I've been invited on a trip to the Channel Islands with a group of friends next March so one of the things that I hope to do while there is to spend a day or two on Jersey and see if I can locate the final resting place of Portia Owen, this memorial to Portia is in St. Anne's Church here on the Island.
I've been fascinated at what I have found on the Internet in just the last 24 hours. Portia married into a very prominent Jersey family of wine merchants and her husband Clement was an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria :
Clement Hemery
Baptized 2.10.1811. Married Portia Owen in September 1838 in St. Georges Church Hanover Square London. He was a wine merchant. Colonel of the Town Regiment. Constable of St. Helier 1873 - 1876. A.D.C. to Queen Victoria. Died 16.1.1877.
Testament of Clement Hemery of Plaisance, Jersey. Dated 15/07/1876. Bequeaths to the eldest representative of the family a portrait by Fisher, to Cornelia Robinson Owen a portrait by Fisher. Bequeaths to the Jersey National School £200, to St Mark's and St Luke's Schools £50 each, to Cornelia Robinson Owen £50 for religious purposes at Campobello, New Brunswick.
I found one Jersey Church that has a website and contact information so I just wrote them to see if they could offer any information that might be helpful.
I would like to visit the grave and bring back pictures of the Church and Grave to give to St. Anne's.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Portia Owen Hemery
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6 comments:
Hi Dale, I found your site doing a random search online. My great great uncle was Clement Hemery who was Portia's husband. At the moment I am going through his diary from 1835 - 1840 which mentions her on nearly every page and covers a long trip they made to Campobello. I went to Jersey this year and found her monument, a fine one in St Luke's Church which is next to the Howard Davis Park in St Helier. There are no images of it online anywhere, and my photos are not that good as that part of the church was quite dim. Please feel free to get in touch if you want more information. The Howard Davis Park is the site of her old home, Plaisance, now demolished.
Happy New Year, Richard Hemery
Thank you so much for this information. I had emailed the church for this information but never did get a reply. It looks like it will be early April when I will be on Jersey, just a day trip or staying one night we will be mostly staying on Guernsey and Sark But with this information I will certainly make a visit to the church. Do you know if the church is open to the public through the week or should I plan to arrive on a Sunday. Thank you once again for your help and a very Happy New Year to you too.
Dale
Hi, the Church was open all day in the week when I was there. The Portia monument is a large brass near the altar end on the right hand side of the Church as you look towards the altar. There are several stained glass windows also in memory of other Hemery family members.
Have a good trip, Richard Hemery
Thank you I'm looking forward to the trip. Has the diary that you mentioned been published? I would try to find a copy if it has.
Dale
Hi, it has not been published, but can be seen in the Societe Jersiase Library in St Helier. I am indexing it (I have a photocopy) to make it more acessible for study, in preparation for a possible future publication. Portia also kept a diary (Clement mentions this) but it is not known where it is.
Richard
That's good news if it is ever published or made available online please let me know. If I have time I will try to go to the Library and have a look at it. I suppose after all this time the chance of Portia's diary surfacing are very remote.
Dale
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