This list of emigrants was posted to CORNISH-GEN-L over a period during May 2003 by Corinne Thompson. She says:—

Some Cornish born who came to Australia as Bounty Migrants between 1828–1842. In return for a free, or subsidised, passage the immigrant had to agree to work for a specified length of time … thus the agents who brought them out, called “Bounty Agents” (because they were paid for each immigrant they brought in) kept quite good records so that they could be paid.

In total, over 500 Bounty Migrants who came during this period gave “Cornwall” as their place of birth … but some of these came out with spouses, or children, who were born elsewhere.

At that stage the wealthier settlers here were wanting farm labourers and house servants to replace the servant class that they had had back “home” … so those wanting to emigrate, or the Bounty Agents wanting to be paid for bringing them out, would often say that they were “farm labourers” or “house servants” regardless of what their previous occupations were.

And in a lot of cases, I think that the ages were adjusted … upwards for young girls and boys, so that they would appear old enough to work … and downwards for older applicants so that they would be young enough. So you do need to check against other records.

It would also appear that recruiting was done in areas that were predominantly farming … the depression in the rural districts in England at that time would have also put pressure on the Parishes and Poorhouses, encouraging them to contribute towards the fares of those willing to emigrate.

While compiling the list of Cornish, I found the majority came from the East of Cornwall.

When the migrants had complied with the terms of their agreement, they were free to work at whatever they wanted to and could practise their trades or select land for themselves etc. Many came to Victoria when the Goldrush started.

Listed here are those that came from West Penwith, but there were many others that just said “Cornwall.” I understand that the full list will be published (perhaps on GENUKI) in the near future.

Surname  Native Place Religion     Occupation        Given names Age Year Ship
    Remarks  
Adam     St Ives      Protestant   Farmer            James       30  1837 Alfred
    No parent details. Husb. of Susan
Bates    Penzance     Protestant   House Servant     Elizabeth   30  1839 Susan
    Dau of Henry Turner and Jane Blackball.   Wife of Wm        
Batten   Penzance     Protestant   Carpenter and Joi James       27  1839 Prince Regent
    Son of Joseph Batten. Hus of Eliza
Bottrell Penzance     Wesleyan     Shoemaker         Wm          25  1837 Alfred
    Son of Bartholomew Bottrell
Curnow   Paul         Protestant                     Susannah    38  1841 William Jardine
    Dau of William and Grace (dead) Jenkins. Wife of James
Evans    Madron       Protestant   Agriculturalist   Evan        33  1839 Andromache
    Son of David Evans. Husband of Sarah
Evans    Madron       Protestant                     Sarah       35  1839 Andromache
    Dau of Sarah Roberts Wife of Evan
Evans    Madron       Protestant                     Jane         3  1839 Andromache
    Dau of Evan and Sarah Evans
Evans    Madron       Protestant                     Evan        19M 1839 Andromache
    Son of Evan and Sarah Evans
Evans    Gulval       Protestant   Agriculturalist   Thomas      23  1839 Andromache
    Son of Daniel Evans Husband of Anne
Evans    Gulval       Protestant   Agriculturalist   Anne        24  1839 Andromache
    Dau of Anne Calloway Wife of Thomas
Evans    Gulval       Wesleyan     Agriculturalist   David       25  1839 Andromache
    Son of David Evans
Jones    Gulval       Protestant   Farm Servant      Jane        18  1839 Andromache
    Dau of Anne Jones
Leigh    Penzance     Episcopalian Shepherd          James Mayn  21  1841 China
    Son of Richard and Ann Leigh
Mills    Penzance     Protestant   Housemaid         Matilda     19  1841 Moffatt
    Dau of Hy and Catherine Mills. Protection of Mrs West
Nicholas Penzance     Church of E. Gardener          Reuben      29  1840 Earl Grey
    Son of Richd Nicholas
Pulman   Penzance     Church of E. Cabinet maker     Thomas      36  1841 United Kingdom
    Son of Thomas Pulman and Sellia Hardinge, dead. Husband of Maria   
Rogers   Penzance     Episcopalian                   Anne        28  1838 Upton Castle
    Brought up from a child by John Crocker Wife of Jas
Short    St Ives      Protestant   Farm Servant      Samuel      37  1841 William Jardine
    Son of Edwd and Charity Short, both dead. Hus of Agnes
Short    St Ives      Protestant   Domestic Servant  Agnes       36  1841 William Jardine
    Dau of John and Phillipa Andrews, both dead. Wife of Samuel
Short    St Ives      Protestant                     John Andrews 10 1841 William Jardine
    Son of Samuel and Agnes Short
Short    St Ives      Protestant                     Jane        15  1841 William Jardine
    Son of Samuel and Agnes Short
Short    St Ives      Protestant                     Mary        12  1841 William Jardine
    Dau of Samuel and Agnes Short
Short    St Ives      Protestant                     Phillipa     6  1841 William Jardine
    Dau of Samuel and Agnes Short
Short    St Ives      Protestant   Servant           Jane        15  1841 William Jardine
    Protection of her parents, on board
Snell    St Ives      Protestant   Farm Servant      Hy          24  1840 Lady McNaghten
    Son of Ths Snell and Elizth Martin
Taylor   Madron       Baptist      None              Mary        40  1839 Andromache
    Dau of Thos and Elizabeth Stev--- Wife of Robert
Taylor   Madron       Baptist                        John        11  1839 Andromache
    Son of Robert and Mary Taylor
Taylor   Madron       Baptist                        Robert       7  1839 Andromache
    Son of Robert and Mary Taylor
Taylor   Madron       Baptist                        William      5  1839 Andromache
    Son of Robert and Mary Taylor
Taylor   Madron       Baptist                        James        4  1839 Andromache
    Son of Robert and Mary Taylor
Taylor   Madron       Baptist                        Charles      1  1839 Andromache
    Son of Robert and Mary Taylor - Died on board
Taylor   Madron       Baptist                        Grace       13  1839 Andromache
    Dau of Robert and Mary Taylor
Taylor   Penzance     Protestant   Living at home    Rebecca     24  1839 Argyle
    Dau of Joseph and Elizth. Wife of James
Taylor   Penzance     Protestant                     William      3  1839 Argyle
    Son of James and Rebecca Taylor
Tonkin   Penzance     Church of E. Saddler & Harness mk Caleb    36  1840 Royal Consort
    Son of Thos Tonkin. Hus of Susanna
Tree     Penzance     Roman Cath.  Housemaid         Treforina   20  1840 Lady Clarke
    Dau of Daniel and Mary Tree
Trembath Penzance     Methodist    Dressmaker        Mariana     20  1839 Andromache
    Dau of Benjamin Trembath
Vercoe   St Just      Church of E. Mason and Plaster John        31  1838 James Pattison
    Son of Philip and Jane Vercoe Husband of Peggy