Gruchy
A distinct family from de Gruchy since the early 15th century
Capt Gruchy of the Royal Jersey Artillery. He was probably Captain George Le Maistre Gruchy, RJA
Direct links to lists of baptisms, marriages and burials for the Gruchy family can be found under Family Records opposite. If you want to search for records for a spelling variant of Gruchy, 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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If you can help with information about the Gruchy family, please contact editorial@jerripedia.org, using Jerripedia as the subject of your email. We are particularly interested in information which will help create further family trees, family histories and photographs
Origin of Surname
As with de Grouchy, otherwise de Gruchy, the family is thought to have originated at Grouchy, on the borders of the Cotentin and Bessin in Lower Normandy. The name is Viking in origin, derived from the old Norse personal name Geirolfr, meaning Spear-wolf. The ey is Norse for an island or isle, making a place name, the "Isle of Spearwolf". Many Norse personal names at that date incorporated wolf. Other Jersey examples are Renouf, Esnouf and, originally, Hascoulfr (Hacquoil). The first syllable of Grouville has similar roots.
Early records
Guillaume Grouchye bought from Thomas de St Martin, in 1439, two fields in Trinity on the Fief de la Trinité. The size and whereabouts of this fief are important factors in identifying the close proximity of the land held by Guillaume Grouchye in 1439, and no doubt by his heirs, to that held by Guillaume and Rauf de Grochie, mentioned below, in 1402.
The fief is not, as is often believed nowadays, a large landholding comprising most of the ecclesiastical parish of Trinity. Guy de Gruchy, in Medieval Land Tenures in Jersey, wrote that in 1309 it comprised one carucate - 60 acres - and was no more than a "fief of moderate size".
He continued: "It seems that the ability and influence of the holders had greatly enhanced the status of this Fief between 1331 and 1607; it is now classed as one of the five chief lay fiefs."
The 60 acres are situated along, and partly overlapping, Trinity`s boundary with St John, in the west of the ecclesiastical parish. The fields purchased in 1439 were thus in immediate proximity to, if not identical to, the land long associated with Champs Clairs.
They are likely to be those retaining the name Clos Gruchy, a few hundred metres to the north-east of Champs Clairs, a property long associated with the Descendants of Rauff Gruchy: ABSJ, IV. Guillaume, living in 1439, may therefore have been Rauff's father or grandfather. [1]
Of definite significance is a contract in the possession of the Jersey Archive, dated 1402, which includes Rauf (Radolphus) and Guillemet de Grochie, both tenants of the Fief de la Trinité, in this western part of the parish. Guillemet is a variant of Guillaume. Should the Guillaume living in 1402 have been either the 1439 land purchaser or his father, then the link between the Gruchys and de Gruchys is likely to have been discovered; see Descendants of Robin de Gruchy (1350), footnote 29.
Four Gruchys, Colas, Guillaume, Nicolas and Raffe are found in the Jersey Chantry Certificate of 1550, although Collas and Nicolas may have been identical, as these names were often regarded as interchangeable. Guillaume has now been provisionally placed.
Early family members include the abovementioned Ralph Gruchy, who was born about 1440 and Jennette Gruchy (1434). In Emden, Alumni Oxoniensis, until 1500, mention is made of: "Gruche, John, imprisoned and fined by the Chancellor`s commissary for carrying a dagger, 22 Nov. 1453". John`s surname was definitely Gruchy or, when studying in England, de Gruchy. A student in 1453 would have been born about 1434, which corresponds with the generation of Ralph Gruchy, who later named his elder son Jean.
Payne and Messervy
Payne`s Armorial of Jersey (1st Section, 1858), the Rev J A Messervy and other Jersey genealogists have long viewed the Gruchys and de Gruchys as being two parts of the same family, of which one part, in the early 16th century, omitted the "de". The branches of de Gruchy and Gruchy have since then developed separately, albeit within, at first, the same parish, Trinity. The two names have, understandably, become so confused in Jersey church records that we combined the records under 'de Gruchy/Gruchy' in our baptism database.
We later regretted doing so and one of our team spent some considerable time separating the two, to ensure that each is correctly identified as a Gruchy or de Gruchy. [2]
The Gruchy family has given the Island four Rectors, three Constables and two Jurats. Two Gruchys have served as Deputies in the States of Jersey. Those in Holy Orders were, before the Reformation, Sire Drouet Grouchy in 1541 and Sire John Gruchy in 1547. The latter was Rector of St Mary, 1553-1574. The Rev Olivier Gruchy was then Rector of St Clement, 1595-1614, the year of his death. The Rev Daniel Gruchy was Rector of St Peter, 1627-1651 and Rector of St Mary, 1660-1677, and the Rev Sorel John Gruchy was Rector of St Mary, 1896-1915.
In England, the Rev Luke Gruchy was Vicar of Thorley, Isle of Wight, 1633-1663.
The Gruchy constables were all of Trinity: Josue Gruchy, 1697-1712; François Gruchy, 1809-1812 and Charles Gruchy, formerly Deputy for Trinity, who became its Constable, 1864-1868, and was then elected Jurat. He died in 1900. In recent times, the late Charles Leonard Gruchy ( -2002), of Champs Clairs, followed in the footsteps of his forbear, in becoming a Jurat.
