Dolbel

Dolbel family page

Marie Dolbel (1829-1912), emigrated to New Zealand with her husband. Her brothers Philippe, Richard and Charles also emigrated but their parents remained in Jersey and are buried at St John churchyard. Philippe, in particular, had great success in New Zealand. He owned land, the Napier brickworks and a number of other profitable businesses. Marie married Henry Ridgway in Jersey and he was given the job of the manager of the Napier brickworks by Philippe

Record Search

Direct links to lists of baptisms, marriages and burials for the Dolbel family can be found under Family Records opposite. If you want to search for records for a spelling variant of Dolbel, or for any other family name, just click below on the first letter of the
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New records

From August 2020 we have started adding records from non-Anglican churches, and this process will continue as more records, held by Jersey Archive, are digitised and indexed. Our database now includes buttons enabling a search within registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These records will automatically appear within the results of any search made from this page.

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The Dolbel family in New Zealand in the 19th century

Origin of Surname

This name may be a variation of Dolbet and Dolbec, both of which are found in Normandy, and may be derived from the Germanic words for deep stream.

Early records

The Dolbel family is wrongly said to have arrived in the Channel Islands as part of the first wave of Huguenot refugees. That was not until 1572, however, and there were Dolbels in Jersey well before then. The name appears in the Assize Roll (1299) and Robert Dolbel was one of the jurors of Grouville, named in the 1331 Extente. Jordan "Dubel" (Dolbel?) of St Peter was mentioned in the 1309 Assize Roll.

The surname was before 1600, primarily associated with the parish of St Saviour.

The Rev J A Messervy mentioned, in his second Falle genealogy, that the Falle`s probable relative was Sire Philippe Dolbel, priest, who was living in 1534. He, with John Dolbel, priest, was a godfather to the infant John Dolbel of St Etienne in 1549. Jacques Dolbel, of St Ouen, was one of the 40 settlers who helped Helier De Carteret colonise Sark in 1565. He was tenant of Clos de Menage Quarantaine and served as a Jurat in the Chief Pleas in 1579. Members of the Dolbel family lived in Sark until 1823.

Other early findings of the name

• Benjamin Dolbel (1514- ) Trinity m (1557) Esther Marett, daughter of Jourdain
• Perronelle Dolbel (1442-1470) daughter of Jehan (1418- ) m Richard Jutize
• Katherine Dolbel (1548?-1575), daughter of Thomas (1510?-1554) of La Carrière, and Catherine Hubert, married Hugh Yden (1545-1607)

Rectors and merchants

Maïtre John Dolbel was Rector of Grouville, 1490-1505, the year of his death. Sire Pierre Dolbel was admitted to the priesthood at Coutances on 17 September 1509, and he, or a namesake, was Rector of St Clement 1544--1559 and Chaplain of Mont Orgueil Castle, 1531. Julien Dolbel, son of Thomas, was Rector of his home parish, St Saviour 1567-1582. Messervy recorded ABSJ VII that he lived near St Etienne, in the Vingtaine de Dessous La Hougue and descended from Nicolas Morin, Bailiff, 1460. He married Yolande Gavey, daughter of Guillaume Gavey of St Saviour. The Dolbels of St Etienne continued in the parish for many generations.

Two branches of the family, one in St Helier, the other St Saviour, produced prominent merchants in the 18th century, some of whom, in the Seven Years War (1757-1763), were highly successful privateer owners, although they were not able to repeat this level of success during the Napoleonic War. A wall-mounted memorial to eleven year old Daniel Dolbel, of the latter merchant family, who died in a riding accident, is situated on the north wall, in St Saviour`s Church. The St Saviour branch of the family is now believed to be extinct within the Island, but it has descendants in the United States.

A junior branch of the family settled in St John in the late 16th century, on marrying the heiress of a property now called Chestnut Grove. It has flourished, with a descendant, Jean Dolbel, having been Centenier and then Constable of St John, 1765-1770. This branch continues to the present day. Another Jean Dolbel, of St Helier, was Constable of that parish, 1800-1803.

Variants

• Dolbel, 1461
• Dollebel, 1490
• Dolbell 1607
• Lolebel, 1299
• Dolobel, 1299
• Dulbel 1309
• Dubel 1309
• Delebel 1299

Family records

Jersey family trees

Although a major review of our Dolbel trees in 2018 resulted in many additions to existing trees and the creation of two entirely new trees, there remains a substantial number of Dolbels born in Jersey who are not linked to any of these trees. We would be pleased to hear from anyone who has researched Dolbel branches not covered here

• Clement Dolbel: 18th-19th centuries
• Daniel Dolbel: 17th-19th centuries
• Etienne Dolbel: 17th-19th centuries
• Jean Dolbel: 17th-18th centuries
• Jean Dolbel 2: 18th-20th centuries
• Marie Dolbel: 18th-20th centuries
• Pierre Dolbel: 16th-18th centuries
• Richard Dolbel: 16th-20th centuries
• Symon Dolbel: 15th-16th centuries
• Thomas Dolbel: 16th century
• William Dolbel: 18th-19th centuries

Church records

Tips for using these links

• Dolbel baptisms in Jersey
• Dolbel marriages in Jersey (groom)
• Dolbel marriages in Jersey (bride)
• Dolbel burials in Jersey

Great War service

Notes on our list, abbreviations used etc

• Albert Henry Dolbel (1891- ) (St J) son of Albert and Jane Luce , Private, RJGB
• Edgar George Dolbel (St H), Lieutenant, Canada
• John Dolbel (1890- ) (St L) son of John and Helene Marguerite, Sergeant, RASC

