DONNA Le Marrec is employed as development manager at Jersey Tourism. Her daily life therefore centres on the worldwide promotion of the Island of Jersey. This seems appropriate as many of Donna’s family were drawn to the Island from France in the mid 19th century.

While the family moved to the Island to work in agriculture rather than enjoy the sunny beaches, Donna’s work as a member of the Genuine Jersey Management Committee shows that she hasn’t strayed too far from her agricultural roots.

Donna’s family history, however, reveals some tragic and surprising tales. Donna is a member of the Frigot family, which originated in France. Her great-great-grandfather was Auguste Charles Frigot who was born in Ourville, Manche in around 1841.

Auguste moved to the Island to work in the burgeoning agricultural industry and married a local girl from St John, Marie Moitier. The ceremony took place at Trinity Parish Church on 27 February 1864. Disaster struck the family in January 1895 when Marie was murdered in what became known as the Brighton Road tragedy.

Marie helped clean for François Renault, a retired farmer and former neighbour of the Frigot family. On Friday 11 January 1895 Marie went to Renault’s residence, Tranquil House in Brighton Road, St Helier, to clean as normal.
It was reported in the British Press, a former Island newspaper, that Renault ordered her to rake the gravel path. As the path was frozen she was unable to do so and annoyed at her refusal he shot her in the head. In shock at what he had done he then proceeded to shoot himself in the face.

However, this was not the end of the story. Both Marie and François survived the shooting. Marie woke up the next day lying on Renault’s sofa to find Renault with a bandaged face. Rather than contacting the authorities he offered Marie £50 to say nothing of the affair and hired her a cab back to her house in St John.

It was only on the Sunday, two days later, when the doctor was called to Marie’s house that the authorities were notified about the incident. They went around to Renault’s house and he was taken to hospital. Descriptions of Renault’s wounds illustrate the amount of pain he must have experienced. Dr Bentlif reported that he had a large lacerated wound of the windpipe, the middle portion of his jaw was completely shattered and portions of bone had been driven into the floor of his mouth and tongue. He also had an abrasion of the tongue. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he expired on 15 January.

Marie also never recovered and passed away in great pain from the effects of her wounds on 22 January at home, never having been hospitalised. When asked why he did it, Renault responded: ‘I know I have done wrong; I much regret it, but she contradicted me, and I shot her.’

Further mystery is added to the case when studying Renault’s will. It reveals that £300, a substantial amount of money in 1895, was bequeathed to Adelina Frigot, Marie’s daughter. Sadly things did not get much better for Donna’s family. Emile Pierre, the son of Auguste and Marie and Donna’s great-grandfather, was married twice. His first wife Victorine Louise Perrin, died at a young age leaving Emile to care for three young children.

He then went on to marry Mary Ann Bechelet. This marriage also ended in misfortune as Mary Ann fell victim to another ill-fated occurrence. On 20 April 1928 Mary Ann went low water fishing. She was seen collecting limpets from a rock known as Le Vermeur at La Pulente.

Evidently she was cut off by the fast moving tide as she was later found floating in the sea. The inquest verdict was that she died of accidental drowning. This tragedy was further compounded as it was reported that she was the mother of seven children.

Heartbreak was not limited to the Frigot family. Donna’s grandmother was a lady called Eleonore Marie Bannier. She married Reginald Emile Frigot, Donna’s grandfather and son of Emile Pierre. The Bannier family also originated in France meaning that both sides of Donna’s paternal family came from there. Eleonore’s father was named Francis Toussaint Marie. He was born in St Helier after his father had moved to the Island to pursue a career in agriculture.
In 1928 it is reported in the Evening Post that Francis Toussaint Marie had died in ‘mysterious circumstances’ at the Hospital. The inquest examined the cause of his unfortunate demise.

Francis lived at Sion View in St John with his wife Eleonore, née Therin and their children. It was reported that Francis had been unwell for about 15 months. The doctor had been around and had been unable to diagnose the problem.

Eleonore, prompted by a friend, sent a sample of the drinking water from the family well to the States Official Analyst, Mr F Woodland Toms, to test. On analysing the sample Mr Toms reported that there was elevated volumes of lead in the water. The doctor then diagnosed Francis with lead poisoning.

On hearing this, the Banniers’ landlord immediately replaced the lead pipe that led to the well with one made of iron. Unfortunately it was already too late. Having suffered from the affects of the poisoning Francis contracted gastric influenza and was taken into Hospital. As a result of the damage his body had already suffered he was unable to recover and died.

Asked whether her husband drank a lot of water, Eleonore replied that her husband had drunk a great deal during the hot weather as they had no cider left and were waiting for the new batch. It is common to find some tragedy when researching your family history but the amount of stories found relating to Donna’s family were exceptional. While Donna was aware of both the ‘drowning’ and ‘poisoning’ incidences through stories that have been told within the family, she was completely unaware of the Brighton Road tragedy and was both surprised and shocked at the fate of her great-great-grandmother, Marie Frigot.

• To find out more about Donna’s family history and discover how you can use court records to find out more about your ancestors visit the Jersey Archive on Saturday 20 September. The Archive will be open from 9 am to 1 pm with a talk on court records at 10 am. To book a place on the talk, call 833300.

• Picture: Donna Le Marrec’s family were drawn to the Island from France in the middle of the 19th century. Picture by Jon Guégan (00584398)