John Ritchings's Page

I am making contact via Genealogywise as I have just read your article on "The Bible Christians of Shebbear in North Devonshire" and because I have ancestors who were Bible Christians from Cornwall.  

Briefly, my great grandfather, William Penaluna emigrated to Australia in 1866, aged 22 years, from Wendron and settled at Eaglehawk just outside Bendigo. he was tin miner who turned to gold mining and later became the manager of two mines in the region.  he died in 1904.  His parents were Alexander and Charity Penaluna of 28 Halivin St Wendron (according to the 1871 Census).

In researching my great grandfather's life I discovered that he was an active member of the Bible Christian Church in Eaglehawk, as was my grandfather (b.1880) before the Church merged to become the broader Methodist Church.

While I have managed to discover significant information about the Bible Christian movement in the goldfields region, I haven't been able to make much progress in linking the movement back to Wiliam's birthplace of Wendron.  

Given that you appear to have an interest in this group, I am wondering whether you can point me to any source material which might provide a better picture of the Bible Christians in Wendron?  While the Internet is a useful tool, I expect a visit to the UK next year might yield more information but in the meantime I would like to prepare the ground work before visiting Cornwall, so any information which can be gained would be invaluable. 

Looking forward to hearing from you in the near future

Yours sincerely

Kenneth Penaluna

Melbourne

AUSTRALIA