Is Le Guesne a Channel Island name?

[amazon510]

Hi,

I recently saw a family tree (unsourced) on Ancestry for a family named Le Guesne, supposedly of St. John, Jersey.  A little googling seems to indicate that le Guesne is a French surname, but I can't find any other confirmation that it is a CI name.  Has anyone ever heard of it in Jersey? 

Thanks,

Jennifer.

[PrueM]

Hi Jennifer

I did a quick search for the surname on the 1841-1901 CI census records.  Only a few "le Guesne" names came up, all in 1861, and all mis-transcriptions of the name "le Quesne".

A search for "le Quesne" shows between 100 and 200 people of that name for each census

Looks like the Ancestry tree owner has copied down the mis-transcriptions without checking the originals.

Cheers
Prue

[Hill]

Please see http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=498714.new#new

Stewart

[Ringrose]

There are arge numbers of Le Quesnes in Jersey. In fact a book has been written about them containing many family trees---called "The Le Quesnes of Jersey". I found this book most useful when researching my 5 times ggrandmother Elizabeth Le Quesne.It costs £4 from the Jersey Record Office.
Ringrose

[amazon510]

Thanks everyone for the checks and the suggestions. 

As I've posted other places, I'm trying to figure out if Goosney is a corruption of some other Channel Island name.  Family tradition is that the family is from the Channel Islands, but Goosney doesn't seem to be a CI name.

Here is a thought - Could Goosney be a corruption of Le Quesne?  How is Le Quesne pronounced?

Thanks,

Jennifer.

[Hill]

Le Cane

Stewart

[amazon510]

Ah well.  Thanks again Stewart.

Jennifer.

[PrueM]

Hi again Jennifer,

I had a look in the UK Census for the surname "Goosney" and got only one hit, in 1891.
Trying the spelling "Gosney" got lots more, a few in the CI and Scotland, but hundreds in England, mostly in Dorset, Somerset and Yorkshire.
In 1841, for example, there is only one Gosney on Jersey, and she was born in England.

I was told that my Langworthy ancestors were from the Channel Islands, and they were - for about two generations in the mid-late 1800s.  They went to Jersey from Dorset

Cheers
Prue

[amazon510]

Hi,

Thanks for the lookups Prue, much appreciated.  In my research, Goosney seems pretty rare - limited mainly to Newfoundland and places where Newfoundlanders migrated.  It does seem to pop up the odd time in the UK, but I always suspect a misspelling of the much more common Gosney. 

Gosney would seem to be a likely original name for Goosney, but it does run counter to the family tradition of CI origins.  Like you, the only Gosneys I can find in Jersey were from England.  I keep thinking Goosney must be an English interpretation of a French surname, but I can't figure what.

I've been avoiding really digging into Gosney as a possibility until I have totally given up on Channel Island origins.  A migration from the UK to CI to Newfoundland is always possible of course - thanks for the suggestion.  Certainly Dorset/Somerset were also major sources of Newfoundland's population.

I'm hampered by the fact that I think my ancestors were probably settled in Newfoundland by the 1820's - prior to the first census in the UK.  If there were a census for say 1811, I might have a little more luck.   

Thanks again,

Jennifer.