Arms
The arms of Gruchy and de Gruchy are identical, namely "Or, a fretty of six pieces, azure"
Variants
- de Gruchy: Although now known to be connected, it is treated as a separate family with its own page
- Grouchy 1515, 1541
- Grouchye 1439
- Grochie 1547
- Gruchie 1607
- Grussy c1340
- Grouche 1309
Family records
Family trees
Unlike the de Gruchys, the Gruchy family members have not all been researched. As many as, perhaps, 20% of them still remain unplaced. This applies particularly to those in Trinity. These trees were reviewed by Guy Dixon in 2024, and include a number of new ones added then
- Rauff Gruchy: 15th-18th centuries Master tree
- Abraham Gruchy: 16th-18th centuries of St John and St Helier
- Barthelemy Gruchy: 16th-20th centuries of St John and St Clement
- Edouard Gruchy: 16th-20th centuries of St John and NS, Canada
- Edouard Gruchy 2: 16th-20th centuries of St John and NS, Canada
- Francois Gruchy: 17th-20th centuries of Trinity
- George Gruchy: 19th-20th centuries
- Germain Gruchy: 16th-17th centuries of St Clement
- Jean Gruchy: 16th-20th centuries of Trinity and St Helier
- Jean Gruchy 2: 18th-20th centuries of La Ruette, Trinity
- Jean Gruchy 3: 18th-20th centuries of Trinity, St Helier and Grouville
- Jean Gruchy 4: 18th-20th centuries of St Peter
- John Gruchy: 18th-20th centuries of Pouch Cove, Newfoundland
- Matthieu Gruchy: 16th-19th centuries of St Martin
- Philip Gruchy: 18th-20th centuries of St John
- Philippe Gruchy: 18th-20th centuries of Trinity
- Philippe Gruchy 2: 18th-20th centuries of Trinity
- Rauff Gruchy 2: 15th-18th centuries
- Raulin Gruchy: 16th-19th centuries of St John
Church records
Some family records for Gruchy may still be mixed in with de Gruchy, but we believe that we have isolated most of them
- Gruchy baptisms in Jersey
- Gruchy marriages in Jersey (groom)
- Gruchy marriages in Jersey (bride)
- Gruchy burials in Jersey
Biographies and histories
- Jeanne Gruchy (1765-1848), lace maker and founder of the Don Gruchy
- Thomas James Gruchy (1719-1780), merchant adventurer and leader of the Trinity Rebellion, 1769
- Philip Gruchy (1892-1967), signatory to the Terms of Union, Newfoundland to Canada, 1948
- A book of Gruchy family history
Ships' captains
Great War service
Occupation records
Family wills
Burial records
Family homes
- Beaupre, St Helier
- Carrefour House, St Martin
- Champs Clairs, Trinity
- Crossbow House, Trinity
- Greenhill, St Clement
- Herupe, St John
- La Planque, Rozel, Trinity
- La Prevalaie, Grouville
- La Ruette, Rozel, Trinity
- Ronceville, St Clement`s Road, St Saviour
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In Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1809 Philippe Gruchy announced the sale of his St Lawrence house close to Handois -
Charles Gruchy advertised for sale in 1805 the house in Rue de Derriere which he had recently acquired from his brother Philippe
Family businesses
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It is apparent from the style of these two advertisements that they refer to the same business ... -
... Miss Gruchy appears to have traded on her own at No 45 King Street and then moved to No 64 when joined in business by her sister, after their father retired as a baker -
An advert from 1874 for Miss Gruchy's millinery business -
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1955 -
In 1803 Capt Philippe Gruchy advertised the sale of his 45 ton sloop Ann and Mary in the Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey -
Londoner Mrs Gruchy announced the establishment of an English language boarding school for young girls in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1798 -
The lugger Plymouth, previously commanded by Captain Francois Gruchy, was advertised for sale at St Helier Harbour in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1799
Family album
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Arthur Gordon Gruchy, BA (Saskatchewan), who died on active service in the Great War -
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George Gruchy -
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Louis Whitley and Eileen, nee Gruchy
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Postcards
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A card sent to Hilda Gruchy for Christmas 1907. Hilda, born in 1885, was a servant in the houshold of Charles Dorey and Jane, nee Le Brocq. The card was sent by their 44-year-old niece Mary Ann Dorey, who was also living there -
A postcard from Canada in 1908 to Miss C Gruchy, possibly Caroline, from her brother in Canada
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
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Almorah cemetery -
Almorah cemetery -
Trinity Church cemetery -
Trinity Church cemetery -
Trinity Church cemetery -
Trinity Church cemetery -
Trinity Church cemetery -
Old Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Old Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
St John’s Church cemetery -
St John’s Church cemetery -
St Ouen parish cemetery -
Philadelphie cemetery -
The grave of Great War casualty Frank Le Maistre Gruchy at Ration Farm Military Cemetery, La Chapelle D'Armentieres -
The grave of Great War casualty John Gruchy at Pont sur Sambre Communal Cemetery, Nord -
The grave of Great War casualty Arthur Gordon Gruchy at Acton Cemetery, London -
Memorial inscription from the grave of Arthur Gordon Gruchy, BA
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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Notes and references
- ↑ Guillaume Grochy is also mentioned in a case brought in 1444 before the Chief Pleas of the Fief de la Trinité, by the seigneur, Thomas de St Martin, for arrears in rente payments. He was therefore a contemporary, in a senior generation, of Rauff Gruchy: L/C/66/CI/14, Jersey Archive
- ↑ It is fortunate that the Gruchys abbreviated their name. The late Walter Le Quesne, author of The de Gruchys of Jersey 1st Edition (CIFHS, 1991), believed that had they not done so, the likelihood of a genealogist being successful in disentangling an even larger number of de Gruchys, would have been slender.
