Hi Julia, I don't know if it is much help, but I have a Peter Coombe baptised 19 Jan 1794 in St. Austell to Samuel and Elizabeth (Clark) Coombe. I have not followed Peter, but his younger sister, Ann, married in Tywardreath in 1827. Her son, Samuel Coombe Camps, married into my Delbridge family, so these are not direct ancestors of mine. I can't help you on the brick circle. Diane Delbridge Oklahoma, USA > Message: 1 Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2012 20:50:52 -0600 From: Julia > Mosman<[email protected]> Subject: [CORNISH-GEN] Peter CUMBE (Coombe) > mystery, Tywardreath and St. Austell - a grave question To: > "[email protected]"<[email protected]>, > "[email protected]"<[email protected]> > Message-ID:<[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Hello All - I'm baffled. A lady has contacted me regarding her > family, who lived in Tywardreath and St. Austell as far as we can > determine. In the 1841 census, Peter CUMBE, 50, and Elizabeth are > living in Tywardreath with their children, including a son named > Peter, 13, and dau. Elizabeth, 11. Evidently, Elizabeth and Peter, > siblings, moved to the U.S. circa 1852, but strangely landed in San > Francisco. I wondered if they might have emigrated to Aus. first, > then left Sydney for the US. But on to the central mystery. > Elizabeth married almost as soon as they landed, and she and Peter > stayed close throughout their lives. At their deaths, they were > buried in the family plot, and have on each of their graves brick > circles about 12 to 14 inches in diameter. No one else has this > peculiar feature in the entire cemetery (that they know of). The lady > is wondering if it's a "Cornish thing". The only idea that came to > me was an Irish one, where a piece of "the old sod" was put on the > b! urial site approximately at heart level. Has anyone heard of this > custom of brick/paving placement? Or of putting dirt/grass from > Cornwall on a grave? Was it a Victorian thing, rather than Cornish? > Thanks for any ideas! Julia (and if anyone has links to the Peter > Coombe/Cumbe family, please let me know!!!)