Le Vesconte

Le Vesconte family page

Philip Edward Le Vesconte (1895-1938) and Mabel, nee Le Cornu (1905-1994), of La Carriere, Grouville

Record Search

Direct links to lists of baptisms, marriages and burials for the Le Vesconte family can be found under Family Records opposite. If you want to search for records for a spelling variant of Le Vesconte, or for any other family name, just click below on the first letter of the
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Unveiling in 1910 of the Le Vesconte Monument in Trinity, in honour of Philippe Le Vesconte (1837-1909) (Family tree), who was elected as Constable eight times between 1868 and 1877 and again in 1890 to 1909.

Origin of Surname

Le Vesconte is a corruption of Vicomte, meaning Viscount

Early records

The name first appears in the Assize Roll of 1309 and two Johans and Pierres are listed in the Jersey Chantry Certificate of 1550

Variants

• Le Vesconte, 1668
• Le Viscount 1607
• Le Vicon
• Viscounte 1309
• Vesconte
• Le Viconte 1299

Family records

Family trees

• Charles Le Vesconte: 18th-20th centuries
• Elizabeth Le Vesconte: 18th-20th centuries
• Jean Le Vesconte: 16th-20th centuries
• Jean Le Vesconte 2: 18th-19th centuries
• Jean Le Vesconte 3: 17th-20th centuries
• Michel Le Vesconte: 17th-20th centuries
• Philippe Le Vesconte: 17th-19th centuries
• Thomas Le Vesconte: 16th-20th centuries
• Thomas Le Vesconte 2: 17th-19th centuries

Church records

Tips for using these links

• Le Vesconte baptisms in Jersey
• Le Vesconte marriages in Jersey (groom)
• Le Vesconte marriages in Jersey (bride)
• Le Vesconte burials in Jersey

Family histories

• La famille Le Vesconte, the story of Henry Thomas Dundas Le Vesconte and the Franklin Expedition to the North-West Passage

Great War service

• Le Vesconte family members who served in World War 1

Family wills

• Le Vesconte family wills from 1663 to 1980 held by Jersey Archive

Burial records

• Le Vesconte burial records 1820-1978

Emigrants to Canada

• Peter Le Vesconte's petition for land in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
• Philip Le Vesconte's petition for land in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Identity card details for Mary Jane Le Vesconte of La Rocque Stores

Family businesses

M J Le Vesconte was proprietor of La Rocque Inn

• Ship owner Pierre Le Vesconte was at 35 Broad Street in the 1860s

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  In 1788 Raulin Le Vesconte, of St Mary, advertised a new carriage for sale in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey
• 
  The family had a shipbuilding business at West Park in the mid 19th century. The Daniel Le Vesconte who placed this advertisement married Alice Deslandes, daughter of another shipbuilding family.
• 
  1948
• 
  Philip Le Vesconte, of Les Arches, St John, advertised his bull in Chronique de Jersey in 1924
• 
  The curators of Edouard Philippe Le Vesconte advertised the sale of the contents of his Gorey house in 1870

Family homes

• Les Buis
• La Porte, Trinity
• Les Arches, St John

• 
  Elie Le Vesconte advertised a property to let in the courtyard of his Broad Street house in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1807

Le Vesconte Monument

The monument pictured at the top of the page was unveiled in honour of Philippe Le Vesconte on 28 June 1910 by the Bailiff, Sir William Vernon. The Le Vesconte family had always taken a great interest in the affairs of Trinity and members of the family held honorary positions in the parish. Philippe was no exception and he devoted his life to the parish of Trinity for over 40 years, elected Constable ten times, fighting seven elections and winning the support of his parishioners every time. He was a figurehead, feared by few and revered by the majority because of his straight speaking and down to earth way of dealing with problems.

He was born on 21 December 1837, an only son who grew up with his sisters at La Porte, a stone’s throw from the monument in Rue De Cambrai. Having joined the honorary police, he worked his way up to Centenier, and then fought his first election for Constable in 1868, at the age of 31, following in his father’s footsteps. He served three terms as Constable between 1868 and 1877, when he relinquished the office.

Yvonne Gascoyne, his great grand-daughter, recalls her father, Philip, telling her stories of his grandfather. It was said that Philippe ‘ruled the family’. Each Sunday they gathered at La Porte and, with Philippe at its head, would walk to the church. The Rector at the time rather enjoyed the ‘pleasures of the bottle’ and on many occasions getting in and out of the pulpit on Sunday evenings proved rather hazardous. Philippe was not amused and one Sunday he decided this was the Rector’s last chance. When the Rector found the steps to the pulpit too much to handle, Philippe stood up, led his family out of the Church and marched them up the road to Ebenezer Methodist Chapel, passing through the door just as the last hymn was being sung.

