Illustration from Historical and Topographical Description of the Channel Islands (1840) by Robert Mudie – “St. Helier’s, Jersey”

On the 29th March in 1871 a petition was rased in Jersey, Channel Islands. The crowd gathered in the streets of St. Helier (the Capital main town) and the harbour. On that day 343 signatures were collected on behalf of the merchants and seafaring men. The cause was a much needed harbour development in St. Helier.

In 1871 I had the following ancestors around at the time:

Isaac William Davey – age 49 – Shipwright

Isaac William Davey jr (son of above) – age 20 – Shipwright

William Davey (son of above) – age 18 – Shipwright

I do not see any of my ancestors names on the list of the petition. Does it not concern them? Are they happy with the size of the harbour as it is? Or have they been warned by their employees not to get involved maybe at the jeopardy of their jobs?

Maybe your ancestor is on the list, you can check it out here:

http://members.societe-jersiaise.org/lepivert/petition.htm

It is a great list and shows you a variety of people and their different professions that were involved including blacksmiths, drapers, merchants, ship builders and solicitors, etc.

Tip: The list is not in alphabetical order, bu tif you want to search for  a particular name hold down ‘command’ and ‘F’ on your Mac computer and a box will open up on the right handside at the top of your screen. Type in the surname and it will tell you how many there are on that page.

As a result of this petition a break water was built. I’m sure the event caused quite a stir in town on the day!

Today I am uploading the second batch from his collection, which are fabulous. It is hard to say if they are in Jersey or not, but hopefully one of my lovely readers may recognise something.

A beautiful portrait photo of a young lady in a cloche hat.

Do you recognise this young lady or the interesting broach she is wearing?

Who is this rather fashionable lady with her pet dog? Interesting style of hat too.

A well dressed couple at a special occasion

Do you recognise which church this may be? The window shape and the paving on the floor may be a clue.

A very smart woman standing infront of her vegetable patch.

Do you recognise this woman and are they rhubarb plants behind her? I wonder too if the granite wall and stone borders have been painted white as is often seen in Jersey?

If you recognise any of these photos I would love to hear from you.

Many thanks to Richard for sharing his wonderful photos!

Within the post, other links to very useful websites are provided which may or may not help you with your research into your Breton ancestors, but they are never-the-less all worth a look at.

Tudchentil - which has pages on 18 Breton Knights in a Tournament in 1238 or An Armorial Breton

Ploeuc Genealogy - which is about the history, genealogy and heritage to ploeuc and its surroundings, including Notaries of Ploeuc from 1739 – 1907

I doubt I have any nobility in my Breton ancestors, the Rabet’s. So far their statuses have been:

Laboureur – which has a variety of meanings including ploughman/ peasant or small tenant farmer rich enough to own their own plough (p228 – Soldier and Peasant in French Popular Culture, 1766-1870)

Cowman – herder of cows

Agricultural Labourer - a person who tills the soil for a living.

St. Lawrence Church, Jersey, Channel Islands – I wonder if this was where Ann was born?

Ann Marcellaine (Marcelin) Mahaut was my great great great grandmother. I am amazed and delighted that I have been able to go back this far. Our DNA is practically the same. When I got my DNA test results for my MATERNAL LINEAGE’ it says our ancient ancestors (known as the Travelers) come from the maternal haplogroup U. According to wikipedia, the possible time of origin is 55.000 BP and possible place of origin is Western Asia. There are 8 subgroups in the U group and therefore I need to discover more about which of the 8 I may be in and therefore more specifically where my ancient ancestors come from.

As far as I know, Ann wasn’t from anywhere as far as Asia, for she was born in Jersey, Channel Islands. here is her timeline:

1854 – Ann Marcellaine Mahaut is the second  child born to Jean Aimable Mahaut (c. 1819) and Anne Henriette Quenault (c.1891). Place of birth was St. Lawrence, Jersey. She has an older sister Lydie born in 1843, nearly 11 years earlier.

1861 – In the Census of 1861, Ann is living at the Farm House, St. Lawrence with just her parents. Lydie had proably left home by now as she would have been 18 years old.

1870 – Opening of the railway from St. Helier to St. Aubins.

1871 – In the census a decade later, Ann  (17) is now living with her parents at the Bake House in Vingtaine of the Valley, St. Laurence. Her father is now a Sailor and her mother a Baker. Ann is now also a Baker and is obviously helping her mother. I wonder if it was their own business. I know there was an old bakehouse in St. Lawrence. Times have changed. During this year the Channel Islands Exhibition was held in Victoria College Grounds.

At some point in time Ann meets Philip James Hamon (he is 18 years older than her and this is possibly his second marriage). I have yet to discover the marriage date and details, although according to the website Family Treemaker, it states that she got married in 1875. Click on the following link to see details: Familytree maker

1875 – Ann gives birth to a daughter Anna Eveline Hamon with her husband Philip J. Hamon.

