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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: KevinBattle on Wednesday 28 August 24 15:32 BST (UK)
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Hi, my Family Tree building exercise has reached back to the Joseph White (mothers maiden surname) Jeffery, brother of John Jeffery, MP and Consul General in Portugal and relatives...
Jeffery’s family (said to be Quakers) were involved in the Newfoundland trade from Poole. His son was appointed to the lucrative collectorship of customs at Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1802. They seem to have also been established at Trinity, Labrador & Newfoundland (then not part of Canada).
Now Joseph White Jeffery Born as Joseph White Jeffery in Newfoundland, he changed his name to Joseph Jeffery Orchard in 1807.
Why? In my (limited) experience, surnames are usually changed due to a male line in a related family dying out and a stipulation in a Will that the benefactor change their surname to keep it in existence.
Joseph Orchard (1790-1847) was born Joseph White Jeffery in Newfoundland, and changed his name in 1807. In that year he was commissioned as an ensign in the Bengal European Regiment, rising to the rank of brevet colonel in 1846.
So, what happened in 1807 for the Jeffery family to change to Orchard?
I've tried as best I can to find any "Orchard" family that could be connected and gone back to 1665 in the Jeffery line but can't (yet) find any Orchard intermarrying...
Can any super brain find the connection for me?
What other reason (avoiding debt? :) ) could there be as I can't see that being successful in an Army career, especially with awards and promotions.
Thanks in advance while I cool my single grey brain cell down :)
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There is an explanation in the London Gazette,Saturday13th to Tuesday 16th June 1807 , Issue number 16039. It states that on 13 June 1807 the King granted permission for Jeffery and his issue to take the name Orchard in compliance with a condition in the will of his second cousin Paul Orchard, dated 24 July 1800. The will can be found on Ancestry or TNA. ( Paul Orchard died in 1806 and is buried in Bristol ).
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Brilliant! I suspected that it was to comply with a relatives Will. Will now hunt down Paul Orchard :)
I think that sorts my query unless others have more :)
Thank you very much for providing the link!
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I thought, with such a list of charitable donations, there would be a write up in the papers but I can see nothing so far.
However it was a Will with a Long reach. https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/21299
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/34489996/296603.pdf
Wonderful how Genealogy informs one’s view of the world!
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Thanks - indeed, we have at least one local charity dating back to William of Orange that once owned large tracts of the village :) Many others had what were large amounts at the time but are now so small that they get rolled up into one main charity.
Now I have to find out more of the man and how he amassed his fortune. Presumably trade with Canada/Newfoundland or Caribbean.
Indeed, genealogy does take you to some strange discoveries :)
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Just a note that Canada was not “Canada” in the time period you are referring to. Most of what is now Canada was under the governance or control of the British, so in the early 1800s Nova Scotia was a British colony, as was Newfoundland Labrador.
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Yep, knew that, which I pointed out in my first post. For brevity I used the "modern" name of Canada. Sorry if it ruffled your feathers :)