WITHELL GENEALOGY
Withell in Perranzabuloe
The parish of Perranzabuloe is on the west coast of Cornwall, near the mouth of the Mellingey river. This is believed to be the place where St Piran, patron Saint of Cornwall, arrived from Ireland in 460 AD and established a Christian church. However the constant battering of the waves along the sand dunes has repeatedly eroded the shoreline. In 1835 an ancient church or chapel was discovered buried in the sand, which may have been the actual oratory in which St. Piran himself officiated. Much of it was demolished and plundered and the sands have since been allowed to reclaim the rest.
This photo of Perranzabuloe church is courtesy of © Copyright Tony Atkin and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence
The early population surveys of 1525 and 1543 and the Muster Roll of 1569 have no listing of a Withiell in the parish of Perranzabuloe. However events recorded in the Parish register indicate that by 1600 there were three Withiell families then living in Perranzabuloe. The compiling of these registers depended on the assiduousness of the vicar or curate and unfortunately there are gaps. The Perrans families may have been connected to a Withiel family living in nearby Truro, but otherwise they appear to have been a separate group from others in Cornwall.
Family estate papers and wills held by the Cornwall Record Office and Royal Institute of Cornwall indicate that by the 18th century the Peranzabuloe Withiells had acquired property in the manor of Fenton Gympis and at Callestock and used the title of gentleman.
It is interesting that the Perranzabuloe families seem to have retained the spelling as Withiel or Withiell into the 20th century. The last Withiell from this group known to have remained in Cornwall was a John Withiell who died in 1949 but we have also been able to trace the migration of families, some to other Cornish villages and others to America and New Zealand. As far as is currently known, although there are living descendants, there are no living males with the surname Withiel descended from this family.
Records in US have been difficult to access but I was contacted by an American descendant of Phillipa Withiel who married John Clarke on 20 October 1733 at Perranzabuloe and moved to USA. I have also been able to combine research findings with a descendant of Robert Withiell who married Ann Johns on 18 April 1782 in St Clement. Recently I found the record of immigration of a James Withiel to New York in 1882. I believe this may have been James born 1860 in Perranzabuloe.
I have found no record of a Withiel or Withiell currently living in UK or USA.