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!

Who Was Charlotte de Mouilpied?

Charlotte b. April1, 1821, was Thomas de Mouilpied's 6th child, out of 7, and 3 years older than Joseph. At 27, Charlotte married Francis de la Mare, a Reverend from Jersey. This was his second marriage after his first wife, Marguerite Gavey, died during the birth of her second child. As an instant mother, Charlotte and her new husband set sail for Gaspe, Canada. Charlotte's first child, Theophilus, was probably born in Gaspe, around 1850, but later died in 1852 from diphtheria. Charlotte was busy having almost one child every year. Alpheus, whose grand daughter shared the lovely photos for the Thomas Slide Show, was born on April 23, 1853, Gaspe. Two more children would die before Charlotte would return to Guernsey, only momentary.

Charlotte's husband was sent to Mauritius and Africa to minister. It is thought that Charlotte also went, leaving the children behind in Guernsey. Upon returning from South Africa, Francis was washed over board in 1869.

In the meantime, Alpheus, at only 15, headed to America to make his fortune in 1868. Charlotte's other son, Clarence b. April 10, 1862 ( we have so many photos of him) headed to Rio de Janerio. The story goes that Clarence was told to stay on board to avoid yellow fever but he had a reputation for being naughty. And so Clarence did indeed become ill and died May 4, 1884, in Rio.

Charlotte stayed in Guernsey, living next door to her father's manor house until her death at 88 on May 31, 1902.

de Mouilpieds in Guernsey

There is no doubt that the de Mouilpieds are from Guernsey. The Island has many birth, death and marriage records in addition to land documentation and historical reference. Though it might seem logical to research French genealogical resources, France produces absolutely nothing for the surname de Mouilpied, except the land Mouillepied as in the Chateau. The early, pre 1800's genealogical data on de Mouilpieds world wide all come from Guernsey. The White Pages has about 16 de Moulpieds listed.

The majority of de Mouilpied births occurred in St. Martins Parish, a section of Guernsey. This is where a street is name Les Mouilpied, a small section is Mouilpied (click on this and Google Map shows the section if you zoom in-cool) and 2 old homesteads are labeled deMouilpied, one dating back to 1623. St. Martins is clearly the deMouilpied Parish. A grand home stead called The Vaurioufs, owned by Thomas deMoulpied, (my great great great grandfather) is also located in St. Martins. (photos coming soon) The St. Martin's Parish church is where many deMouilpieds are buried prominently in gracious tombs. As I recall, the birth records from St. Martins Parish date back to the early 1600's and perhaps includes the 1596 reference. The records are now all kept at the Priaulx Library. There is an entire file devoted to the deMouilpied Family.