Origin of Surname
The original Dumaresq came from swampy surroundings, for Maresq and Marest are both Old French for a marsh. It may well be that this is one of the few surnames of importance to have had their origins in Jersey rather than having been imported from France or elsewhere.
The name is not found in France today, nor are there any remaining Dumaresq families in Jersey.
Early records
This was one of the most important families in Jersey from the 13th century onwards.
A Jordan du Maresq was Jurat of the Royal Court in 1292 and a reasonably reliable descendancy can be traced from another Jordan, born in about 1300, and possibly his son, to the present day. (See below). Edouard and Richard Dumaresq are listed in the Jersey Chantry Certificate of 1550 but strangely the name does not appear in modern records of those in the 13th century Assize Rolls, which are a recognised way of establishing a rough date for the timing of the first appearance of a family name in Jersey.
However, the transcription of the 1274 Extente published in the late 19th Century by La Société Jersiaise shows that Peter and William du Marais were landowners in Trinity, Philippe du Marais is shown as an elector in Saint Brelade; William du Marais, Peter Maret, Luke Mareys, Philip des Mareys, and William des Mareys are all mentioned, as is Jordan du Marais in a case brought against parishioners of Saint Lawrence.
From Payne's Armorial of Jersey
Few families in Jersey can boast a more lengthened lineage or more distinguished members than that of Dumaresq. It is one of the few patrician houses of the island, the representatives of which have, from the earliest historic period, held offices of trust and distinction in the public service of Jersey.
Falle, the historian, makes special mention of its rank and antiquity, and congratulates himself upon his connection with it.
The first insular settler of the name is stated to have been of a Norman family, and to have migrated in the suite of certain ecclesiastics who visited Jersey for the purpose of dedicating one of the parish churches, in the early part of the thirteenth century. The earliest official mention of the name occurs in a roll of the Exchequer, 21 Edward I, recording assizes held in Jersey, 23 November, 1292, in which Jordan Du Maresq appears as a Jurat of the Royal Court of the island.
The name has been variously spelt De Marisco, De Marais, Dumareys, and Dumarescq a name which was not, at one period, peculiar to the island; for in 1217 John De Marisco held the See of Durham, and in 1272 William De Mareys held lands in Oxford. There exists, however, no evidence to prove the common origin of the Jersey and English families.
That of Jersey appears primarily to have been established in the parish of Saint Brelade, where it held the estate of La Haule. So early as the reign of Edward II, William Dumaresq was Attorney-General of the island, and is justly remembered with admiration on account of his successful and able defence of the liberties and privileges of his countrymen before John de Fressingfield, Drogo De Barentine, and John De Button, the Commissioners appointed by the King to inquire into the legislative and jurisdictive state of the island.
From La Haule a branch settled at Vinchelez de Bas, of which fief it obtained the Seigneurie in 1486; whence, about 1500, John, son of Thomas Dumaresq, Seigneur of Vinchelez de Bas and of Gorge, by his marriage with Mabel Payn, the lady of Samares, removed to that Fief Haubert, which remained in the possession of his descendants for eight generations. Of this branch, Henry Dumaresq, Seigneur of Samares, was conspicuous for the support he gave to the Republican cause at the period of the Great Rebellion, when he was one of the Rebel Commissioners, and for his friendship for Michael Lemprière, the Parliamentarian Bailly of Jersey.
His son Philip, however, appears to have held opposite views, for he figures as a Jurat of the Royal Court very shortly after the Restoration. He was born about 1650, and entered at an early age the Royal Navy, where he rose to Post rank. He is well known as the author of a Survey of Jersey, which he presented to James II. in 1685. The original manuscript is preserved at the British Museum. His only daughter Deborah, who conveyed the Seigneurie of Samares to the Seale family, died without issue.
From the family at Samares sprang the various branches of Dumaresq du Morin, Dumaresq des Augres, with. others settled in various parts of the island.
