Catherine Le Sauteur
In 1619 Catherine, wife of Estienne Le Sauteur, having been convicted of night revelry in masquerade, dressed as a man and wearing breeches, was ordered to sit all through Saturday in the market stocks at St Helier with the offending garment hung up beside her and again on Sunday in the stocks at St Peter's churchyard.
Philippe Le Sauteur
When Philippe Le Sauteur (1809-1844) died at St Clement, of tuberculosis, he left several under-age vhildren. A tutelle was set up on the children's behalf and the guardians were Rachel Le Sauteur (née Machon), their mother, and their uncle, Thomas John. In 1849 they purchased a house at Longueville, St Saviour, opposite Longueville Manor, on behalf of Philippe George Le Sauteur from Thomas Falle. In 1873 Philippe and his wife Elizabeth Marett sold the house to Charles Kipling.
Philippe George Le Sauteur
Philippe George Le Sauteur was 15 years of age and at Caen University, in France, studying law when his father died. Philippe returned home to the farm L'Hermitage in St Saviour, to take up farming to support his mother and sisters. The farm belonged at the time to his uncle Thomas John Le Sauteur but later in the 1850s Philippe purchased the farm.
Philippe George was elected as Deputy of Grouville in the first election for Deputies in the States held in January 1857. He held the position for three years. He was churchwarden at Grouville Parish Church, but conflicted with the Rector over the innovation of the English language into the church services, replacing the traditional use of French. He also acted as an aide-de-camp to Major General Burke Cuppage, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey 1863-1868.
In 1804 La Ferme de la Fontaine belonged to Jean Mattingle (ou Mattingley) then subsequently to Thomas Le Sauteur. In 1872 Philippe George purchased the farm from Samuel de Gruchy and was subsequently worked by three generations of Le Sauteur. There was a standing rule at La Ferme de la Fontaine that the cow stables should not be entered near to midnight on Christmas Eve; unless an animal was sick or due to calve, believing that the cattle knelt in the stalls at this time in adoration.
Philippe George was also a Sergeant Major in the Royal Jersey Militia East Regiment and was presented with an engraved Paris-made clock dated 17 January 1877 in respect of his valuable services.
His uncles Thomas (1811-1852) and Francois (1800-1857) also served as Drill Sergeants. Philippe George is also described as Officier de Connétable, La Petite Longueville in L'Almanach des Îles of 1865.
Eliza Jane Le Sauteur
Eliza Jane (1841-1926) lived with her parents, Thomas and Betsey Le Sauteur, in a cottage at Grande Charrière, Grève d'Azette, and on occasions she assisted them to hang lighted lanterns on old tree stumps which were embedded in the beach in order to lure ships on to the rocks in St Clement's Bay.
She also told a story with some zest about her brothers who allowed themselves to be caught by a Preventative Officer with a large cask of brandy. The officer made a small hole in the cask, then he inserted two straws and sucked hard in order to taste the contents; but the lads had filled that particular cask with liquid manure.
She referred several time to a family smuggling expedition which resulted in an affray during which a Preventative Officier was killed, and later charges were laid against those concerned. She was a very tall and upright person and Thomas John, her husband, was a very short man. Her daughters would tease her by saying that Thomas always stood on sixpenny-worth of coppers in order to kiss her. This would enrage her even at the age of over 80 years.
William Ernest Le Sauteur
William Ernest (1849-1915) sought the hand of Jane Victoria in marriage as a young man, but she refused him because he was addicted to liquor, and chose to marry Charles Rogers. Later, when he was widowed, William Ernest proposed for a second time. This time he was accepted on the strict condition that he became teetotal. William was a delightful character and he kept his promise to Jane religiously, even to refusing brandy when he was dying. William worked in the shipyards as a ships carpenter, presumably those at Le Havre des Pas, and often sailed in the newly-built vessels to Newfoundland to deliver them.
Philip Winter Le Sauteur
Philip Winter Le Sauteur (1865-1957) was the only son of Philippe George and Elizabeth Marett. He and Caroline had four sons and four daughters. The boys worked on the farm, La Ferme de la Fontaine, and the girls ran the house, giving extra help in the fields when required. Each girl looked after one brother's clothes, and when the boys went out their suits were brushed and taken care of.
