23. Philippe and Mary De Gruchy of Jersey

The De Gruchy name comes from a hamlet called Gruchy in the Cotentin, the peninsula of Normandy which reaches out to the Channel Islands. It is one of the oldest Jersey surnames, recorded as de Groceio in 1089. Coutanche is from Coutances, another town in the Cotentin. It is not recorded in Jersey until the Extente of 1528, where it is written as Coustances. 

Jersey is blessed with very old records, which many researchers have perused, including the author of a book in my possession. Some caution is still needed on the oldest records but the De Gruchy history has been thoroughly researched, so most of these are likely to be accurate. For the record, my oldest direct ancestors we know about in this part of the family are: Guillaume De Gruchy (1284), Jeanne Larbalastier (1414), Jean Poingdestre (1447), Collette Nicole (1500), Hostes Hamptonne (1507), Peronelle Messervy (1507), Jean Hubert (1474, and potentially earlier ancestors), Noette Jean Franck (1478, and potentially earlier ancestors), Collette Falle (1503, and potentially earlier ancestors), Pierre Guide (1492), Collette Le Couteur (1504), Andrieu Grossier (1530), Philippine Mourand (1549), Servais Le Sueur (1652), Regnaulde Bisson (1534), Marguerite Le Quesne (1618), Marie Giffard (1642), Sara Esnouf (1678), Rachel Nicolle (1704), Anne Remon (1749), Philippe Mauger (1761), Marie L'affoley (1761), Reganult Coutanche (1666), Jean Mauger (1688), Leonard Romeril (1519), Jean Le Bouteillier (1497), Clement Pinel (1540, and potentially earlier ancestors), Colette Gruchy (1532), Philippe Romeril (1545), Thomas Lempriere (1514, and potentially earlier ancestors), Alice De La Rosque (1538), Mabel Dumaresq (1538, and potentially earlier ancestors), Clement Lemontais (1622), Rachel De Cartnet (1626), Marie Le Hardy (1675), Lawrence Marett (1538), Pauline Hamon (1543), Rachel Messervy (1565), Francois Gruchy (1470, and potentially earlier ancestors), Philippe Le Boutillier (1494), Basilia Guerdain (1494), Charles Hamelin (1647), Sara de Bourcy (1647), Marie Cabot (1702), Pierre Joubaire (1689, France), Susanne Romeril (1710), Thomas Bertram (1646), Jean Cosnard (1629), Sara Pirouët (1685), Sara Le Feuvre (1721), Richard Le Feuvre (1700), Jeanne Le Lievre (1700), Marie Fauvel (1773), Philippe Bisson (1773), François Gendron (1684, Nantes, France) and Marie Villeno (1696).

For more on Jersey at this time, see Chapter 21.

St Lawrence church (credit)

Philippe De Gruchy (1804) married Marie Coutanche (1808) in 1829 in St Lawrence, Jersey. They had five children:

• 44.1.1 - Philippe De Gruchy (1831). Philippe died in 1831.
• 44.1.2 - Jean Philippe De Gruchy (1837)
• 44.1.3 - Mary Ann De Gruchy (1839)
• 44.1.4 - Philippe De Gruchy (1841)
• 44.1.5 - Caroline Elizabeth De Gruchy (1844)

More on these individuals in Chapter 44.

Philippe was a seaman in 1841, based in St Helier, and a mariner in 1851, based in St Lawrence. By this time Philippe (Philip) Jr. was a shipsmith. Jersey was the fourth-largest shipbuilding area in the British Isles in the C19, building over 900 vessels. Philippe Sr. (probably) died before the 1871 census. Marie died in 1870. 

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