Clement MESSERVY

1655 - Bef 1721  (< 65 years)

• Name	Clement MESSERVY  [1]
  Born	13 May 1655	Gorey, Grouville, Isle of Jersey, England
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Herdsman
  Immigrant?	Y
  Died	Bef 1721	Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire
  Person ID	I6944	Main
  Last Modified	14 Nov 2007

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth,   d. Bef 1721, Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire
  Married	1675	Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine
  Children	1. Aaron MESSERVY,   b. 1676, Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire ,   d. Jan 1705  (Age 29 years)   2. John MESSERVE,   d. ?   3. Elizabeth MESSERVE,   b. Abt 1678   4. Clement MESSERVE,   b. 1678 + 5. Tamsen MESERVE,   b. Abt 1679, Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire   6. Daniel MESSERVY,   b. Abt 1679,   d. Jun 1758  (Age ~ 79 years)   7. Mary MESSERVY,   b. Abt 1680   8. Edward MESSERVY,   b. Abt 1681
  Last Modified	17 Dec 2023
  Family ID	F2429	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Died - Bef 1721 - Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  The "Armorial de Jersey" gives the origin of the surname. It is the participle of the old French verb "Messervyr", meaning ill-treated. This epithet was given to an ancestor at the time of the cession of Normandy to France in 1207. The family supplied many civil officials to Jersey, many of whom held offices in the law courts. The arms of the family, registered in 1665 are: "Messervy: Or, three cherries gules, stalked, vert. Crest: A Cherry tree proper. Motto: Au valeureux coeur rien impossible" - to the valiant heart nothing is impossible. Most of the members of the family were engaged in agriculture and mechanic arts, though it had its share of professionals, lawyers, clergymen and doctors, while the name figures slightly in court records either as defendants or criminals, showing honesty, integrity and uprightness in the race. Clement was a taxpayer in Portsmouth in 1673 (Genealogy of Maine, George Thomas Little, p. 1236). In 1693, he had a seat in the meetinghouse. On August 6, 1710, he conveyed the homestead in Newington to his son Clement. Clement mentioned his sons Clement and John in deeds in 1705 and 1710 as well as other sons and daughters, not mentioned by name. There were three branches of the family, one each in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The following were probably all his children: Aaron, Clement, Daniel, John, Elizabeth, Mary, and Jamison. The Isle of Jersey is part of the Channel Islands, off the coast of Normandy. Clement immigrated to Strawbery Banke (the Portsmouth/Dover, New Hampshire area about 1670 (Turk, 1983). The place where he lived became known as Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He took the Oath of Allegiance in 1685. The family later moved to Newington, New Hampshire. All their children except Aaron changed the spelling from Messervy to Meserve. They moved to Scarborough, Maine, soon after the second settlement. Clement was a farmer and raised cattle with his father. He arrived in Strawberry Banke (now Portsmouth, New Hampshire) in 1670 and worked as a herdsman for Richard Cutts. He took the oath of allegiance in 1685. Clement owned land at Bloody Point in 1714. This is now at the end of Pease Air Force Base. He left the land to his son Daniel who sold it to a Moody. Clement's wife Elizabeth died about a year before he did. He conveyed his homelands, house, orchard, etc., to his son Clement in exchange for his son providing for him and his wife in 1710. Newington was then called Welch Cove (Colonial Era History of Dover, New Hampshire, p. 418).

  
  

• Sources

  [S136] MESSERVEY, Descendants of Gregoire , Edgecomb, Dana E.