I came across the Cornish Cousins while net-surfing a few months ago and found out they'd be meeting in Grass Valley, CA in July this year, only about 3 hours from where we live. We had a conflict, but signed up anyway and went to the last two days, not knowing what to expect. We had a great time--I didn't know that there was a relatively large settlement of Cornish miners nearby. We had people from all over, including Australia and Cornwall. Highlights for me: hearing Philip Payton talk on A. L. Rowse, and getting a chance to meet Payton afterward. I have learned a lot from his books. Another was the seminar on the Bards and Gorsedd by Grand Bard Vanessa Beeman. Then there was the one-hour romp through 3,500 years of Cornish history.
In nearby Nevada City at the Doris Foley Library there is the A. C. Todd Cornihs Studies Collection and the Nevada County Genealogical Collection. I found some useful books there, and a couple of new stories about my Hornblower relatives. We also visited a couple of the mining museums including the Empire Mine. There is a Cornish Pump operating at the North Star Powerhouse. (It's just for demonstration, and works with a water wheel rather than a steam engine.)
We tried the local pasties and decided that the real ones we had last summer in Cornwall were much better. Overall, the Cornish Cousins did a great job.