The estate of Morin derives its name from a family once of some note in the island, but now extinct. Perrez Moryn was Lieuteuant-Bailly to Sir John Bernard in 1431, and Nicholas Morin was Bailly under the Count de Maulevrier in 1467. This branch of Dumaresq, now quite extinct, was allied by marriage to some of the best families of the island.
The fief of les Augres was acquired by this family by the marriage of Richard Dumaresq with Collette Larbalestier, its heiress. The family of Larbalestier is one of very early settlement in Jersey, and is said to have derived its patronymic from the fact of an ancestor having held the post of bow-bearer to the Conqueror. Of this branch was the Rev Daniel Dumaresq.
Another branch, several of the members of which are settled in England, is represented by the descendants of Lieutenant-Colonel John Dumaresq and of Philip Dumaresq, late President of the Council at Cape Breton. Its insular, no less than its English, alliances, together with its social position, render it the most prominent portion of this famous honse.
Arms
Gules, three escallops, or ; a martlet for difference. Quartering—Ermines, a cross-bow drawn, charged with an arrow, all argent, for Larbalestier Gules, three escallops, or, a crescent for difference, for Dumaresq Sable, three dolphins, embowed, argent, for De Bagot Argent, three trefoils, sable, for Payn Gules, four fusils in fesse, argent ; an annulet in base, or, for difference, for De Carteret.
Variants
- Dumaresq, 1299
- De Marisco
- De Marais
- Du Marais
- Du Mareys
- Dumareys
- Dumarescq
- Maret
- Mareys
- des Mareys
- Du Marecke 1528
- de, du Marez
- du Marret
- du Maresc 1331
- de Mareke
- Marek
- Mareske
- Marisc 1309
- Maresque 1299
Family records
Jersey family trees
Despite the importance of the family in Jersey and, perhaps because of its early establishment, long before the days of church records of baptisms and marriages, several of the trees below are considered very unreliable. Our review of trees during 2018 and 2019 attempted to correct errors and expand the trees, drawing more on trees published online than would normally be our practice. Some of these trees remain with obvious inaccuracies and all should be researched together and treated with caution. We intend to review the whole Dumaresq family, which undubtedly had a common ancestor, when time permits, and create a definitive tree drawing on the others and including as much detail as possible
These first six trees all cover much the same lineage, the first two at great length, the others just featuring sections. There are discrepancies between the trees, which are lacking in dates and other details at key periods
- Descendants of Guille Dumaresq - 2: A very long tree, much of which has been confirmed, but with several branches lacking dates and other details
- Dumaresqs of La Haule: A short section of the above, from a different source, lacking in detail
- Descendants of Thomas Dumaresq (1430): A long tree needing a comprehensive review
- Descendants of Thomas Dumaresq - 2: A short tree following a different descent from Thomas in the tree above Added 2021
- Descendants of Jacques Dumaresq Grouville branch: This tree follows the same lineage as Descendants of Guille Dumaresq - 2 but corrects errors in that tree
- Descendants of Philippe Dumaresq: A tree extracted to correct an earlier tree
- Descendants of Jordan Dumaresq (1300): Six generations in the 14th and 15th centuries. The whole basis for the tree has been challenged
- Descendants of Jacquet Dumaresq (1428: 15-18th centuries. Still awaiting a major review
- Descendants of Jean and Esther Dumaresq: A 2019 review resulted in the addition of dates and details which make the tree more reliable
- Descendants of Elias Dumaresq (1648): Reasonably reliable tree which needs a further check in the light of changes to other Dumaresq trees
- Descendants of Jean Dumaresq and Isabel Perrin: Tree with links to Canada. Fully reviewed but relies on some detail from online trees
