Fonds GB 0210 FRANMINE - Francis Family (Mining) Papers,

Henry and Absalom Francis of Goldsithney, Cornwall, were heavily involved in the Cornish metal mining industry before Absalom moved to Flintshire in 1826 to manage the Duke of Westminster's mines on Halkyn Mountain. He also managed mines on the Lisburne estate in Cardiganshire, but fell out with his employers, the Taylor family, and was dismissed in 1840. His three sons, Henry, Absalom and William, all followed their father into the Welsh mining industry. Henry Francis the elder was manager of the Wheal Virgin mine in Cornwall for many years before opening the Wheal Guskus mine in 1849. Of his four sons, the most prominent was Matthew, who spent a number of years in the mines of Aroa in South America before following his uncle to Wales in 1834, settling at Goginan, Cardiganshire, to manage the Lisburne mines. He was very successful, but the cordial relationships which he enjoyed with the Taylors deteriorated, and he was dismissed in 1842. Despite his best efforts, his subsequent attempts to promote mines on his own account never met with the success that he had enjoyed whilst working on the Lisburne estate. From 1851 to 1854, he lived in London, managing Francis's Mining Offices, though he paid frequent visits to Cardiganshire and also inspected mines elsewhere, including Germany in 1853 and Ireland in 1854. He died whilst inspecting a mine in Spain in 1865. In 1840, Matthew was joined in Cardiganshire by his brother, Absalom, who was based at Goginan for the rest of his life apart from a short stay in London, 1855-1856, and trips to America and Norway. A third brother, Henry, seems to have been a wanderer during the period covered by this archive, never staying in one place more than a few years and often only months, whilst a fourth brother, James, suffered ill-health and stayed mostly in Cornwall with his father.