Occupation records

• Dolbel Occupation identity cards

Family wills

• Dolbel family wills from 1663 to 1980 held by Jersey Archive

Burial records

• Dolbel burial records 1820-1978

Family histories

• Jacques Dolbel, tenant of Sark 1565
• Philippe Dolbel, emigrated to New Zealand
• Elizabeth Adelaide Dolbel - from Jersey to Utah

Family businesses

A newspaper report of how Clement Jean Dolbel, master of the schooner St Helier was attacked by pirates on the River Congo

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  In 1787, in one of Jersey's earliest newspaper adverts in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey, Jean Dolbel advertised the brigantine Liberte for sale. This may have been the vessel previously skippered by Moise Steel, or a third vessel of the same name active in Jersey at that time. Jean Dolbel went on to be master of Resolution from 1790 to 1792
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  In 1788 William Dolbel advertised in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey the arrival of a consignment of leather at his Vine Street premises
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  Captain Jean Dolbel advertised in the Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1792 that he had pieces of mahogany for sale
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  In 1795 Capt George Dolbel was master of the corsair La Defiance, when Thomas and Pierre Mallet, armourers of the vessel, announced in the Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey the sale of cargo from the prize vessel Eliza
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  Jean Dolbel, grocer and wine dealer in Grande Rue (now Broad Street) advertised in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1803
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  Anoter Mr Dolbel, at Colomberie, was advertising 'nankins' for sale in the Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1803. Nankins may have been Chinese porcelain, or something else
• 
  1857
• 
  1860
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  Jean Dolbel advertised the brigs Diana and Rocou for sale in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in January 1804 ...
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  ... he advertised a variety of groceries on 10 January 1804 ...
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  ... and he advertised tea in Jamaican mahogany chests in January 1804
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  Thomas Le Breton, guardian of the children of the late Jean Dolbel, sold on their behalf three-eights of the cutters Venus and Aunt
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  Jean Dolbel advertised 765 cases of Havana sugar, wood and other items from a prize ship taken by the Diana on a voyage from Havana to Cadiz in 1805
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  Mr Dolbel advertised the sale of the 120-ton brig Ceres in ‘’Gazette de l’Ile de Jersey’’ in 1803
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  Jean Dolbel, of St John, advertised a 14-foot boat for sale in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1799
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  Jean Dolbel advertised best quality Scottish wine bottles in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1799

Family album

Click on any image to see the full-size version

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  Eliza Adelaide Dolbel (1834-1908) emigrated to Utah, daughter of Philip (1806-1882) and Susanne Esnouf
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  Eliza's death certificate
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  Marie Dolbel (1829-1912), emigrated to New Zealand, daughter of Jean (1798-1873) and Anne Cristin (1799-1878)
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  Marie Dolbel and her husband Henry Ridgway, and their children Annie, Mary, Samuel, Alice and Henry Peter
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  Philip Dolbel (1827-1901), emigrated to New Zealand, son of Jean (1798-1873) and Anne Cristin (1799-1878)
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  Richard and Mary Ann Dolbel, nee Barette, Philp and Richard
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  Donald Dolbel (1926-2024)
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  Eliza Adelaide Dolbel
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  Richard and Mary Ann Dolbel, nee Barette, with sons Jean and Richard
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  Thomas Le Breton, guardian of the children of the late Jean Dolbel, organised a sale of household goods before the Viscount

Family homes

• Chestnut Grove, St John

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  Amice Dolbel has a house and stable to let between the properties of Jean Laugee and Edouard Renouf in February 1804
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  Land belonging to the late Jean Dolbel was sold before the Viscount on 8 February 1804
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  Thomas Le Breton, guardian of the children of the late Jean Dolbel, advertised their Colomberie house for sale

Family gravestones

Click on any image to see a larger version. See the Jerripedia gravestone image collection page for more information about our gravestone photographs

• 
  Almorah cemetery
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  St Peter’s Church cemetery
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  St John’s Church cemetery
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  St John’s Church cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery

Tips

The church record links above will open in a new tab in your browser and generate the most up-to-date list of each set of records from our database. These lists replace earlier Family page baptism lists, which were not regularly updated. They have the added advantage that they produce a chronological listing for the family name in all parishes, so you do not have to search through A-Z indexes, parish by parish.

We have included some important spelling variants on some family pages, but it may be worth searching for records for a different spelling variant. Think of searching for variants with or without a prefix, such as Le or De. To search for further variants, or for any other family name, just click on the appropriate link below for the first letter of the family name, and a new tab will open, giving you the option to choose baptism, marriage or burial records. You will then see a list of available names for that type of record and you can select any name from that list. That will display all records of the chosen type for that family name, and you can narrow the search by adding a given name, selecting a parish or setting start and end dates in the form you will see above. You can also change the family name, or search for a partial name if you are not certain of the spelling

The records are displayed 30 to a page, but by selecting the yellow Wiki Table option at the top left of the page you can open a full, scrollable list. This list will either be displayed in a new tab or a pop-up window. You may have to edit the settings of your browser to allow pop-up windows for www.jerripediabmd.net. For the small number of family names for which a search generates more than 1,500 records you will have to refine your search (perhaps using start or end dates) to reduce the number of records found.

New records

Since August 2020 we have added several thousand new records from the registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These will appear in date order within a general search of the records and are also individually searchable within the database search form

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