Monday, February 16, 2009

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.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

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

Saturday, February 7, 2009

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?