- Descendants of Clement Dumaresq: 16-19th centuries. A Messervy tree with much detail and believed to be reliable
- Dumaresqs of St Helier: Another reliable Messervy tree
- The family tree of the Dumaresq family of Boston
Church records
- Dumaresq baptisms in Jersey
- Dumaresq marriages in Jersey (groom)
- Dumaresq marriages in Jersey (bride)
- Dumaresq burials in Jersey
Family histories and biographies
- The Dumaresqs of Boston, the family's story
- Philip Dumaresq's Commission
- Letters from Philip and James Dumaresq
- Reminiscences of James Dumaresq, a family friend remembers life at and around James's home at Swan Island, Maine
- Extracts from the register of King's Chapel and Trinity Church, Boston
- Susannah Dumaresq's guardianship of her children
- Jean Dumaresq, 16th century Bailiff
- Sir Jean Dumaresq
- The Rev Daniel Dumaresq
- Dumaresq's survey of 1685
- Henri Dumaresq
- Philippe Dumaresq, privateer
- Philippe Dumaresq, surveyor
- Philippe Dumaresq, publisher
- Anne Dumaresq, claimant to family fortune who was supposed to have died in France
- Philip Dumaresq's Commission
- Philippe Dumaresq, Seigneur of Samares
- Dumaresqs of Gros Puits, Ponterrin and St Helier, a 1910 article by the Rev J A Messervy Added 2016
- William and Henry Dumaresq: Army officers who emigrated to Australia
- Dumaresqs of La Haule
Société Jersiaise Library records
Great War service
Sons of Charles Dumaresq and Alvine
- Amedie Dumaresq (1894-1918) Private, Canadian Infantry, killed in action
- Joseph Dumaresq DCM, (1892- ) L-Cpl, Canadian Infntry, wounded
- Lancelot Shaw Dumaresq (1885- ) (St B) son of John and Constance Honora, ex-RMIJ, Lieutenant, Coldstream Guards
Family wills
Burial records
Family businesses
- Draper Philip Dumaresq (38), with a staff of 17 men, 4 boys and 16 females, worked and lived at No 6 King Steet in 1861, with his wife Amelia Elizabeth Fruing (34), sons William and Philip, and his widowed mother Susan (nee Le Cerf).
- George Dumaresq, during the mid-1800s ran a drapery at 8 King Street
- James Dumaresq was a tobacco merchant at 37 Broad Street in the 1850s
1852
1858
1853
Sale of stock of Dumaresq and Le Maistre in 1866
Family homes
- Les Augres
- Belle Vue, St Aubin
- Le Bocage, St Aubin
- Samares Manor, St Clement
- Corn Market, St Helier
- Avranches Manor, St Lawrence
Links
- Wikipedia article on the Dumaresq naval calculator The inventor of the device, John Saumarez Dumaresq, who would later attain the rank of Rear Admiral and become the first native Australian to command the Australian Naval Fleet, was a direct descendant of John Dumaresq and Rachel Bandinel of St Saviour, Jersey
Family coats of arms
John Dumaresq
Trinity Church
St Clement's Church
George Dumaresq
Edward Charles Armand Dumaresq
William John Dumaresq
Arthur Charles Fitzroy Dumaresq
Family album
Mrs Dumaresq
Capt Dumaresq
George Dumaresq
Frederick Dumaresq, 1900
Frederick Francis Dumaresq
Clement Ross Dumaresq
Frederick Maret Dumaresq (1828-1902), born Jersey, died Gaspe, with William Bechervaise in 1900. Dumaresq married Mary Charlotte Bechervaise
Mr and Mrs Dumaresq, a Victorian carte de visite
Jean Dumaresq and his wife
Sophia Dumaresq
Elizabeth Martha Dumaresq (1864-1952) married Alfred William Le Grand in 1888 after his first wife, her half sister Susan, died in 1886
Alfred Le Grand and his first wife, Susan Dumaresq
Mary Dumaresq
Charles Dumaresq, Lieut-Bailiff (1712-1713)
.jpg)
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
Almorah cemetery
St Mary’s Church cemetery
St Mary’s Church cemetery
St Mary’s Church cemetery
St Peter parish cemetery
St Peter parish cemetery
St Peter parish cemetery
St Brelade parish cemetery
St Brelade parish cemetery
St Lawrence
The grave of Great War casualty Amedie Dumaresq at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, near Amiens
Dumaresq family grave in Gaspé, Canada
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
A--B--C--D--E--F--G--H--I--J--K--L--M--N--O--P--Q--R--S--T--U--V--W--X--Y--Z
