deMouilpied Family Chart

I have heard from cousin Jane in England. She has sent this de Mouilpied Family chart. It's not a comprehensive genealogy tree, so if you are not on this don't worry. I have seen this before floating around and it's a good one. Jane comes from Marguerite, then Florinda down in the right lower part of the chart. Where do you fit in?
CLICK ON THE CHART AND IT WILL ENLARGE AND BE VERY CLEAR.

Looking for Le Gros - Good Jersey Name

Andrew from Canada is a descendant from Joseph deMouilpied and looking for more family information. Andrew comes by way of Emily de Mouilpied b.1849, Joseph's oldest child. Emily married John Le Gresley, 1867, another close Guernsey family. They had a daughter Edith Emily Le Gresley b. Oct. 4, 1872.

Edith went on to marry John James Le Gros, apparently an old Jersey name. The Le Gros name still remains in St. Peter Point, Gaspe, Canada, as the Le Gros House seen on the left side of this blog. They had 6 children: John Arthur b. 1897; Gladys Muriel b. 1903; Doris Emily b. 1905; Sydney James b. 1907; Winnifred b. 1909 and Harold b.1912. This Le Gros name is what Andrew needs help with. (Andrew comes by way of Sydney)

John James Le Gros had a father who was also a John James Le Gros who was born abt. 1840 in St. Mary, Jersey (the other Channel Island) His father was Thomas LeGros, b. 1811 also in St. Mary's, Jersey. And this is where Andrew needs help, he just can't seem to go back before Thomas.

Does anyone have information about the Le Gros family from Jersey?
Does any one know any one in Jersey who can help?

I know Guernsey has a fantastic library with Family Names on file filled with genealogy information. Does anyone know if Jersey's Library does the same?

If you are a descendant from Edith Emily Le Gros, Andrew has a great lineage and chart created. He also has documents about marriages, burials etc. And Andrew is enthusiastic. His email is:
aoreilly@shaw.ca

The Minstrel Blondel de Nesle - The Blondel and de Mouilpied Connection

Thomas deMouilpied, b.1780, d.1873, married Marie Blondel, b. 1786, d. 1849. I'm not sure when they married, but safe to say probably before their first child. If anyone has that information ... do tell please.

Though the focus here is deMouilpied, this Blondel family story is just too good to not blog about, it's amazing really. Marie Blondel descends from one of the more prominent Guernsey families on the Island, including the Blondels who once occupied the famous Le Gron House in St. Saviours. Her documented lineage goes back to the 1200's. A Balif Blondel is listed on one of the earliest Guensey Documents dated 1204 when Guernsey became independent from France. But there's more to the story - The Minstrel Blondel.

The Legend about Blondel de Nesle is one of the most romantic stories in English History. Books and articles have been written, and even a musical by Tim Rice. Blondel really was a minstrel, a troubadour, (trouvere in french) with over 20 songs and poetry, some archived in the British Museum and Oxford. Blondel was Minstrel to the infamous King Richard I of England, also known as The Lionheart. (the Disney movie Robin Hood talks about King Richard away on crusades, that's the one!) The most lengthy recently written book is called "Blondel's Song" by English writer David Boyle, worth every word on each page (called The Troubadour's Song" in the U.S.). Basically, Blondel rescues King Richard I and the rest is... history. All the links will bring you up to date on the available information about Blondel.

So what's the intrigue? The intrigue is that I grew up hearing the story about Blondel the Minstrel and being told, without a doubt, that we were direct descendants. Okay, so maybe my father was nutty about these stories passed down through the years...BUT. Why did so many other cousins, with whom there has only been recent contact, grow up hearing the same story? Cousin Kathy, Deb, Audrey, Rose-Mary and more, all have heard the same story. Cousins in England and Guernsey too. Kathy has an old letter talking about the Minstrel. I'll try to put it up on the blog next time.

The family story goes that the King rewarded Blondel with Property on Guernsey, unfortunately this would have to date from around 1200; almost impossible to find such records. Some legends have Blondel born in Picardi, France, but there is no record or proof of Blondel or other famliy lineage being from that area. The bulk of early Blondels, like de Moulpied , originate from Guernsey, over 1000 years ago.

My father told me the story several times, that he had heard himself, each time welling up with tears over the romantic possibility that we were descendants. So, much to my excitement, when I found our connection to Marie Blondel, I took heart that perhaps we really are descendants.

So my question to descendants of this marriage between Thomas deMoulpied and Marie Blondel, or descendants of Guersney Blondels, have you been told you were a descendant from the Minstrel Blondel de Nesle, the famous Troubadour??

To recap descendants:

Thomas deMoulpied married Marie Blondel and they had 7 children:
Marie 1810-1891;
Thomas b.1812, married Elizabeth Torode (another well known Guernsey name);
Rachel 1814-1873;
Jean (John) b.1816;
Sophie 1818-1852;
Charlotte 1821-1909, married Francis de la Mare; and
Joseph 1824-1905, married Sophie Ogier (my great great grand parents).
Thomas, Charlotte and Joseph were the only ones we know that had children.
Do you know more?

