Margaret Ann Courtney relates this story of a Brownie existing in 19thC Penzance, Cornwall:

Mr Cornish, the Town Clerk of Penzance, mentioned at an antiquarian meeting recently held in that town, 'that there was a brownie still existing in it; that a gentleman, whose opinion he would take on many matters, had told him that he had often seen it, sitting quietly at the fireside.'

This story is given more authority because it quotes the town clerk of Penzance, a major Cornish town. Clerks were educated folk in 19th C Cornrwal, whereas the miners and farmers were likely not. An educated clerk might be considered by some to carry more weight in matters of fact as opposed to superstition. In my opinion, farmers and miners may have excelled in common sense and educated folk were not immune to fantasy or superstition.