Renals Family sitting outside Poplars, circa 1894/5
James Renals was born, according to Ancestry records, on 27 April 1817 in Cardinham, Cornwall — though an earlier family note gives 1812, and this discrepancy has yet to be resolved. He died on 24 April 1901 in Bodmin, Cornwall.
James bought Poplars from his brother, John Runnals. He was the father of John Coppin Renals, who married Elizabeth Jane "Lizzie" Hoskin.
Lizzie was the daughter of Robert Sharp Hoskin, a master mariner of Port Isaac. Before photography became widely available, sitting for a painted portrait was the principal way a person of means could have their likeness captured — a portrait of Robert Sharp Hoskin survives in the family, currently held by cousin Trevor.
The photograph above shows James alongside his son John Coppin Renals, Lizzie, and their four children at the time, together with a nanny or domestic help. It is believed to be the earliest surviving photograph of the family, making James the oldest photographed family member identified to date.
Family recollection holds that Robert Sharp Hoskin came to live with the family towards the end of his life, in an annexe at Poplars occupied by either himself or James. This is unconfirmed, but would help explain why Robert Sharp Hoskin's death in 1899 was registered in the Bodmin area despite his Port Isaac origins — the same district in which James himself would die two years later.