Jeanneret

A brief history of my family origins

The village of Le Locle, located near Neuchatel, was built sometime after 1150 when the valley was granted by Renaud and William Valanginian to the abbey of Fontaine-André. In 1360, John II of Aarberg, the Lord of Valanginian, received Le Locle as a fief from Count Louis of Neuchâtel. The heavily wooded portion of the Jura Mountains around Le Locle, were cleared by colonists who later received the status of free peasants. These first free farmers received a charter in 1372 which codified their rights and freedoms. At the beginning of the 15th century, this charter was reconfirmed during the foundation of the Mairie or town government. The inhabitants of Le Locle were given the right to own land that they had cleared, as long as they continued to farm it and paid taxes on it. The feudal lords granted them these freedoms to encourage settlements in the mountains. Beginning in the 14th Century Le Locle and La Sagne formed a parish together. The Church of Mary Magdalene in Le Locle was built in 1351.

As per an official letter dated 1612, addressed to Jean-Jacques Jeanneret, Bourgois of Valangin we know a family of the name of Jeanneret is installed within the hamlet of Crozot on Locle. Franc-Habergeant, confirms the existence of this family to the farm of Cernaye.

Certain nicknames or physical characteristics were not long in differentiating between families, thus a large strapping man took the particle "large- Jean", Jeanneret-Grosjean. One strongly grisonnant took the nickname of "the gris" from where Jeanneret-Gris comes from.

The Collégiale of Valangin, St Pierre

Stained glass window at The Collégiale of Valangin, St Pierre
dedicated to Jeanneret

Switzerland Origins

The earliest confirmed ancestor for my family, Pierre Jeanneret was born in 1607 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He married an unknown person in 1631 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland and had the following child: Jaques Jeanneret was born in 1632 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Jacques also married an unknown person and had the following child: David Jeanneret was born in 1663 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He married Jeanne De Charmes on 09 Jan 1686 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. She was born in 1665 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. They had a son: David Jeanneret was born in 1681 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He died in 1726.

David married Jeanne Madeleine (Baillod) Baillard, daughter of Claude Baillod and J. Marie Rosselet in Nov 1705 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. She was born about 1681 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. She died in 1751.

Migration to England

Jacob Henry Jeanneret and his brothers Jean Frederic and Jonas Claude migrated from Switzerland to England before 1760.
An account of the family written in 1782 by Jonas Claude Jeanneret named Jacob Henry as the head of the family that then lived in Meards Street, Parish of St. Anne, Soho, London. Soho was and is one of the city’s most cosmopolitan quarters. Between 1660 and 1685 many French Huguenots fled the persecution of Louis XIV and settled in Soho. Subsequently, many French, Swiss and Italians followed and congregated there. Rental records still on file in London show that Henry Jeanneret (who evidently did not use the name Jacob) was a tenant at No. 14 Meards Street, North from 1760 to 1774. He then moved across the street and is listed at No. 5 Meards Street, South from 1774 to 1782. Henry probably died there in 1782 as from that year until 1799 No. 5 Meards Street was rented to Elizabeth Jeanneret (nee Perrett), Henry’s second wife. Three of their sons were living at the same address and the eldest son was in the East Indies where he died.

Survey of London: Volumes 33 and 34, St Anne Soho. Edited by F H W Sheppard. These volumes describe Soho, the most famous of London's cosmopolitan quarters. The area covered is defined largely by Wardour Street, Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road, and includes Soho Square, Leicester Square, and part of Cambridge Circus. Many of the streets here were first built up in the late 17th century under the building speculators Dr Nicholas Barbon and Richard Frith. Some fine Georgian houses are described and illustrated, for example No. 1 Greek Street and 76 Dean Street. Many well-known West End theatres are also found here.

On the 28 September 1756,Jacob Henry Jeanneret married Suzane Chatelain at Saint Anne Soho, Westminster, London, England. Suzane was born at Tramelan, Bern, Switzerland on 8 July 1731. Her family has been traced back to 1632 with many generations of her family living at Tremelan, Bern, Switzerland. The date of Suzane’s death has not been discovered.

Jacob Henry Jeanneret and Suzane Chatelain had the following children:

- Samuel Henri Jeanneret was born on 04 May 1758. He died about 1782 in East Indies, Surat.

- Henry James Jeanneret. He died on 01 Nov 1783 in Meards Street, Soho, London, England.

Jacob Henry Jeanneret then married Elizabeth Perret at Saint Anne Soho, Westminster, London, England on 16 April 1763. Elizabeth Perret’s family has been traced back to 1472 with all her direct ancestors being from Erlestoke, Wiltshire, England. Coincidentally, ‘Perret’ is also a Swiss name with a number of individuals appearing in our records from the Neuchatel region.

Jacob Henry Jeanneret and Elizabeth Perret had the following children:

- Abraham Henry Jeanneret was born on 19 Apr 1764. He died about 1826 (Age: 62). He married Ann Sheppard, daughter of William Sheppard and Mary Sheppard on 17 Sep 1812 in Saint Anne Soho, Westminster, London, England. She was born about 1790 in England.

