J B Williams' Journey -
Leaving Europe

"Friday, 28th December, 1883 "....We went back to the women and asked them to go with us, which they declined to do until we told them we would get out our revolver and make them, which frightened them, so they soon got ready and went before us and put us to a place where we saw another Indian and we asked him to go on, but he declined until we said he should go. Then he went about 2 leagues with us to a place where they lodge metal from the mine..."

Not the words of a gun-toting cowboy, but an extract from the diary of my teetotal, local preacher, staunch Methodist grandfather, James Bennetts Williams, as he travelled over the Andes on his way to work in the Bolivian silver mines.

J.B.W. as he was know by everyone, even his wife, was born in 1856, the fifth child of William Williams, farmer, of St. Ewe and Caroline Bennetts of Polgooth, who bore him a total of eight children between 1849 and 1873. The first five were all born in St. Mewan, but after the birth of James there is a twelve year gap before the next, Ida, was born in 1868. She only lived four years but another girl, Caroline Adeline, was born in 1870 and a boy, Maurice, in 1873. The twelve year gap is probably explained by the seven years which William Williams spent working in America. There was a change of address some time after his return and the last two children were born in St.Agnes; perhaps by then there was then enough money to buy a farm.

James Bennetts Williams was short and stocky. His wife's family, the Prouts, on the other hand were mostly very tall and thin, and Mary Ann was noticeably taller than her husband. Later portraits of James show him as a stout, bearded patriarch, hard to equate with the Bolivian adventurer of his diaries and, as I copied out the fading 'indelible' pencil notes, I had to keep reminding myself that these were not the writings of an elderly pillar of the community, but of a young man of 27. Still with the beard though, like most of his contempories, because my mother remembered him telling her that on his journey over the Andes his beard often froze in the night.

In the 1871 Census return, J.B.W., then 14, is listed as a tin miner, but by 1881 he appears as a Grocer and Draper, and Local Methodist Preacher, of St. Agnes, and he evidently employed a 15-year old shop assistant. As Mary Ann's diaries record, he took his local preaching seriously and was a constant speaker at both Sunday Services and Prayer Meetings, often travelling many miles to preach at local chapels.

My mother records being told that her father was obliged to seek work abroad in order to pay off accumulated debts. With St. Agnes dependent on mining, which was at a low ebb, and with many of the men overseas and their families often destitute until money began to trickle back to them, a grocery business would be very likely to accumulate debts.

That J.B.W. was not the best of debt collectors we know, from plaintive letters Mary Ann wrote to her mother when, later on, they were running a shop in Brixham, Devon. It takes a stern and unyielding heart to keep a grocery business afloat when customers have no money.

In the 1860s the British mining industry had begun to suffer from the intense competition from mines which had been opening up in North and South America. Copper, tin and lead industries all over Europe were badly affected. Many of the best lodes in Cornwall, which in the 1830s had produced two-thirds of the world's copper, were nearing exhaustion and production by mid-century was down to a quarter. Even so, that was twice the value of the tin mined there at that time.

So Cornish miners headed for new worlds, and took with them their nose for metals and their skill at mining them. To exploit these rich new sources, machines from closing Cornish mines went too, and skilled engineers like Richard Trevithick, perhaps Cornwall's greatest inventor, went with them. All over the world Cornishmen were operating mines and when new hands were needed the Cornishman always had a Cousin Jack at home who would fit the bill. "Look down any mine shaft," the saying went, "and you'll find a Cousin Jack at the bottom of it!"

So, in September, 1883, J.B.W. left his new wife and five-month old daughter, Dora Ann, to the care of his in-laws and set sail. We don't know whether he kept a diary before that time; perhaps he had promised his wife, already a diary-keeper, that he would do so now. He kept it faithfully through the four years he was away, though sometimes it dwindled to "Nothing new to report" and occasionally there is an unexplained gap. It starts abruptly:

"Sept.24, 1883. Left St.Agnes about 6 am got to Truro about 7 and found several boys who were going out to the same place. Charlie Batten came on to Truro from Chacewater station and changed his ticket at Truro. A woman with 4 children came there from Rose, going to North America to her husband at Rheuben Penna - a great charge for one person. Aunt Mary met me at the station with some apples which we enjoyed very much. We got to Bristol all right but very late. Found brother Will and family waiting for me. He gave me some Spanish books and a pocket book and diary. The train did not stop many minutes. We went as far as Didcot and then changed trains and got so far as Oxford and changed again and got to Birkenhead station about half past 10pm and got across the ferry to Mr Puckey's about 11 and then made a good supper and went to bed feeling rather tired after the long journey. Did not go to sleep for some time but slept pretty well after."

