From France to Great Britain

Country roads on Guernsey. Back of photo said "boys who work for Daddy."

Grandfather, being raised in the environment he was, had quite a bit of arrogance in his manner. We were always interrogated with remarks pertaining to our friends such as “Is that Johnson spelled with an 'o' or 'e'?” or “Is that German or Jewish?” and “if he's Catholic he can never be a Freemason.”

Through the many years and efforts of mother's cousin, who was a schoolmaster at Eaton, we recently shared copies of the family tree. Through relatives in France he was given documented church records. Poor grandfather would have turned over in his grave, given the following information:

On January 4, 1611, Thomas de France was committed to prison for 'humiliating' Marie Hopkins and was ordered by the clergy to marry her. His behavior might have been provoked by the antics of some of the de France relatives before him, as many had lost property through debts to the Crown. Another Thomas de France, either his father or uncle, had 12 years before in 1602 become drunk in a tavern and 'fell into a douit (stream) and drowned in a few inches of water.' He was an elder at St. Saviors Church.

Also, if that were not enough of a scandal later in 1624 Jean de France was strangled and burned at the stake for sorcery. Following were sorcery trials for Judith, Jeanne, and Pierre de France, the results of which we have no record.

Other than these skeletons in the closet on Grandfather's immediate forebears were fine upstanding people. His father, William Lindsay Head, was a building contractor and gentleman farmer and was one of 11 children born to Henry Head (born in 1807 in Plymstock) and Mary Ann Fox (of the Plymouth Foxes).

Grandfather's mother was the daughter of Thomas Henry Le Poidevin, a seafaring captain {in the 1841 census Thomas is listed as simply 'sailor'}. Her mother was Elizabeth Heaume de France, born 1810. The French segment of the family goes back to the de la Courts in 1274; other than the lineage itself, we know nothing (which may be just as well).