A Tale of Two Philippes: from Jersey to the colonies
A recent meetup with a Messervy descendant from New Zealand made me think of the differences and similarities between the experiences of my Philippe Messervy (see blog #2) and the New Zealand Philippe Messervy. The most obvious difference is that of time: I descend from Philippe Messervy who was born in St. Saviour, Jersey in 1769, while our New Zealand Philippe was born in 1845, seventy-six years later. My Philippe was a young single man when he was already in Newfoundland, part of the history of the cod trade, integral to the history of Jersey. According to Jersey Heritage [1] , “...18th century merchants followed the triangular cod trade route leaving Jersey to trade in the Gaspé and Newfoundland, the West Indies and the Mediterranean. Initially the majority went on a seasonal basis but as the century progressed a number of Jersey firms with resident staff were set up. Charles Robin established the pattern of trade for J...