Talk:Vardon

From Roland Vardon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (rvconsult@rogers.com)

One family researcher who lives in London has information about Vardon families at the time of the Battle of Hastings --1066 and the names you share, Onfroi (various spellings include Onfrey/Onfroy) are important to me. As are the names Mauger (know from France and from Gaspe Quebec) and the de Carteret families. How many of these families are related to Vardon and a variety of spellings including de Verdun/Devardon etc are unknown at this moment. Many of us who trace our heritage back to the Normandy area of France wonder if we are Normans? With the spelling of Vardon one might think we are Nordic.

While I have documented my Vardon family back to Montilly France, and indeed further to other communities within 35-50 Km of Flers, it is my Jersey connection that I need help with. Rosemary Hampton's book A Jersey Family: From Vikings to Victorians brings forward four key families including Vardon. She shares a little about Louis (born 1741) who left Montilly for a new home in Jersey. The next we really get to know about Louis is that he married Elizabeth Renouf in 1772 and their family grew from that point in time to and including one Charles James Vardon. It was most unusual in that time that men married at 30 or later; generally around 20-25 they were married with a family. Charles James is reported to have been the youngest of the Louis Vardon family, born in 1794. Not only is there very little known about Louis and his time in Jersey, but precious little about Charles James, who left for Gaspe, Quebec, and was located in a small fishing village, Malbay, in 1824, when he married Elizabeth Lucas. As these are my relatives I do know a bit of their history, but little of their time on earth. I have a copy of the last will and testament of Charles James, who died in 1943. Sadly not much of any history is known of him, even in Malbay, where I was born.

I know that Rosemary Hampton located some ancient Vardon documents 10-15 years ago (perhaps more) in Jersey and within those documents was a letter of introduction written about Louis Vardon, attesting to his character and good standing in the RPR (reformed) church community. I do not know where those documents are but would hate to see them lost. They are in Jersey somewhere.

I would like to hear from anyone researching Vardon in Jersey or know anyone who has documents on Vardon. I know a little of my famous golfing cousin Henry (Harry) Vardon, but at the moment am trying to build some history on Louis and his brother Nicolas, who settled in Jersey in 1776. I am told Louis was the first and, along with Nicolas, was responsible for the entire Vardon blood line in Jersey.