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| 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. |
| Links http://www.rootsweb.com ... 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. bushnook at hotkey.net.au Message Board I invite you to leave a message on the Courtoy Genealogy Forum Website and 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. My Research I began researching 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 brick walls, followed by discoveries, I learnt that my great-grandfather's name was William Thomlinson Courtoy Jerkins and that he had named his eldest daughter, my father's Aunt May, Eliza Mary Courtoy Jerkins. My uncle then remembered vaguely a story about a Willie Courtoy being the real name of his grandfather. Eventually I determined that William Thomlinson Courtoy Jerkins was a real person, born in 1840 in South Australia, son of William Jerkins & Eliza Sewell Flitt. He had 2 sisters registered as Courtoy alias Jerkins and other sisters; one I found registered as Courtoy but whose family had only known her as Jerkins. Such mysteries made it more exciting as, in all instances, the mother was Eliza Sewell Flitt. When I worked out Eliza's connection to the Courtoy family of London, the pieces slowly fell into place, but it took me a while to work out who William Jerkins was ... he was really William Courtoy, her father in law. I was determined to understand why my family line used "Jerkins" and "Courtoy" as surnames but had inserted the "alias" on official documents. I am glad I persevered because the answer was more surreal than I could ever have imagined! In 2003, Ron Courtoy of London purchased photocopies of several documents that were filed in the National Archives (UK). Not only did these documents confirm what I had deduced but also Ron had obtained Affidavits (taken 1825-1828) from real people, citizens of France and England, who had known John Courtoy, father of William, who came to Australia. Their statements gave me a picture of their lives and revealed William's direct lineage - back to the village of Jussey in France - and, in the process, opened up a Pandora's Box which will, I believe, "eventually explain everything". In 2004, I spotted the family tree of Edme
Jaquinet at http://www.geneanet.com
and, as I already knew from the UK Archived
documents that Claude Jacquinet and Ann
Constant were the grandparents of Nicolas
Jacquinet and of their connection to the village
of Jussey in France, I was able to join the trees
together.
Now, I know a lot about some of the names but
still, 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 are extended to everyone, especially to David Drew-Smythe who uploaded this site for me,Gail Irwin, Lauris Crampton,Eileen Franchi and Ron Courtoy who helped locate clues. Without their willingness to get involved, most of this would have remained buried under the dust of time. Top To read OUR FAMILY STORY, please use the link at the top of the page. Thank you for visiting.
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