Jure-Justiciers and more in the Island of Jersey
Week 2 of #52ancestors and the theme for the blog post is "Favourite Find", which can be interpreted in many ways. It can be finding a mystery ancestor, coming across a great resource, discovering interesting moments of an ancestor's life. So many choices, but I have to pick one.
Messervy is one of the oldest recorded surnames in Jersey. Jersey has a long history, being part of the Duchy of Normandy from 933 to 1066, then in 1066 part of the Anglo-Norman world. Jersey was ruled by Normandy until 1204, when it established its unique relationship with the United Kingdom as the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British crown dependency.[1] Much of the structure of its governance emerged from Norman traditions, but today it is a mix of modern and traditional. Why have I provided this little bit of history? It is essential to introduce onefavourite find: the contributions that many Messervys made to the governance of Jersey, particularly in its early history. Most of these roles are based on Norman structures and indeed are in French.
When I began researching the Messervy surname, all I knew was that my maternal grandmother was born a Messervey and that she had a brother who seemed to have experienced exotic travel and brought Chinese parasols and other Asian items to my mother and her siblings when children. I did not know initially about the significance of Newfoundland to my ancestors who ended up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I certainly did not know about Jersey, Channel Islands. My mother thought they may have come from the Isle of Man although there was an acknowledgement of "Frenchness". My grandmother often referred to my dramatic hand and arm movements accompanying speech as "the French in you"!
At the time I picked up the Messervey line in my ancestry, the Internet was beginning to be a prominent genealogy resource and I learned about the Newfoundland Messerveys from whence my ancestors came, and with both interest and excitement I found references to Philippe Messervy, who came from Jersey in the Channel Islands to Newfoundland. I heard about a book entitled Généalogie de la famille Messervy, compiled by J.A. Messervy in 1890.[2] When I realized the ancient history of this family, I read everything possible and discovered the historical roles members of this family had played in Jersey. While I am not a genealogist who intentionally seeks out "people of renown", I was however drawn to how many of them had been involved, and that at one point, the Messervys were a prominent political family.
Messervy devoted several pages in preface (vii to ix) to Messervys in prominent roles, from military to marine to elected representatives. The Jure-Justiciers were particularly prominent and quoting from Messervy, "La famille Messervy a donné à l'ile de Jersey [gave to the island of Jersey] 11 Jure-Justiciers, dont un Lieutenant-Gouverneur et un Lieutenant Bailli et Juge-Delegue". If you are reading this in an environment based somewhat on England's structures, these are new terms to you. The Jure-Justicier was appointed by members of a Jersey parish to make decisions on mostly practical matters, and was not a professional of the law, but were lay people. The Messervy jure-justiciers follow:
Name & Area Represented | Years in role |
Guillaume (or Guille) Messervy, de la Chesne | 1495 - 1522 |
Clement Messervy, de Beau Desert | 1498 - 1503 |
Clement Messervy, fils du precedent (son of above) | 1526 - 1533 |
Richard Messervy, Seigneur de Bagot | 1555 - 68 & 1570 - 79 |
Edouard Messervy, from near Morin | 1566 - 1574 |
Aaron Messervy, de Beau Desert | 1605 - 1631 |
Edouard Messervy, from near Morin | 1606 - 1617 |
Philippe Messervy, Seigneur de Bagot | 1655 - 1660 |
Daniel Messervy, du Mont-au-Pretre | 1754 - 1771 |
Nicolas Messervy, Seigneur des Augres | 1771 - 1808 |
Alfred Messervy, de la Trinité | 1884 - |
J.A. Messervy goes on to list other Messervy roles: 2 Procureurs-Generaux; 5 Avocats-Generaux; 1 Stipulant Avocats-Generaux; 3 Deputés-Vicomtes; 3 Senéchaux du Roi ou de la Reine; 4 Recteurs; 1 Greffier; 4 Avocats de la Cour Royale; 2 Denonciateurs; 1 Maitres de Chasse; 9 Connétables and perhaps a partridge in a pear tree? Military and marine officers were also predominant among Messervys. Interesting to note that the denonciateurs (denouncers) were as one might guess "informers", and while this would not be an esteemed role in these days, it was one in earlier times in Jersey (likely due to fear rather than admiration). As time progressed and many Messervys emigrated to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, their role in the life of Jersey diminished.
Daniel Messervy, who occupied a jure-justicer position from 1754 - 1771 left behind more than his contribution to governance as a legacy. He kept a journal, which was published by the Société Jersiase, that detailed the events of 1769- 1772, an era of revolt and trouble in Jersey. He was called "...a notable Jerseyman..." by A.C. Saunders who authored an article in 1937.[1]
It was clear he had his fingers on the pulse of Jersey politics, which Saunders describes as very corrupt at that time. Despite suffering from poor health, Daniel Messervy seemed to have intimate knowledge of what was going on - he even sent out a servant to investigate some "breaking news". Daniel's genealogy can be checked on my Messervy website.
Nicolas Messervy, born 1740 in Trinity, was appointed as a Juge-Délégue five times[2]. It appears that this role was one assigned as an interim judge when a position was vacated; also may be appointed for a particular event. Nicolas was known as the proprieter of des Augres, but not by inheritance: he purchased it in 1771 from the owners by inheritance. He went on to purchase other properties that were fiefs in the Parish of Trinity. When Nicolas died in 1808, one newspaper obituary[3] described him (original in French, providing a summary in English): He was one of the oldest Magistrates of the Cour Royale, and Colonel-General of the militia of this island. He was also a sincere friend, protector of the poor and society at large, distinguished by his moral virtues, domestic and political.
1] To learn more about Jersey as a crown dependency, this Jersey website has good basic information. https://www.gov.je/Leisure/Jersey/Pages/History.aspx
[2] This book is referred to in many database entries for Messervy website (https://messervey.one-name.net) as well as in previous posts. The benefit of this book, while a secondary resource, is that the author was a highly educated genealogist, who for many years was the official genealogist of the Société Jersiaise. Because of his position, he had endless access to Archive including parish records. Thus, compared to some secondary books, it was very accurate. As I have delved into digital copies of original records, I have rarely come across any error on the part of Messervy, some omissions, but few errors. The book also includes sections on USA and Newfoundland descendants, completed by people in those locations, and it is there that more errors appear!
[1] Saunders, A.C. Daniel Messervy and His Times. Bulletin of the Société Jersiaise. Vol.13.p.247 - 258. 1937
[2] Messervy, J.A. p. 96
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