JBW had probably never been out of Cornwall before.

It is clear that the family grapevine (still in operation today) had been at work and letters had been flying to and fro among the more distant members telling them what was happening. His eldest brother, Will, a writer in the Navy, was based in Bristol and friends had been lined up in Liverpool to host the voyagers.

The reason he chose Bolivia, rather than Mexico where two of Mary Ann's uncles had been working for many years, may have had something to do with the 'Mr Bennetts' mentioned previously. J.B.W.'s mother's maiden name was Bennetts, but he never mentions any relationship or claims any special privilege. Mr Bennetts is always treated with the respect due to an employer.

The travellers were up early next morning and took a walk as far as 'the Exchange' before breakfasting well on ham and eggs. They had another walk after that to explore the town, all except poor Charlie Batten, who had toothache, but he had recovered enough in the evening to go down to the docks with the others and watch the ferry and the 'City of Richmond', about to leave for New York. Then they returned to their lodgings and all wrote letters home.

"Sept 26/83 Got up just before 7am and took a walk up the street and bought a card to send home to my wife, then came home and had a good breakfast and went to see the Museum etc. and bought a cup to take with me. Finished my letter to my wife and then had dinner and got ready to go on board the Galicia. We went down the wharf about 3pm; the tender Manior took us out to the boat. We got ready and weighed anchor about 5.30, wind blowing strong, every indication of a rough night. We then went below and had supper, but we soon threw it all up again. I turned into my bed and stayed there all night. Got up early next morning, 27/83, and went on deck. The weather looks very dirty. Came down and had some soup but soon threw it up again. We are all pretty sick except two or three. Could not eat any dinner, feeling very sick. The young Scoble have not been out of his bunk. Went up on deck and lay down but it is too cold to stay long. Bell is ringing for supper but can't eat any. The boat is tossing very much. We all turned in early feeling pretty sick."

The weather stayed dull, rough and cold, with the Galicia "rolling very much" until 29th September when they sighted the French coast.

"We sighted land about 11am. We are getting nearer very fast, can see several lighthouses on the French coast. We are now sliding sweetly up the river (presumably the Loire or the Gironde), beautiful scenery on either side, houses and landscapes and trees of all sorts. The sun is shining brightly, quite warm. The water looks dirty. We have just been below and had some dinner. Have not been sick for the day. After dinner we anchored in the river. Several tug boats and tenders came alongside with passengers and luggage for Valparaiso. When the French came on board it was a complete babel and chatter, men, women and children. We stayed on deck until about 8pm when Charlie and I went below and turned in, but the rest stayed longer. Did not sleep well, what with taking in cargo and children crying, could scarcely sleep for the night.

The other boys were just the same. I could sleep better when she is at sea, tossing up and down. Sunday morning, 8.30am We got up about 7 but it was all confusion, men working on deck, women chattering, children screaming - so different from the sweet, quiet Sabbath we get at home when we could sing "This is the day of sacred rest, No mortal cares disturb our breast."

By mid afternoon they were steaming down river and out into the Bay of Biscay where "the wind freshened up a good bit, and the boat rolled very much". A very rough night followed.

"A heavy sea forced open one of the port holes in the room next to ours and swamped the place. We had to get out at 2 am to bail water. Our things were swimming around the room. Nothing very serious happened, only a good wetting. I put my slippers to dry on the stoke hole and they were carried off."