The farmhouse had two attic bedrooms; the four boys had one of these and the four girls the other. Papa was a stern man, a good family man and did not believe in birthday presents, but once a year the whole family were taken on the train from St Helier to Les Quennevais, St Brelade to the race meeting, then back by train to St Helier and the first house pictures at the Alambra. Then they all went to the second house pictures at West's Cinema, after which they walked home to the farm at Longueville. They took picnic food with them and in view of the prodigious effort required it is no wonder that it happened only once per year.
Papa attended St Saviours's Church each Sunday, having had differences of opinion at Grouville Church where the rest of the family attended.
When Philip junior married and set up at Fern Hill Farm, Papa gave him several heifers as a wedding present, but later he asked for them back; the present was the calves the animals had, and not the original animals. Philip Winter junior took over at La Ferme de la Fontaine just after the end of the Second World War and Papa moved into Fountain Villa, where he remained until his death, but they had ran the farm jointly since 1934, each having his own fields.
In 1943, during the Occupation, Philip Winter Le Sauteur went into the cow stable and found a German soldier in the act of taking one of his cows. He chased the man out brandishing a fork. Outside were two German officers. The poor soldier was more frightened of Philip than of his officers and refused to re-enter the stable and face the enraged old man. The Germans moved off threatening punishment and on 28 December 1943, Philip was taken to court and was fined £10 and ordered to hand over the cow. He refused and later the Germans returned to the farm and took a small cow which happened to be in the stable at the time. This poor heifer had already lost part of its tail when the stable door shut on it.
Philip Winter was dying at Easter 1957 and all the family were asked to take their farewells of him. He lay in bed with his bedcap, complete with pompom, and just faded away in his usual dignified manner, but said to his son that he 'did not want to go before his time' - a defiant remark from a person of 92 years of age.
Edward Le Sauteur
Edward Philip Jutson Le Sauteur (1875-1923) was manager of Renouf's Grocery Stores in Burrard Street, St Helier, a very high class shop opposite Pool's Garage, for many years, until his death from tuberculosis in 1923. He was most meticulous in his manner of dress, appearance and in his habits, and was hightly respected.
Harriet Le Sauteur
Harriet Éléonore Le Sauteur (1876-1948), daughter of Philippe George Le Sauteur (1829-1913) married Charles Ernest Pallot in 1896. They moved to Halifax in 1904 and to British Columbia in 1907. Harriet ran a drygood store in St Helier. When she moved to Canada with her husband she carried a tiny pistol to protect herself from the wild Indians.
William Le Sauteur
William Philip Le Sauteur (1878-1923) spent his boyhood at Havre des Pas and when aged 14 he ran away and joined the Navy, but was reclaimed by his mother as under-age. His mother relented and allowed him to join the Royal Navy at their Gorey station, when he was 15½, still under age.
He served with some distinction for 27 years. He fought on land with the Naval Detachment in the South African War, was a member of the Benin Expedition at the bombardment of Zanzibar. By 1911 he was made a chief petty officer and in 1914 was posted to the Flagship of the First Light Cruiser Squadron HMS Galatea as acting boatswain. This ship started the Battle of Jutland, fired the first shot and received the first shot which penetrated the ship without exploding. Three days later he was presented to King George V as the smartest man in the squadron at Scapa Flow, having been instrumental in saving the ship from sinking by fixing a salvage mat.
On at least two occasions he was co-opted into secret missions and sent to France in the front line trenches, and on his return gave lectures in the Fleet. He was in charge of the gun crew which brought down a Zeppelin, the L7, off the island of Sylt. The French Government awarded him the Médaille Militaire and the British made him the first Naval recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal.
The Island of Jersey presented him with a gold watch and illuminated address. A newspaper cutting records him jumping into the harbour at Guernsey and saving a man's life. He was demobilised in early 1920 having spend the previous two years as an instructor in the Royal Naval Barracks at Porstsmouth. He died in January 1923 from a combination of malaria and pneumonia.
