Grand Étang
From Sainte-Flavie, where the Gaspé peninsula begins, one
drives north-east for about 200 miles to get to Grand Étang, the
first place where I encountered people of Jersey origin. The
road often follows the foot of the mountains, very steep,
and is barely higher than ocean level. Some times, it is
even built on the sea-shore. When I stop here, gazing
on the waves that lick the side of the road, I often ask
myself if, maybe, the beginning of this road wasn't in Jersey, in
the bay of St Ouën, and made to reach the Gaspé coast, seeing
that so many people of Jersey origin can be found in the
area.
Coming to Grand Étang, one stands at the beginning
of a series of towns and villages where many Jerseymen lived
and worked, and where one can still find a few of them as
well as a lot of their descendants.
George Godfray, born in Jersey in 1862, married the
widow of the local lord of the manor, old mister Thomas Le Breux of Grand Étang (some 35 miles north of Gaspé, by
a short road that drops directly south from Rivière-au-Renard), at
a time when feudal domains still existed in Gaspésie. He
himself became Lord of Grand Étang. He died in 1940 and
was buried in the cemetery of Saint-Paul's anglican church, in Gaspé. His
wife, being roman catholic, was
buried in the cemetery of the catholic church in Cloridorme.
Mr Lewis J. Gibaut, who lives in Cloridorme and
has been on the Gaspé Coast for many years, has a good memory. He
knew Lord Godfray personally. They worked together for
the tradespeople William Hyman and sons, who owned fishing
establishments in Grande-Grève and Gaspé. Trade in Grande-Grève was
for a long time under the management of Stanley Hotton, who
was from the parish of Ste Mathie (Jersey). He died
in 1968, and was buried in Grande-Grève.
Seignorial domains have long been abolished in Gaspésie and it is to be
expected that the descendants of Lord Godfdray will disappear
in turn during the present generation. Today's Lord Godfray, lives
with his sister. Neither he or his sister have ever
married. I dropped by for a visit and found them charming. He
holds the local postoffice which he baptised Saint-Hélier, because
he had always heard it said that his family came from that area, in Jersey. He
has never seen the island of Jersey and he doen't speak
Jersey French, but he his very familiar with the French Canadian
language. With his sister, he operates a motel (a word currently
used in North-America, and made of the first syllable of
the word Motor and the second syllable of Hôtel), half
a dozen little wood cottages, built along his property. They
lease them to tourists, thereby earning a living confortably
and quietly. Grand Étang gets its name from a large fresh
water lake perched in the mountains. It is picturesque as
well as renowned for great fishing.
George Francis Le Feuvre
Jersey.
