Family History

Jean Bonamy's will, 1746

Will of Mr Jean Bonamy, proved 1746. From the French in the Notebook of Peter Mollet, his relative. Jean Bonamy came from a wealthy family. He was the son of Samuel Bonamy and the brother of another Samuel Bonamy, who became Bailiff of Guernsey. Jean was born in 1710 and died in 1746 in Gibraltar; he was a Lieutenant in an English Regiment of Fusiliers at the time.

The Grange house sales, 1790/1

La Grange, from the Notebook of Peter Mollet, MS in the Library.

Sark names

A list of Sark surnames, from Cachemaille's The Island of Sark, originally published in 1874-76, ed. Laura Hale, 1928.

Lukis on Hutchesson

More reminiscences about the Hutchesson family of Guernsey from F.C. Lukis, as transcribed by Edith Carey in her Scrapbook manuscript at the Library.

Peter Paul Dobree, by his friend, the economist George Pryme

From Autobiographic recollections of George Pryme, 1870, with mention of Dr James Jeremie, Regius Professor of Divinity, also from Guernsey.

Tom Sticks

Four accounts of Tom Sticks, from Edith Carey's Scrapbook, Vol. I., and letters from the Library's Dobree-Mann transcriptions. 1. Thomas Le Marchant, a retired Lieutenant of Mariners (familiarly called Tom Sticks by the Patricians and Le Ramouneux , or Chimney Sweep , by the Plebeians); by his miserly habits he hoarded so much money that he 'cut up' splendidly [ his brother Charles inherited it ]. Tom Sticks obtained his name of Le Ramouneux as follows. Believing that he had made a conquest of Miss Laperre of Les Blancs Bois, he thought to take her by surprise, as Jove did Danaë, by…

Matthew De Sausmarez

Amongst several of the De Sausmarez family to bear this name, the Matthew De Sausmarez who lived in the island in the late 18th century is one of the best known. Amongst his titles was Châtelain of the Castle at Jerbourg, and it was he who built the Sausmarez Tower there, the only defensive tower of that era not following a military plan. It is unlikely that he did it out of altruism. J. Chepmell, in the MS Memoirs held at the Library, has some very unflattering things to say about him.

Des Caudeville and Heirs of Poulson v. Boyrenson,1854

A genealogist's nightmare, from The Comet of February 9, 1854.

Frederick Le Page as St Andrew

Memorial at St Andrew's Church, Tostock, by Simon Knott

From Rosemary de Saumarez's reminiscences of James St Vincent Saumarez, 4th Baronet (1843-1937). The photograph of the memorial in Tostock Church is courtesy of Simon Knott. Rosemary Ashley (née de Saumarez) donated a photograph album to the Library in 1984 which contains photographs of Frederick, the sisters, his boat and his cottage at Cobo.

The Musee Dobree in Nantes

There is now an interesting website for this museum, with audio and video tours of the building and collections and a great deal of background information to this branch of the Dobrée family. The Priaulx Library has the standard guide to the museum in its collection, Aptel, Claire, et al., Thomas Dobrée 1810-1895: un homme un musée, France, Fonds Dobrée, 1997 .

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