This story was recounted by the late Edward and Constance de Gruchy whose parents were in the congregation and witnessed the door bursting open and the whole family filing in. This dramatic entry resulted in the Le Vesconte family becoming Methodists. However, Philippe did not find the small chapel grand enough so he set about rebuilding it, donating money and loaning workers and a horse and cart to move the stone. A marble plaque inside the chapel shows that he became Trust Secretary from 1883 to 1891 and Trust Treasurer from 1891 to 1909. The draw of serving the parish was never far away and in 1890, a deputation called on Philippe to stand again for Constable. He won the election and remained in office until his death in 1909. In 1894 the parish presented him with a set of silverware and a parchment scroll, which read:

"To Mr Ph Le Vesconte, of Trinity, Snr: We the undersigned wish to tender a deep and spontaneous expression of our grateful thanks for the eminent and valuable service you have rendered to this parish. It was as long ago as 1868, at a relatively early age, you were called upon to direct the affairs of the parish. In 1871 and again in 1874 the electors renewed your mandate. After having relinquished the helm for several years you were called upon to assume the duties of the office once more, and last year your mandate was renewed for the fifth time. You have, by your wise and good administration and your great self-sacrifice, merited the respect and esteem of your parishioners.

"We have been given the opportunity to appreciate the very real qualities which form the basis of your character. The courtesy with which one is always received in your home, the strength of your convictions are equalled only by your great modesty. Let us also remember in passing that you are the eldest member of the Legislative Assembly of this Bailiwick, and that there, as elsewhere, you have always stood for the real interests of the Island. We have noted with pleasure that you have always opposed those who would want to abolish our privileges, our traditions and our liberties.

"You have always a lively interest in the many and varied affairs of the municipality. Under your intelligent direction the wheels of administration have run smoothly and even though the workload has increased, it has appeared lighter to all concerned. The care of the parish finances has brought forth in you a masterly quality - economy.

"We cannot allow to pass unnoticed the fact that your father had, before you, held the high office which you now hold, and that your son, also Philippe, has for the last eight years been the senior Centenier of his parish. It is our sincere wish that the Almighty will bless you and the members of your family with a long and happy life.

"We take the opportunity on this occasion to ask you respectfully to accept these articles of silverware as a testimony of our thanks for the distinguished service you have rendered to our parish and our Island. The committee for and in the name of the 282 subscribers; John Norman, John Le Gros, Philippe Cabot, Francois Dorey, Josue Picot, Richard Blampied, Ph Aubin Jnr, Denis Blampied, Philippe Gallichan, Chs Sydney Le Gros, E G Le Quesne, Charles de Gruchy, Chs Wm Blampied Jnr, Jean Benest, Philippe de Gruchy, Philippe Deslandes, Peter Le Feuvre, John Godeaux, F S Gibaut, Clement Pinel, Thomas Cabot."

The 18th day of October 1894.

Philippe died in August 1909 in his 72nd year after contracting pleurisy. Before his funeral, his body was laid out on the bed at his home, La Porte, enabling his many relatives to say goodbye to the man who had ruled the family and had been father of Trinity. A great era in the history of the parish had ended.

Prominent family members

• Isaac Le Vesconte

Henry Thomas Dundas Le Vesconte was a member of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition, a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, HMS Erebus and Terror. This drawing of the vessels in Boat Creek, Whale Island, was the work of Le Vesconte, dated 12 July 1845. The vessels became stranded in ice and were eventually abandoned by those who had not already died, but the men are all believed to have perished in Canada

Family album

• 
  R Le Vesconte (front row, right was a member of the YMCA league and cup double winning football team in 1928-29
• 
  A postcard sent to Mrs Le Vesconte in 1910. This was Mary, wife of blockmaker Philip John. They lived at 31 Havre des Pas, where Mary ran a lodging house, assisted by Mabel Connell. Philip John (1849- ) married Mary Elizabeth Le Gresley (1845- ) in St Martin in 1884. They had a daughter, Alice, born in 1888
• 
  Philip Le Vesconte
• 
  Philippe Le Vesconte, eight times Constable of Trinity 1868-1909
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  Elizabeth Esther Le Vesconte, nee Nicolle
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  Albert Le Goupil 91929-2020) and Margaret Mabel Le Vesconte (1933-2019)
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  Margaret Mabel Le Vesconte (1933-2019)
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  William Le Vesconte (1831-1915)and Caroline, nee Cutler, and family
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  Philip Edward and Mabel Susan Le Vesconte, nee Le Cornu
• 
  Mark Le Vesconte in 1983 - Picture Jersey Evening Post

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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  Trinity Church cemetery
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  Trinity Church cemetery
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  Old Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  St John’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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  St John’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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  St Ouen parish cemetery
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  St Ouen parish cemetery
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  Sion cemetery
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  Philippe Le Vesconte memorial

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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