History of the Hemery family
History of the
Clement family
The origin and authorship of this article are unknown
The Hemery family are descendants of the Seigneurs de Villers. (Sometimes spelt Villiers) Seigneur is roughly translated as Squire – a local land owner and minor nobleman.
Du Mont ancestry
The Seigneurs claim descent from Robert Du Mont (1154 – 1186) of Mont Saint Michel. We have a seal matrix, supposedly medieval in date, found in 1841 under the surface of the road between Caen and La Maladrerie. It reads ROBERT DV MONT with a crest, but is unlikely to have belonged to the 12th Century Robert Du Mont as it appears later in date.
Part of the crest consists of three birds, which is also seen on other Hemery coats of arms from France, such as the crest of Robert Hemery c.1395, and the bookplate of Moreau d’Hemery, 18th Century. Perhaps this does indicate a link between them.
Religious wars
During the religious wars of the 16th Century, the largely Protestant areas of Normandy, with their Huguenot population, rebelled against the Catholic King of France. Huguenots were French Calvinists, members of the French Reformed Church, whose beliefs included living their lives and regulating worship according to the Bible rather than religious rules and traditions, the study of the Bible in their native language rather than Latin, and a rejection of the power and authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, which in those days was perceived as corrupt and worldly.
A Jean d’Hemery, Seigneur de Villers, is mentioned at the siege of Rouen in 1562, in charge of the Regiment d’Hemery, fighting on the Catholic side. After two assaults, on the 26th October 1562 the Regiment d’Hemery entered the town, and planted the Royal standard on the Fort of Saint Catherine. Between then and 1685 his descendants or another branch of his family had become Huguenots, but to avoid persecution for their faith ‘converted’ to Catholicism. We know this because later Jacob Hemery was abjured (returned to the Protestant faith) in Jersey.
Founder of Jersey family
Jacob Hemery is the first definite ancestor who we know by name, the founder of the Jersey branch of the Hemery family. He was born in 1669, or confirmed as a nobleman in that year, and lived in Vidouville, halfway between Caen and St Lo. He was a prominent member of his community – his full title being given on the oldest family tree as Ecuyer (Esquire, then a much more important and honorific title than it later became) Seigneur de Villers, Gentilhomme (Gentleman) de Corps Electoral du Pont l’Eveque. Pont l’Eveque is also in Normandy, and the Corps Electoral would have electoral power over the town and its affairs, being able to elect its leaders. He married Louise Tanquerel (also spelled Tancrel) They left France and settled in Jersey. Other members of the Hemery family remained in Normandy.
Arrival in Jersey
The Edict of Nantes in 1598 gave the Huguenots some protection, but it was revoked in 1685 and the Huguenots left France in large numbers, heading mainly for the Protestant countries of Holland, England, and in the case of Jacob and Louise, nearby Jersey. As well as its proximity to Normandy Jersey offered a haven among people of similar language and religion. Jacob and Louise settled in St Lawrence parish, which is located on the South of the island, half way between the main town of St Helier, and St Aubin, which in those days was the only safe harbour for merchant vessels. Wherever the Huguenots went their Protestant work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit enriched the communities they settled in and Jersey was no exception.
The Family settle in Jersey
Jacob was abjured on 24 March 1713. This was because he had become a Roman Catholic in France to escape persecution. He now swore to forsake the Catholic faith and become a Protestant.
Louise Tanquerel died in 1715, and was buried on 28 November. It is not known whether Jacob had any children by this marriage, although a marriage is recorded in St Lawrence on 29 June 1703 between Miss Anne Hemery, Refugee (ie from France) and Mr Henri Le Cras of St Lawrence.
Other Hemerys are also found in Jersey at this period, for example David Hemery. He made a will in French dated 14 July 1726 and lived in St Saviour. He does not appear related to Jacob’s line, although he had also come from Normandy. Other members of Jacob’s family remained in France, and in 1841 one of the Jersey Hemery brothers is recorded as visiting a cousin in Caen.
Jacob remarried two years later, his second wife was called Judith Williams, a resident of St Helier. They married on 26 March 1717. He was then 48 years old. Two children were born of this marriage, Jacques Hemery born 1718 and Peter Hemery born 1719.
Jacob Hemery died 17 March 1719 aged 50. Judith Williams lived for another 21 years, and was buried on the 21 December 1740.
