Pierre Marie Jacques Bouchet was born in Dinan, Britanny, France on 9 July 1823. He was my husband’s Great Great Grandfather and the first Bouchet to live in Jersey. He arrived in Jersey in 1861 at a time when there was a regular influx of French agricultural workers coming to Jersey for the potato harvest. Around 10% of Jersey’s population are descended from these workers and I assumed we were one of them. He lived in St Helier’s French Quarter in Halkett Street (1861 census) and although was married was living on his own.

His profession was listed as Professor, so I thought he had perhaps just come to Jersey to earn some money and would then go back home. However, his family appear in the 1871 census. His wife Adelaide, daughters Adolphine and Adelaide and Son, Adolphe had come to join him in Jersey. Adelaide was born in Jersey in 1863, so Pierre wouldn’t have been on his own for long.

Bouchet isn’t one of Jersey’s most common French names, so Pierre was easy to keep track of once he arrived in Jersey, however his background was a bit more tricky, until I discovered some newspaper stories about him. He had created quite the scandal in 1881 as the result of a high profile court case.

Before moving to Jersey, Pierre had been a cashier at a savings bank in Dinan. His main job was with his wife as a grocer and he had gone to work at the bank to earn extra money for his family which included his aging mother-in-law and several children. (At least two of Pierre and Adelaide’s children had died very young.) He was not a good business man and he found himself taking drastic measures to avoid bankruptcy. This saw him embezzling a total of 45,000 Francs (a lot of money in 1860!) from a fund he managed at the bank. His crime was discovered and to avoid prosecution he fled to Jersey. Very quickly he managed to find himself a lucrative job as a teacher, which enabled him to bring his family to Jersey.

Meanwhile, back in France, the criminal case brought against him went ahead, in his absence he was found guilty and on return to France would be sentenced to forced labour for life!

Over the next 19 years, Pierre worked hard and became well respected by the school he worked at, his colleagues, students and the community. Then in 1880, he applied for a position as a language teacher at a prestigious school, hoping his past would stay behind him. He was the chosen candidate for the position but the person he was competing against had found out about his past and in bitterness over not getting the job, reported him to the authorities. Pierre was taken back to court in Rennes to plead his case.

Thankfully, he was acquitted by the jury who took into account the work he had done in the intervening years to become an upstanding citizen. He deemed it unnecessary to punish an old man for mistakes of his youth. Pierre was allowed to return to his family and new teaching post in Jersey.

The write up from L’Univers newspaper on 14 May 1881 said “Ce verdict rend la réhabilitation de Bouchet plus éclatante. Il sauve l’honneur du père, le repos de la femme et l’avenir de ses enfants.” Or in English, “This verdict makes the rehabilitation of Bouchet more brilliant. He saves the honour of the father, the peace of the wife and the future of his children.”

In the 1891 census Pierre is listed as a Professor of Languages as was his son Adolphe. Pierre Bouchet died in 1898 at the age of 75 and is buried in Almorah Cemetery in Jersey.