Need Help Finding deMouilpieds? Susan from Guernsey Ancestry to the Rescue

There's a new Pro in town and her name is Susan Ilie who hosts the website Guernsey Ancestry.com. Susan is basically a professional "looker upper" or rather a family history researcher. Any one who has tried to get information from anyone in Guernsey knows it can be challenging. Not anymore.

Susan has developed a great website (I love the logo!) with lots of information, fee options and terrific links. (Really, these are all the links you'll ever need) So if you run into a road block, here is someone who might help. Good Luck Susan and if you come across any de Mouilpied scoop, let us know! So check it out: click ... Guernsey Ancestry.com

Looking for a Daniel de Mouilpied from Around 1770's

Hello all. Sorry for the long hiatus but the holidays certainly slowed things down. So here we go, back on track...


Stuart Roberts from Australia has written asking about a Daniel de Mouilpied from Guernsey. Here is part of his email:

"Do you know who Susanne de Moulipied is, as a Susanne De Moulipied married my great great Grand Father James Robert on the 28th July 1828 and I'm wondering if they are the same person.( as mentioned in previous blog) My Great Grand Father, Rowland de Jersey Robert emigrated from Guernsey to Australia in the late 1800s. The Robert line is as follows, thus if you know of any intersections please let me know.
James Robert (b. 1791 in Guernsey, St Martins) & Susanne De Mouillepied (b. 1800)
My email address is (stuart@robert.com.au)
Susan’s father is Daniel De Moulipied. Do you have any information on who this Daniel De Moulipied is?"

So there you have it. Does any one have this information about a Daniel de Mouilpied maybe born in the 1770's or so, in Guernsey, who had a daughter Susanne b. 1800?
Please email Stuart and me too please, we would all love to know.
Cheers to all, thanks for reading.

English Connection for a Different Susanne deMouilpied

Below is an email from Bob. The deMouilpied connection goes back to Suzanne deMouilpied.
Thanks for sharing Bob! ... Can anyone help?

"I do not have much more information than was included in the spreadsheet that I forwarded. This information was obtained in the main from the 1841, 1851 and 1881 Census that I looked at at the St Peter Port Central Library during a visit to Guernsey about 10 years ago. I was at that time more interested in my wife's Phillips family who had a tobacconists shop in Fountain Street, St Peter Port and also my ancestor who married in the Town church in St Peter Port in 1815. It was during that visit and research on the Phillips family that I became aware of the de Moulpied connection.

The de Moulpied information that I have gleaned from the Census is that Nancy Moulpied was born about 1814, living in Fountain St at the time of the Census, and her mother was Susan de Moulpied born about 1776 and eventually living with her daughter.

Janet Phillips is the one more interested in this branch of the family and she would be happy for you to include this information in your Blog."

Cousin in England from Susanne deMouilpied b. 1803

So here you go. A cousin from England found some deMouilpied roots here online. I will copy the email for you all to read below. What is exciting is the Suzanne in question is right on the chart that is on the blog dated Oct. 19, 2008 - The Descendants List. So here goes from Christine and Michael:

"hi,i saw your blog while doing research on my wifes family tree,we have a jean le lacheur (my wifes line) b.1781 son of guillaume le lacheur and ester simon.jean marries (13june 1805) susanne de mouillepied daughter of nicholas de mouillepied b1746 d.1842 and mother marguerite martin b1749 d1842 they had a son isaac who marries rachel vaudin they then had 3 children, james,gustavus,adelphus.

gustavus turns up next in the states (u.s.a ) where he marries mary louise who is an 8th.generation descendant of "william brewster of the mayflower"leader of the pilgrims of plymouth colony (see boston library,BREWSTER ANCESTRY LINE ,their marriage is entered in the records ) i hope this might be of interest"

(me) Nicolas b.1746 is the seventh generation near the bottom of the first page of the descendant list, that is where I found it. His daughter Susanne (8th generation) is actually on the second page. Nicolas had a lot of children! Our common grandparent is Nicolas b. 1721, generation 6.

"dear Deborah, We live in Fakenham, North Norfolk,England.I am norfolk born and bred ( we are nicknamed carrot crunches ! ) ,my wife christine has roots in Guernsey on mother and fathers side with family members still living there.I will send you an invitation to view my tree on ancestry if you click the link it will take you to our tree, you will find marriage entries for Jean and Susanne which you might find interesting.Am i correct in saying this would make you and christine distant cousins ? all the best Deborah.Christine and michael2008/11/8"

From me (Debby) We would have in common the 6 th generation and believe Joseph, my GGGreat Grandfather was generation 10, so I would be generation 14 so we are 8th cousins? maybe something removed too.? there is a link to understanding cousins on the side of my blog, down the left side.
Thanks again and I will post this.

