When the Jackson fishermen decided to move West along the coast to nearby Porthgwarra, there were only two families living in the cove recorded as resident fishermen.They were the Rowe brothers, Richard and John who built ‘Rowe’s Cottages’; the two cottages on the left as you enter the cove. All other residents are recorded as farmers or agricultural labourers apart from Uriah Matthews (fisherman), although the Rawlings family from St. Levan Church Town also worked boats there.
In the 10 years between 1871 and 1881 Porthgwarra had become much more populated, and not just by Jacksons. The fishing industry had taken off.
William Harvey and Henry Jose had moved their families here to join the Rowes and Jacksons working boats from the cove.
It seems the slip was constructed by the fishermen around 1880. Boats of this period were large and usually anchored in the bay, only brought ashore in bad weather. Before the slip was built, boats had to be manhandled over the rocks below Cove Cottage.
The census does not record the names of properties occupied by the different families but it is likely that the Jacksons lived in the three cottages of The Terrace. My great great Grandmother Jane lived in Cove Cottage on the right of this picture. The Terrace cottages were large with 8 rooms so it’s probable that the brothers with large families occupied those.
It seems that by this time Porthgwarra may have been getting a little crowded as some of the children were living with grandparents,
In 1881 Robert and Mary have a large household which consists of Robert, Mary, James, Robert W., Alfred, Nanny, Jessie, Charles, Katie, together with Mary Ellen and her new husband Richard Chirgwin.
William and Grace live with their daughter Ethel and a sister-in-law Elizabeth Parkin. A few years earlier there was a Parkin family living in Penberth so there is probably a connection there. The census shows son William and daughter Mary Julian living with Grace’s parents in Tresidder.
Thomas is now widowed and living with his son John T. Anne died in 1879 at the age of 52. Her sister Elizabeth is also living with Thomas, recorded as a housekeeper, but within a couple of years they are married. Thomas has three children with Elizabeth; Elizabeth Jane, Peter and Margaret.
His brother Matthew is recorded as living alone, but may also be living with Thomas as census records are not always reliable.
The Porthgwarra Crew – 1886
Left to right: John Rowe, Thomas Jackson, John Jackson, William Jackson Jnr, Matthew Jackson, Alfred Jackson, Richard Rowe, William Jackson (Snr), Ethel Jackson, Mr. Thompson, a visitor (sitting on crab pot), Robert Jackson (Snr), Robert Jackson, John T Jackson, James Jackson
10 years later in 1891 there are now six Jackson households, with a total of 19 children.
In the 1891 census some of the Jacksons began to appear as ‘Lodging House Keepers’, probably those living in the large Terrace cottages. A few of the lodgers appearing in the census were employed by the Eastern Telegraph Company at the cable station in Porthcurno. Peter (son of Thomas) and Robert (son of James) are working for company and listed as Telegraph Messengers.
The Jacksons Of Porthgwarra 