Why Cousin Jack?

“Where there’s a mine or a hole in the ground
That’s what I’m heading for that’s where I’m bound
So look for me under the lode and inside the vain
Where the copper, the clay, the arsenic and tin
Run in your blood and under your skin
I’ll leave the county behind I’m not coming back
Oh follow me down cousin Jack”
Cornwall lost over a quarter of a million people between 1841 and 1901. The emigrants included farmers, merchants and tradesmen, but miners made up most of the numbers. In each decade from 1861 to 1901, around 20% of the Cornish male population migrated abroad. As skilled miners with their ancient heritage of mining in Cornwall, they sought fortune on the mining fields of the British Colonies and the Americas. They were the best in the world.
Why Cousin Jack?
Some say that Cornish miners became known as ‘cousin jack’ because they were always asking for a job for their cousin Jack back at home. Others think it was because the miners used to call each other ‘cousin’ and Jack (John) was the most popular Christian name in Cornwall.