Jacquinet
Courtoy
Jerkins
from England, Australia and America, but originally from France
In our family Courtoy is a fake surname, but the name is not
uncommon in France
and Belgium. We are definitely not related.
MY RESEARCH
I began investigating my Jerkins
family history in 1998, only to learn that ‘Jerkins; as a
surname began in South Australia only in 1841. Through a series of trials and brick walls
ie: my great grandfather’s Will which had his name as William
Thomlinson Courtoy
Jerkins I gradually learnt of his mother’s name, then our connections
with Courtoy.
In 2003 Ron Courtoy of London purchased the entire file on John Courtoy
from the PRO
England. These papers revealed
more information. I have slowly made
contact with the
living of most lines, in Australia and America and now have in excess
of 2000 names, all
descendants of John Courtoy. In
2004 I spotted the family tree of Edme Jacquinet, at
www.geneanet.com and as I already knew of Claude Jacquinet and Ann Constant being
the grandparents of Nicolas Jacquinet I was able to join the trees
together.
I am in the process of
putting everything I have onto a CD so it can easily be sent
to everyone who wants a
copy. I will write up each family story
if I have it but if
you would like to do your
own family story, and save me the effort,
I would be most grateful.
I know a lot about some of
the names and not a lot about others.
The project has been very much
a combined effort,
cousins, unknown cousins and
kind strangers have been
involved and my grateful
thanks to everyone,
especially Gail Irwin,
Lauris Crampton and Ron Courtoy,
because without their
willingness to get involved
most of this would have
remained buried under the dust of time.
LINKS
has most of the names but no
stories.
The site contains a search
engine but to protect the privacy of the living not everyone
is listed – please contact me direct. [email protected]
MESSAGE BOARD
I invite you to leave a message on the genealogy forum for Courtoy at the following website.
http://genforum.genealogy.com/courtoy/
I encourage everyone to get
involved as this is not just my family tree, it belongs to all
descendants – who will, one day,
be grateful that the hard work is complete.
The correct surname
originally was Jacquinet. Courtoy
was the surname invented by
Nicolas Jacquinet, a French wigmaker/investor
who lived as
John Courtoy in London from 1754 ish
onwards.
He never married but had 4
children with Mary Ann Woolley
and died aged 92 in December
1818.
John Courtoy and Mary Ann
Wooley had 4 children, of whom 3 survived infancy.
Their eldest son George
Courtoy married Mary Creech
(daughter of Robert and Ann
Creech of Dorchester)
Their only daughter Louisa
Ann Courtoy remained a spinster.
Both died without issue.
Louisa appears to have been
very close to her mother,
brother, nieces and nephew Frederick.
Their second son christened
1777 as Jno Joseph William Masserat Courtoy
married as William Courtoy
at St. Clement Danes, London
in 1806 to Eliza Williams,
born ? Wales.
William and
Eliza Courtoy
had 9 children
in Middlesex, London including
George Courtoy b 1808
who travelled to South
Australia in 1837 then returned to London where he remarried.
He returned to Australia in
1855 then took his second family
into outback Queensland
before dying in Sydney, NSW.
Ernest Courtoy
b 1826
who was smuggled to South
Carolina in 1841, aged 14 and who married
Zillyhollan Hamen and
settled in Worth Co. Georgia to raise 10 children.
Their descendants have
spread to Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Georgia,
Montana, North and South
Carolina, Oklahoma, and elsewhere.
Of William and Eliza’s other
children
Charles Courtoy b 1823 must have died very
young as no records have been found.
William Courtoy
b 1817 died 1838 aged 21 of Typhus.
Frederick Courtoy b 1823 and Louisa Courtoy
b 1814 shared a farm house
in Dodford, Worcestershire
after the death of Louisa’s husband Robert Elliot Lane b 1814
Mary Ann Courtoy
b 1812 married Edmund Powell Meredith and I suspect
descendants of their son
Edmund Meredith b London 1846 now live in Canada.
Elizabeth Courtoy b 1816 married a tailor Samuel
Blanks and lived in Spitalfields.
I am uncertain if there are
descendants
John Courtoy b 1807, first born, married,
perhaps more than once,
and remained in London. His Courtoy and Day
descendants live in London and New Zealand
but I am still looking for Grafton, Hammersley
and descendants.
Jno Joseph William Masserat
Courtoy also travelled to South Australia, arriving in 1838.
His relationship with his ex
daughter in law Eliza Sewell Flitt produced 5 Australian children.
He was a boatman. He and
Eliza lived under the alias of Jarkins or Jerkins.
He returned to London where
he died as John Cortoy aged 75, resident
of Commercial Road,
Limehouse in 1852.
I began with
nothing, knew nothing and had no expectations of ever finding anything.
Long ago I
discovered that in my extended family, everyone knew nothing.
Our family
motto could be ‘Nobody knows anything and nobody cares’
It is my aim to
change all that!
This newspaper article from
the Times newspaper, 31st December 1818
was confirmation of all that
I have learnt about John Courtoy and makes me
even more suspicious about
events that took place some 200 years ago.
The fortune did exist, but
no, it did not come the way of the Courtoy family
It is a long, complicated
and perhaps not very honorable tale
of disrespect, conspiracy
and greed – regardless of
who dictated the so called
Last Will and Testament of John Courtoy
also known as Nicolas
Jacquinet, dated 1814.
I have discovered the family
who inherited the fortune
and learnt a little of what they
were told in generations past.
I am not certain of the
truth but
I have been stunned with the
revelations unearthed
and understand why we know
nothing. The Godson family suspect
that the papers that told
the truth have long since been burnt
but also wish there was a
crystal ball to see back in time.
The fact that we have now
uncovered so many unexpected tales,
(once carefully hidden under generations of apathy)
is as close to proof as you
will ever get
that pigs can fly – and
frogs can probably dance too!
If you are able to add to
what I have collected
I will be most interested
and grateful.
I intend to produce a CD for
distribution to all the cousins who are interested.
This CD will contain written
documents, scanned and downloaded
images and my plan is to
share everything…
hopefully saving anyone else
from
ever, ever having to attempt
a Courtoy family tree again.
I have accidentally become
the family archivist.
It is my belief that only a Jerkins could have linked us all together
(and survived the various
name changes.)
Curiousity is rewarding
sometimes.
Invisible Threads link us all through generations of silence.
Please contact
me:
42 Laughtons Road,
Lakes Entrance,