Hello Meli, Others have given you good advice on the rail service to Cornwall and I'll only emphasize that if you are 60+ you should purchase a "Senior Railcard." It will save you a third of the cost of a ticket. I've taken the train at least once per year for decades and although the cost has gone up over that time, once I had the railcard, I ended up paying less since I turned 60. The card also gives you half off National coach services (intercity buses). If you are under 60, you should look into a travel card, which can be purchased for various lengths of time - 1 week, 2 weeks, etc. and will also save you money. When checking the fares from Paddington to Cornwall, look at the cost of a return ticket as opposed to two singles. Sometimes, the cost of each single is less that the total for a return. As for making any progress on your family history, although you may find a house or a farm or a parish church connected with your family, and perhaps even stones in a churchyard, you won't get much done going to the places where your ancestors lived, except to perhaps contemplate their lives in those locations. To maximize the possibilities of success, you need to visit the places where most of the records are located. These are the Cornwall Record Office (CRO, Truro), the library of the Cornwall Family History Society (Truro), the Cornish Studies Library (Redruth - especially for microfilmed newspapers - obituaries, etc.), and the Courtney Library in the Royal Institution of Cornwall (Truro). If you are not familiar with these repositories, just google each in turn and you will find a great deal of information about them and what each has to offer. You will also find, as you visit each, excellent staff who can help you with your research. Make sure that you bring information on the specific persons and problems you wish to research, either in paper form or on a smart device, preferably both (batteries can run low). From the information you gave in your post, I think you would want to begin at the CRO as they have not only the parish registers, but a huge amount of original documents not available online - wills, property deeds, tithe maps, vestry minutes, manorial records, among others. Again, I cannot emphasize enough that to maximize your chances of success, you need to arrive prepared, doing as much as possible prior to your trip to familiarize yourself with what is available. A list of sources you wish to look at, in order of priority, would be a good way to organize and plan your research. Good luck with the trip and your family history, Doug Nicol   -- Norman D. Nicol, Ph.D. Professional Genealogist/Family Historian Specializing in NE Pennsylvania, England, esp. Cornwall, and Scotland

If you are going to go to the CRO you need to make an appointment! AT least that was the way it was when I went there. IN ADVANCE! They only take so many people on a day. They are different days than the CFHS. I alternated back and forth. When I went to the CRO I had a list of all the certificate info that I wanted. I had several pages and I spent the entire day there, looking one up, copying it and looking one up and copying it. OR taking photos of the ones in the original parish records. What a treat that was! I was SO glad to be able to confirm my PERRY line.  AT CFHS I also spent an entire day. I got up 2x from the computer in the whole day. Talk about not being able to walk.. There is MUCH information that can be confirmed if you do it right. Although our OPC's have gotten alot more on line since I last went but it still was fun and I felt like I had done a good job when I got home. Good luck and safe travel. > Hello Meli, > > Others have given you good advice on the rail service to Cornwall and > I'll only emphasize that if you are 60+ you should purchase a "Senior > Railcard." It will save you a third of the cost of a ticket. I've > taken the train at least once per year for decades and although the > cost has gone up over that time, once I had the railcard, I ended up > paying less since I turned 60. The card also gives you half off > National coach services (intercity buses). If you are under 60, you > should look into a travel card, which can be purchased for various > lengths of time - 1 week, 2 weeks, etc. and will also save you money. > When checking the fares from Paddington to Cornwall, look at the cost > of a return ticket as opposed to two singles. Sometimes, the cost of > each single is less that the total for a return. > > As for making any progress on your family history, although you may > find a house or a farm or a parish church connected with your family, > and perhaps even stones in a churchyard, you won't get much done > going to the places where your ancestors lived, except to perhaps > contemplate their lives in those locations. To maximize the > possibilities of success, you need to visit the places where most of > the records are located. These are the Cornwall Record Office (CRO, > Truro), the library of the Cornwall Family History Society (Truro), > the Cornish Studies Library (Redruth - especially for microfilmed > newspapers - obituaries, etc.), and the Courtney Library in the Royal > Institution of Cornwall (Truro). If you are not familiar with these > repositories, just google each in turn and you will find a great deal > of information about them and what each has to offer. You will also > find, as you visit each, excellent staff who can help you with your > research. Make sure that >  you bring information on the specific persons and problems you wish > to research, either in paper form or on a smart device, preferably > both (batteries can run low). From the information you gave in your > post, I think you would want to begin at the CRO as they have not > only the parish registers, but a huge amount of original documents > not available online - wills, property deeds, tithe maps, vestry > minutes, manorial records, among others. Again, I cannot emphasize > enough that to maximize your chances of success, you need to arrive > prepared, doing as much as possible prior to your trip to familiarize > yourself with what is available. A list of sources you wish to look > at, in order of priority, would be a good way to organize and plan > your research. > > Good luck with the trip and your family history, > > Doug Nicol > >   > -- > Norman D. Nicol, Ph.D. > Professional Genealogist/Family Historian > Specializing in NE Pennsylvania, England, esp. Cornwall, and Scotland > ------------------------------- > Subscribe to digest by sending an email to > CORNISH-D-request@rootsweb.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject > line and body text.  If you want, MIME digests, email > CORNISH-admin@rootsweb.com. > > Unsubscribe from either by sending an email to CORNISH-request@rootsweb.com. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > CORNISH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >   Carolyn Haines Holt, MI 48842