THE SALAMANCA CORPUS:
DIGITAL ARCHIVE OF ENGLISH DIALECT TEXTS
CORNWALL
DING 2022: "Little is known about this glossarist beyond his birthplace and main occupation. Through a thorough search of census records and bibliographical databases we have managed to uncover the following information. He was born in Bodmin, Cor., the son of William Jago, a conveyancer, and Ann Pearse. In 1841 they were listed as living in St. Austell, Cor., with their younger son, John (1822-1889). John followed their father's profession. Frederick William Pearce was educated at Truro Endowed Grammar School. In 1838 he was apprenticed as a druggist, i.e. apothecary, to Nathaniel Spry Sleeman, Chemist and druggist, Truro, Cor. He lived in France beween October 1839 and February 1840. In 1841, Frederick William Pearce Jago was living with his maternal grandparents in Bodmin. His given profession was "druggist". In 1843 he was apprenticed to Frederick John Robinson of Bodmin, surgeon, apothecary and man-midwife. He remained in Bodmin until 1846 . He studied medicine at London University. In 1847 he was awarded a Second Honorary Certificate in Chemistry and A Gold Medal in Materia Medica at the London Hospital. That same year he passed the First Examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Medicine (The Medical Times 16, February 20 to October 9, 1847). He became licensed as a surgeon and an apothecary in 1848 (Royal Cornwall Gazette 21st April 1848 and 26th May 1848). He married Johanna Dennis in Exeter, Dev. in 1849. In the census records for 1851, 1871 and 1881 he is listed as living in St. Andrews Terrace, Plymouth, with a growing family. He was a medicine doctor. In the census records for 1891 he appeared as a Surgeon and Author, living in Saltash, Cor. Ten years later he moved to St. Germans, Cor. and his occupation is given as Retired Physician. He died and was buried there on Feb. 6th 1911.
Kresen Kernow, home for Cornwall's archives, holds different mss towards a "History of the Jago Family" gathered by him (Ref. no. AD582). These include a memoir of his father and mother and an autobiography of Frederick William Pearce up to 1856. They also keep a "Scrapbook, Jago family of St. Austell (1826-1865)" (Ref. AD194/1) which contains documents about his parents and also about his life in Truro and London. They have the ms of his Glossary of the Cornish Dialect" (Ref. AD1358).
Through the years he contributed to medical periodicals on different topics relating to his profession. For instance "On blood-printing of "Phantom Blood." (Medical Times Gazette 1 (June, 27, 1863): 680-681). From 1883, he began to publish papers about Cornish such as "Phoenician versus Cornish" (The Western Antiquary 3, Nov., 1883: 133,) or "The Cornu-British Language in the South Hams". (The Western Antiquary 2, March, 1883: 203). He also answered Cornish vocabulary queries in The Western Antiquary ( for instance, in vol. 5, (May, 1886): 301) and wrote about "Dolly Pentreath" (The Western Antiquary 7 (July, 1887): 25-26)."
WORKS
1882. The Ancient Language and the Dialect of Cornwall, with an enlarged glossary of Cornish provincial words. Truro: Netherton & Worth. EDD. SC.
1887. An English-Cornish Dictionary: Compiled from the best sources. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co. EDD.
NOT IN KINGKONG PROJECT
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HIS LIFE AND WORKS SEE
Anonymous. 1911. "Obituary." The Lancet 11 Feb. 1911: 409.
Copyright © 2022- DING, María F.García-Bermejo Giner, The Salamanca Corpus, Universidad de Salamanca
VARIA 1800-1950
SOUTH
CORNWALL
Frederick William Pearce Jago
(1817-1911)