1877 – Ann and Philip have their second child, Philip James Hamon jr.

1879 – Ann and Philip have their 3rd chilld George Hamon.

1881 – Ann (27) and Philip have their 4th child Charles Hamon. The details at Charles’s baptism are as follows: father’s occupation – Mariner. Godparents – John Charles Quenault (maybe Ann’s relation) and Mary Ann Denise. Ann is now living  along St. Aubin’s Road.

1882 – Ann and Philip have their 5th child, Walter Hamon.

1883 – ON the 5th December, Ann and Philip have their 6th child, Florence Sophia Hamon (my great great grandmother). They are now all living at No.4 Newgate Street, St. Helier in town near the local prison, which would have had a very different environment to the countryside of St. Lawrence.

1891 – Ann (aged 37) is still living at 4 Newgate Street with her husband and children: Philip, George, Charles, Florence, Priscilla, Edith and a boarder Florence H. Le Gros. Her husband Philip is still a Seaman, while her son Philip is a Carpenter’s apprentice and the other children are scholars, apart from Edith who is too young for school aged 5.

1899 – On the 30th March 1899 the London and South Western steamer, the ‘Stella’ sank on it’s way to Guernsey and Jersey. It hit the rocks off Alderney’s coast and sank within 15 minutes. 86 passengers and 19 crew died.

1901 – Ann (47) has moved to No.5 Patriotic Place with her Husband Philip, now a news vendor at the age of 66. Her son Philip is no longer a Carpenter’s apprentice but a Sailor. Her son George is a Labourer at Saws Mill? (Hard to read). Florence and Edith are still at home too.

1911 – The final Census available at this current time states that Ann (57) is living with her husband Philip and they are both now working as News Vendors from home. Their son Philip (aged 34) is still living with them and is working as a Seaman still.

My research ends there as I have not been able to find out anymore. I do not know when Ann died or where she or her husband are buried. The Familytree maker website says she dies in Guernsey.

Researching my female ancestors is always a joy to me. I like to discover what their everyday lives might have been like and compare it to mine.

If you know more about Ann and her family I would love to hear from you.

Thank you to all my readers for stopping by and reading my posts on My Channel Island Ancestry, I look forward to writing more about my family heritage in 2013. Happy New Year everybody!

Click here to see the complete report.

My little book!

You may have heard of the old traditional rhyme ‘The 12 Days Of Christmas,” but have you heard of ‘The Jersey 12 Days Of Christmas?’ Over the past year I have illustrated and written my own version of this rhyme into a little picture book.  The words and illustrations include many typical icons of Jersey’s heritage. The book is ideal for younger children and can be used as an early reader or counting book! It is also ideal for the elder generation to share with their younger family members or friends, so they can share their own knowledge of Jersey traditions.

Here is an extract;

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…

A puffin in a pear tree. 

On the second day of Chritmas, my true love sent to me…

2 Jersey cows 

And a puffin a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me…

3 ormer shells

2 Jersey cows

And a puffin in a pear tree.

© text copyright 2012 Ramona Davey

It is now available at the following shopping outlets in Jersey, Channel Islands:

Gourmet Gorey

Jersey Museum

Love Birds

Rococo

Societe Jersiaise

It is also available on itunes bookstore as a free interactive ebook here: The Jersey 12 Days Of Christmas. The inside title page and each illustration makes a sound when you tap on the image. The final illustration has 12 sounds.

The 12 days of Christmas have alos been known as Christmastide or Twelvetide. The first day of Christmas starts on Christmas Day, 25th December and the 12th day of Christmas ends on January 5th. To find out more about this here - Wikipedia.

I would love to hear any feedback from readers who have the ebook or bought/ received the paperbook!

A Christmas card given to my great grandfather.

Above is a photo of a Christmas card given from Captain J.F. Le Huquet to my great grandfather George Perchard Davey while he was a Private. There is no date on the card, so I am presuming it may have been given at some time while George served in the First World War. But I may be wrong.

Inside of the card

The other fact I may have wrong is the Captains initials. It looks like J. F. Le Huquet, but if I look at the examples of letters from the palaeography guide I have written about here: poster, you will see that sometimes it is hard to tell. It could be a J,F or G. See for yourself.

The letters ‘J

The letter ‘F’

The letter ‘G’

The only record I can find in my online search of a J. F. Le Huquet is a John Fred Le Huquet. His name is in a list of ‘New Trustees Of The Royal Crescent Church’ ( Archives records). I’m not too sure where the Royal Crescent Church in Jersey is or was. Maybe you can help me?  If you have an ancestor called J.F. Le Huquet and you know he was a Captain, I would love to hear from you and maybe you could contribute a little more to the background of this card.

Inside the card there was also a little verse:

Happy Christmas to you all!

Elsie Lilian Lozuet – I just love the beautiful blouse she is wearing with pearl buttons over her shoulders.