- Francis David Jeanneret was born on 17 May 1767 in Westminster, London, England.

- Lewis Francis James Jeanneret was born on 03 May 1772 in Westminster, London, England. He died on 01 Jun 1848 in Newington, London, England. He married (1) Mary Anne Pryce, daughter of Elijah Pryce and Elizabeth Moorhouse on 04 Mar 1798 in St Matthew Friday Street and St Peter Westcheap (St Mathew, Friday Street). She was born on 12 Jun 1773 in England. She died about 1800 (Dropsy). He married (2) Sarah Johnson Warren, daughter of John Warren Archdeacon of Worcester and Mary Noye on 09 May 1801 in Greenstead By Chipping Ongar, Essex, England. She was born on 09 Jan 1775 in England. She died on 04 Mar 1844 in Tolpuddle, Dorset, England.

- Theodore Jeanneret. He died on 06 Apr 1799 in Meards Street, Soho, London, England.

Jacob Henry Jeanneret died at London, England in 1782. In his will, apart from all of his goods and chattels plus three rooms, Jacob bequeathed 78 pounds per annum to his wife Elizabeth. In today’s terms (2018) that equates to approximately $40,000/annum.

Abraham Henry Jeanneret and Ann Sheppard had the following children:

- Edward John Jeanneretwas born on 03 Apr 1808. He married (1) Emma Low on 29 Dec 1874 in St Paul, Deptford, England. She was born about 1819. He married (2) Ann Ellis, daughter of Reuben William Ellis and Ann Ashley Talbot on 28 Jun 1846 in St Giles, Camberwell, England. She was born on 09 Aug 1813 in Deptford St Paul, Kent, England. She died in Jul 1872 in Greenwich, Kent, England (Age: 58).

- Henry George Jeanneret was born on 02 Aug 1809. He died on 14 Jul 1866 in Surrey, England. He married Mary Wayth, daughter of Samuel Wayth and Elizabeth Archer on 18 Jun 1835 in St. Mary's, Lambeth, Surrey, England. She was born on 03 Apr 1805 in Southwold, Suffolk, England. She died after 1891.

- Robert James Jeanneret was born on 19 Mar 1811 in London, London, England. He died on 27 Jun 1888 in Ligonier, Noble, Indiana, USA. He married Amelia Allworth on 10 Mar 1835 in Westbury, Wiltshire, England. She was born on 29 Nov 1803 in Westbury, Wiltshire, England. She died on 08 Jun 1886 in Ligonier, Noble, Indiana, USA.

- William David Jeanneret was born on 17 Jan 1813 in Pentonville, Middlesex, England. He died in 1854 (Age: 42). He married (1) Jane Harvey, child of William Harvey on 04 Aug 1839 in St Bride Fleet Street, London, England. Jane was born in 1816 in London, England. He married (2) Ann Ireland Whittaker, daughter of William Brace Girdle Whittaker on 18 Oct 1851 in St Giles, Camberwell, England. She was born about 1821. She died about 1854.

- Frederick Hewett Jeanneret was born on 24 Apr 1824 in Bermondsey, Surrey, England. He died on 25 May 1870 in London, England. He married Charlotte Cozens Edwards on 28 Dec 1850 in Parish Chapel, St Pancras, England. She was born in 1825 in Shalford, Essex, England. She died on 10 Dec 1868 in Green, Kentucky, USA (2 New Terrace).

- George Samuel Jeanneret was born in 1814. Mary Ann Jeanneret was born on 10 Dec 1815 in Islington, London, England (St James, Clerkenwell). Elizabeth Jeanneret was born in 1818. She died in 1894 in Dorking, Surrey, England.

- L M D Jeanneret (While there is nothing known about L M D Jeanneret it is recorded that he made additions to the family history which was originally written in French by Claudius Jonas Jeanneret in 1782)

- Henry Edward Jeanneret was born on 07 Oct 1806. According to Abraham’s granddaughter, Annie Crosby (nee Jeanneret) he was said to be an accomplished violinist who, when invited to play one night at the London Music Hall for the equivalent of $500, was reportedly quite insulted and rejected the offer. His old violin has been kept in the Jeanneret family and handed down through four generations to the writer, Kenneth Jeanneret Reeve 1910-2012. He was also said to have a different pair of shoes for each day of the month. In 1841, Abraham’s third son Robert James Jeanneret made a deposition in New York to become a citizen of the United States of America, however Robert and Amelia immigrated to Canada in 1841. They settled first in London, Middlesex, Ontario until 1856; there, Robert established a jewellery business. Robert and Amelia are recorded on the 1880 census at Perry, Noble, Indiana. Robert succeeded in earning the admiration and confidence of all with whom he held any business relations because of his accuracy and fairness. He retained the perfect use of his mental powers and attended to business up to his last days.