What do we know about Philippe Messervy’s emigration to Newfoundland?

Philippe Messervy (b. 1769 in St. Saveur, Jersey, Channel Islands) is acknowledged as the first permanent resident of Sandy Point, Newfoundland, and indeed is the likely forebear of all those of Messervy heritage in Newfoundland and eastern Canada.  He was the son of Philippe (b. 1743) and Rachel Bertram (b. 1740) of Jersey.  Unfortunately, records consulted to date do not provide any conclusive evidence of Philippe’s arrival.  An early reference is Thomas White’s documentation of Bay St.George settlers fishing and trading activity in 1808.  Mr. Messervy is noted as having a 60t vessel with 4 men, and traded furs, cod, and salmon to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Other documentation includes:

§  Ledwell, cited in Downer (p.27) suggests that both Jersey and English settlers were in the area of Sandy Point about 1783

§  Cormack, W.E. visited Bay St.George in 1822 and stayed with Philippe Messervy, noting that he had been established there for some time. Cormack estimated that there were approximately 100 residents at that time, of either Jersey or English descen

§  A Jersey source suggests Philippe was in Sandy Point before 1800 (http://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Jersey_emigrants_to_Newfoundland)

§  Ed Chafe, a Newfoundland researcher, has Philippe Messervy arriving in Sandy Point in 1794, making him 25 yrs. of age

§  Mannion describes Jersey and southwest English settlers operating in the summer fishery in the second half of the 18^th century and that by the 1770s a few remained during the winter, “operating as winter caretakers for British mercantile concerns.” There is always a possibility that Philippe Messervy was initially a summer fisher, returning to settle permanently before 1800

§  Butt notes that Capt. Cook visited Bay St. George in 1767 and did not note any settlers in the Sandy Point area (p. 34); he also refers to Father Michael Brosnan’s history of the St. George’s Diocese stating that Philippe and Susan (Susanne) Messervy settled at Sandy Point in 1789.

§  Butt also states that a Capt. Ambrose Crofton of the vessel Pluto reported one Messervy family and one Dennis family at Sandy Point area in 1797. (p. 163)

§  Leconte, a French naval officer who visited Bay St. George in 1815, notes that the settlement was well-established, with “Messervi” the patriarch of the community

Philippe Messervy married Susan (Suzanne) Dennis, the daughter of John Dennis, who was born in Codroy, Newfoundland about 1740.  The Dennis family were early west coast settlers, with suggestions of Irish or west England descent. As with other undocumented events, the timing of the marriage of Philippe Messervy to Susan (or Suzanne) depends somewhat on speculation surrounding the time of his arrival.  Dates of birth for his children range from 1791, making Philippe about twenty-two years of age at that time.  Ed Chafe notes that the first child was born after 1794, as this is the date he believes was the arrival date.

Whatever the specifics of the dates, give or take a few years, Philippe Messervy, settling in an area of west coast Newfoundland that was remote even for those times, experienced a great contrast between the island of Jersey,  settled since at least 1200 and the new island of Newfoundland.  The Messervy family was in residence before 1309 in Jersey and is considered an original family of the island.  For some time, it was understood in Newfoundland that the family was of Huguenot origin, but the Edict of Nantes that led to Protestant Huguenot exile did not occur until 1685.  The Messervys were Protestant because of the Channel Islands association with England and the prominence of the Anglican religion (Church of England). 

Leconte describes the environment of Bay St. George (please excuse the quality of French to English translation) as a “safe harbour covered in fir trees that come down almost to the shore. On the point, there is a small village with houses constructed of wood occupied by thirty something individuals with Messervi the head. Messervi described that in his youth, he fished salmon… and travelled the coast that was laden with fish; he stayed there and eventually established a small community…he added the fur trade to his salted salmon trade; his sons and his sons-in-law were mariners like himself; he purchased a small schooner in Halifax and each year made a trip to Halifax to sell fish, oil and furs.”

Leconte even commented on the “fresh and glowing complexions”of the young women but noted that their lack of exposure to the world beyond Bay St. George meant they lacked social graces, although they did like to “adorn themselves with straw hats, dresses of white muslin on which they wear colourful ribbons” that Messervi purchased for them in Halifax. Leconte continues that “…dressed with these fine items, they lead their cows to pasture…”  Quite a picture for the French naval officer!

So to summarize, you can see that one may never know the exact dates ( although I am always looking and please do share any information or references that you may have!).  

References:

Butt, Kirk.  Early Settlers of Bay St. George: The Inner Harbour. Volume 1. Boonen Books. 2013.

Chafe, Ed. Personal email dated 17 June 2016.

Cormack, W.E. http://www.mun.ca/rels/native/beothuk/beo2gifs/texts/HOW19b.html

Downer, Don. Turbulent Tides: a social history of Sandy Point. ESP Press, 1997.

Leconte, F. Mémoires pittoresques d’un officier de marine. Premier Volume. Le Pontois, 1851. Available at Google Books: https://books.google.ca/books?id=BChyAwVbqdoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Mannion, John J. Settlers and Traders in Western Newfoundland in The Peopling of Newfoundland: essays in historical geography. Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1977.

White, Thomas. Early “Census” St. Georges Bay. NL Genweb. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cannf/wcbstg_1808.htm