By the afternoon of the next day, 1st October, they were through the Bay of Biscay and sighted the Spanish coast, but the rough weather prevented them eating their dinners and they turned in early, which was fortunate because they were wakened very early next morning "by the clatter of the French and could not sleep after." They called at Vigo in brilliant sunshine, "the scenery looks beautiful and we have a plentiful supply of apples, grapes, pears and figs." The passengers by this time were a mixed lot, English, French, Spanish, Portugese and Italian with English in the minority. "The deck is full of passengers, a mixed multitude, some sick, others laughing, all sorts of fun."

By the 3rd October they were at Lisbon, taking in 150 tons of coal and water for the rest of the voyage, and all the Cornish boys wrote letters home. They also took on board:

"...a lot of beef and mutton and about a dozen bullocks to kill on the voyage, and one dozen horned sheep and 16 bulls to go to Buenos Ayres for fighting. It is time such proceedings were put a stop to, torturing the poor creatures... We have just had our tea on cold beef and raw onions."

As they sailed down the river there was scarcely room to move on deck, and there was a glorious sunset, followed by a beautiful evening.

"...There are four of us on deck under the boat, talking over things and about home, and the folks we left behind. It is good to think of home when far away on the deep blue sea."

The conditions under which steerage passengers traveled were appalling. There was no space for any time-passing activity, but J.B.W. never enjoyed being idle and soon found himself something to do.

"Oct.4, 1883, Thursday. We were awoke pretty early as usual with the noise of the crowd below. It was a sight never to be forgotten. About 300 passengers in the steerage, some in their bunks, some on boxes, some huddled together in any corner they could find. In fact one could scarcely find a place to put a foot without treading on someone. Could not compare it to anything but a farmyard, with occupants in every corner. By day on deck it is quite as bad. Charlie and I are here sitting in a quiet place, Charlie reading a tract and me writing. The sea is beautifully smooth, with a light breeze.... We have nothing to do but read or write or converse to pass our time away. I never had so much time on my hands before.

...I have just engaged to help the butcher to do some of his work, for which I have had the best dinner I have had since I have been on board. It is a treat to get a good meal. We had today roast leg of mutton, which I relished very much and felt the better for it..... After dinner I had a nice bit of fig pudding, then I cut up some turnips for the cattle and finished about 5 o'clock. I am getting on first rate. About 7pm I had a good supper and soon went to bed and slept well until the rest came about 11pm and woke me. Did not sleep well after. It was so hot. I got up about 4am and went on deck. It was beautifully cool and quiet."

From then on he rose at six every morning, cut up turnips and fed the bullocks, fixed the hen coops, or whatever else needed doing to care for the livestock, which included pheasants, possibly to supplement the menu for the Captain's table or first-class passengers, after which he was free until the afternoon. He was repaid by being well fed.

"...I have just had a good dinner of some beef steak and potatoes. I think I am very lucky to get this place as the other boys are complaining that their food is bad. I have very little to do. I feel better than lying down all day idle. ... Afternoon the butcher killed 3 Portugese and 3 English sheep and in the evening killed a bullock."

On 6th October they sighted Grand Canary and soon after they were out of sight of land again. The next day, Sunday, the Captain and First Mate conducted a Church of England Service.

"I liked it much better than like we had it last Sabbath, taking in cargo, etc. The sailors look very nice in their best clothes, and quite respectable. An old gentleman from the saloon came down to the steerage and invited Charlie and myself to the service. He is a nice gentleman, been to Buenos Ayres 50 years. We have had some conversation on religious matters... After dinner we sang some Sankeys hymns and then we read a little... The French and Spaniards don't seem to regard the Sabbath on board. After prayers everyone went to his work as usual, and the butcher killed a bullock. Ship life is not much of a place for the nourishment of spiritual life. In the evening us Cornish boys had a good spell singing until it was time to go to bed. The foreigners were singing and dancing."

• Home Page
• Family and Background
• Mary Ann's Father
• Her Mother
• Her Home
• A Soul To Be Saved
• Her return to Cornwall and her marriage
• Arriving in South America
• The Coast of Chile
• In Tocapilla, Chile
• Over the Andes to Bolivia
• Working the Tatasi Mine
• Working the Porco Mine
• Homeward through Argentina