Elsie was the fifth daughter of John Lozuet and Clara Anna Mabey. With her the chance for the Lozuet surname to continue ended. Elsie was born in Jersey but spent most of her life in Birmingham, England. From here she wrote many letters to her sister Clara (my great grandmother). Within the letters you get a fascinating insight into their lives, including such comments as the following:

” …Thank you for the cake it was lovely the cakes over here are rotten.”

She even refers to my grandfather, her sister Clara’s son:

“… how’s kenny, still got his shop?’

These little details are great because they confirm the fact that my grandfather had a shop of which I was aware of. This then will help you to determine the date or thereabouts. She continues to say that she hopes Clara has got a nice lodger in, as it is better than being alone (so we now know this must have been after her husbands death in 1931).

In other letters (most addressed from Perry Bar, Birmingham) Elsie thanks Clara for the Calendar she has sent, the marg (margarine) and another cake. She is looking forward to the Spring and hopes they both have a nice summer like ‘last year’. She finishes in one letter saying the following:

“Well I’m afraid I’ve no news I never go anywhere but shopping….Elsie xxxx”

I love these snippets into their lives, it gives you the little treasures of information that archive records can’t give you. Here is her timeline:

1907 – Elsie Lilian Lozuet is born on the 16th October. Her parents were living at 3 Colomberie Cottages, St. Helier at the time.

1911 – Elsie is living with her family: her father John, a ‘foreman’, her mother Clara and siblings Clara, Ada, Violet and Mabel.

1931 – Elsie’s father dies. I wonder if she went back for his funeral?

1936 – Elsie marries Norman Norton of Birmingham.

1939 – Elsie gives birth to a son, Michael about 4 months before the start of World war 2.

1944 – Elsie’s husband Norman dies from Tuberculosis. Elsie is now bringing up a five year old on her own in the midst of a war.

1966 – Elsie dies in Birmingham.

I wonder if she ever returned to Jersey to see her sisters or if they ever travelled to see her?

This will be a great help when deciphering archive records online or in paper form. Letters that can be particularly hard to recognise in their old form are F, H, I, J and Z.

The other thing I have done recently is order a book called ‘Jersey Alphabet‘ from Ex Libris which I discovered while searching through the internet. Here it is:

It is a lovely read and covers all things Jersey from A To Z. From ABREUVOIR ( a roadside watering place, mainly for animals) to ZOO ( of course Gerald Durrell’s famous haven for endangered species).

On the 9th August 1890, my great grandmother, Blanche Jehan was born. Like many other french families at the turn of the century 1900, Blanche arrived in Jersey with her family for work and to live. It might have been a temporary move until the family had earned some money or a permanent move as there was no work in their home towns.

The following timeline shows the events of Blanche’s life that I am aware of:

• 1890 – Blanche Marie Josephine Jehan is born in Plancoet, Cotes-d’Amor, Bretagne, France. The names of her parents are unknown.
• 1911 Census – Blanche is 21 years old and is living with her husband Pierre, a farm labourer, at Samares, St. Clements, Jersey.
• 1912 – Blanche, aged 22, gives birth to a son, Peter Gosselin.
• 1914 – Blanche, 23, gives birth to another son, my grandfather, Rene Jean Gosselin on the 25th April.
• 1916 – Blanche, 26, gives birth to her third son, Henri Pierre Gosselin.
• 1921 – Blanche, 30, gives birth to a daughter, Blanche Olive Gosselin.
• 1922 – Blanche, 31, gives birth to a second daughter, Antoinette Gosselin.
• 1924 – Blanche, 34,  gives birth to another daughter, Genevieve Augustine Henriette Gosselin.

Map of coast of France, Channel Sea and Jersey – highlighting the close distance and route travelled by my ancestors.

The stars in the above image of the map show Plaine Haute (first star on left), where Blanche’s husband was born. Plancoet, where Blanche was born, St. Malo the possible harbour they left from to sail to Jersey and the island of Jersey. It is unknown how Pierre and Blanche met. Maybe it was on their travels by road through France. Maybe it was at the harbour or on the boat. Or maybe it was in Jersey? Whatever the circumstances, without that meeting my grandfather Rene would not have been born, nor my father, nor me.

That is all I have about Blanche’s life. Maybe you can provide more information. The following list shows some things I need to find out about Blanche:

• When did Blanche marry Pierre Gosselin?
• When did Blanche die and where is she buried?
• What were the names of her parents?

As I get ready to send this post I find an old note with two names that seem to be Blanche’s parents names:

her father – Eugene Marie Joseph Jehan- born April 1857 - Plancoët, Côtes-d’Armor, Bretagne, France

her mother - Blanche Félicie Marie LeClerc – born February 1854 - Plancoët, Côtes-d’Armor, Bretagne, France.

Although, I have not been able to confirm these details that I discovered on ancestry, they look pretty close to being the correct parents. It is always exciting to make new discoveries!

Thanks for stopping by