Joseph deMouilpied - America's East Coast de Mouilpied Patriarch

Joseph deMouilpied was born in Guernsey on June 5, 1824.I (I have one source that says June 22, 1824) He was baptized at St. Martin's Church, the seed of all de Mouilpieds. Joseph was the seventh child born to Thomas de Mouilpied b. 1780 and Marie Blondel deMouilpied b. 1786. Joseph's siblings were:

Marie b. 1810
Thomas b. 1812
Rachel b.1814
Jean b.1816
Sophie b.1818
Charlotte b.1821

We know only a little about him. We do know that he was a minister of the Anglican Faith. Joseph did marry Sophie (Joseph also had a sister Sophie, love the name) Ogier on October 16, 1848. My notes say they were married in St. Martin's Parish.

I recall coming across something that said Joseph attended Elizabeth College, perhaps preparing him for being a minister. Verification of this would be wonderful.

Joseph had three children before he left Guernsey for Canada. Their baptisms were recorded in St. Martin's Parish as:
Emilie Sophia b. Sept. 13, 1849, ( d. Dec. 13, 1904)
Sophie Hamelin b. Sept.17, 1850 (d.?)
Francis Arthur b. Nov. 20, 1852, (d. Seattle, Washington,he remains the mystery child)

The last three children were born in Canada, they were:
Charles b. April 7, 1854, d. May, 22, 1929
Walter b. April 4, 1857, d. ? 1929
Alfred b. March 12, 1861, d. Sept.5, 1925

So we think Joseph arrived in Canada in 1853. His first official sighting is as the first permanent Minister for the St. Peter's Church in Malbay in 1860. Some entrees refer to Joseph as a missionary. Perhaps he was temporary before 1860, for all the local little churches. Joseph was at this church for almost 10 years.

Joseph then transferred to Saint Bartholomew's in Nicolet, near Trois Rivieres, Quebec in 1869. I have some copies of church records that he signed. It was a thrill to see his actual hand writing of the entrees for births, marriages and deaths. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of action which is perhaps why the church seemed to go out of action. Not surprised given that he was trying to minister a Protestant church in Catholic Quebec. The church has since burned down. He stayed in Nicolet until either 1873 or 1877, I have 2 different records.

We have been told that Joseph did some time ministering on an Indian reservation near Montreal, but we cannot verify it. There are also some entrees for Montreal but just a date. His wife Sophie died 1876 but we can not find the records about her death or where she is buried. We also can not find any records about their daughter Sophie.

The younger 3 boys, Charles, Walter and Alfred attended the local Seminaire de Nicolet from 1870-1875.

Three of Joseph's children remained in Canada: Emily, Sophie and Walter. The other 3 "boys" left Canada and headed for Lowell, Massachusetts, America. And that's another blog...

Joseph eventually came to America, at least by 1900, where he shows up on a Census in Manchester , New Hampshire living with his son, Alfred. It is a guess to say he moved to live out his life with family after having lost his wife and having no remaining children near by in Canada. Joseph died in Manchester, NH on March 19,1903. He is buried at the Pine Grove Cemetery, on Brown Ave in the de Mouilpied Family plot, located in the Chapel Lawn section, lot number 3707, along with his son Charles's family. Joseph other son Alfred, has a separate plot.

What a life he must have had. Early-Mid 1880's in quiet Guernsey and then taking such risk to move to Canada to minister with the hardships of such a remote area. And then finishing his life in bustling Manchester, the heart of mill yards and the industrial revolution. Oh the changes he would have witnessed: first cameras, electricity and cars. And you just have to love those mutton chops on his face! Joseph was my great-great grandfather.

Vaurioufs - deMouilpied Homestead

I was able to dig up these photos provided by a cousin, of the Vaurioufs homestead in St. Martins, Guernsey, the heart of de Mouilpieds. This is where Thomas b. 1780 lived with his wife Marie Blondel, and their many children. I believe that his son, Thomas, continued to live there but I am not sure. I'm also not sure when they obtained the home. Census reports would probably confirm some of this. Anyone have information?

Cousin Kathy has been inside and has lots more photos that I hope to get posted some day. I have seen the photos and the current owners have done a magnificent job renovating. It is a spectacular old place.

If you double click on the photo it enlarges a little bit.

Enjoy!

deMouilpied and Blondel Family Coats of Arms

This is the colored version of the de Mouilpied Family Coat of Arms. Also included on the right, is the Coat of Arms from the Blondel family. Thomas de Mouilpied, over in the left column there, was married to Marie Blondel, also pictured over on the left. These are the oldest photos known from the deMouilpied family.

DOUBLE CLICK ON THE COATS AND THEY WILL ENLARGE

Anyway, these coats are from another cousin who had them and aren't they wonderful! This dates back to the late 1500's. As a reminder, this Coat refers to a "Du Port, Seigneur de Mouillepie et de Boismasson."

There are several Blondel Coats but this is the one passed down to Marie. Supposedly there is a Blondel Coat of Arms in the St. Saviour Church on Guernsey up at the top of a column. I am hoping someone will visit the church and report back letting us know if it is the same. As I explained in a previous blog, families would alter Coats as they changed generations and/or families.