno. Clemow, Son, 3, Scholar, St Columb Minor Cornwall, (John)

Hy. Clemow, Son, 1, St Columb Minor Cornwall, (Henry)

He was by now married to Elizabeth and already had 4 children. I couldn’t find an entry for his marriage so enlisted the help on the Online Parish Clerk by email. Within a couple of hours he very kindly sent me the missing link

John Clemo [mason] of Church Town, Father John [a joiner] married Elizabeth Glanville of Church Town father William [a labourer] on 14 January 1843 at St Columb Minor

John’s eldest two sons William and Charles both went to sea. Perhaps it was the changing fortunes of the mining industry that brought that about. John himself lodged with a sailor’s family in 1841, so that may be how they started. The next we hear is when the oldest son William got married in St Erth

Wedding on 22-Aug 1865 

William John Clemo aged 23 bachelor occupation mariner of Hayle in St Erth; father John, occupation mason,

Married

Elizabeth Richards Champion aged 24spinster of Carnisers, St Erth, father Thomas occupation labourer. Witnesses R H Champion, Ann Champion

Not to be outdone, Charles married Elizabeth’s sister five years later.

Wedding on 21-Nov 1871 

Charles Clemo full bachelor sailor St Erth (father) John Clemo mason

Married

Ann Champion full spinster St Erth (father) Thomas Champion porter

Witnesses Elizabeth Clemo Thomas Champion

Both brothers settled in Hayle. William became a master mariner, probably skippering one of Harvey’s fleet of ships.

Triumph and tragedy

I've spent the last few weeks going through the information that I've discovered, writing the story up to the turn of the century and filling in the gaps in my knowledge. Along the way I found Charles Reginald Clemo's name on the Naval Memorial in Plymouth (it was there all along), and traced the Clemo side of the family back to John Clemo, a mason who lived in Newquay in 1841. I doubt if I'll go back earlier than that.

Over Christmas I learned that my uncle Peter had been diagnosed with cancer of the throat. He was the last link with the past and I contacted my cousin to ask various questions so that I could piece together the various fragments of knowledge with some certainty.
Last weekend I resolved to go and see him. I'd heard that he'd lost some weight but was in good spirits. My son Chris drove me down to Cornwall and we stayed at the White Hart Hotel in Hayle, which was my father's local back in the 1950s. We visited and photographed many sites that are central to my story and we were lucky to spend a couple of hours with my uncle on the Saturday. The following day I visited St Erth and took some pictures before spending some time searching for a grave in Phillack churchyard.
Having found what I was looking for, I decided to call in to see my uncle before the long drive home. We called in and spent a few minutes looking at the photos I'd taken.
We were just about to say goodbye when he collapsed. My son and I performed CPR on him while the ambulance and a motor cycle medic made their way to the house. They spent some time trying to revive him but to no avail. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

My son was very shaken by the experience and it was a long drive home for us both.