Are you descended from these 19th century Jersey sisters?

Tuesday 12 September 2023

The stories behind a collection of historic photographs of two Jersey sisters have been uncovered by a genealogist in the hope of reuniting the images with a descendent.

The "lost photos" were sent by an eBay seller to genealogy research company 'Find My Family', where it was discovered that the two young girls photographed are Jersey-born sisters Amy Eliza Pellier and Elsie May Pellier.

The sisters were both born in the island in the late 1800s and grew up living in Roseville House on Roseville Street.

After extensive research, 'Find My Family' shared the stories of the sisters on Facebook where they gained thousands of 'likes'.

"Fingers crossed a descendant may see this so we can reunite the image," said family historian Simon Howard. 

Amy Eliza Pellier

Pictured: Amy Eliza Pellier was born in St Helier in 1869. (Find My Family)

Amy was born in St Helier in 1869 and lived with her four siblings and parents – shipowner William Pellier and Mary Eliza Hughes – at Roseville House on Roseville Street.

On 24 August 1897, Amy married barrister Edward William Maples, and they had a daughter named Nancy Amy in 1899.

They moved to Quarry House on Aylestone Hill in Hereford, where Edward had retired, in 1939.

Amy passed away in 1945.

Amy's husband, Edward, was made a Freeman of Hereford in 1948 for over 50 years of local government service.

Throughout his career, he held a variety of positions including Director of Education for Herefordshire, County Council Alderman, and Chairman of the Herefordshire Agricultural Executive Committee during the war. 

Edward passed away in 1951.

Elsie May Pellier

Pictured: Elsie May Pellier was born in St Helier in 1872. (Find My Family)

Elsie May Pellier was born in St Helier in 1872 to William Pellier and Mary Hughes.

She married Charles Hugh Harris Pitts in 1906, and they had a son named William in 1907.

Pictured: Photographs of the two Jersey-born sisters were shared online in the hope of reuniting them with a descendent. (Find My Family)

The family lived for several decades in South Allington, Devon, in a Georgian manor home known as South Allington home. 

This historic property has since been transformed into a bed and breakfast and wedding venue.

Charles passed away in 1945, while Elsie passed away in 1958.

She had complained of being stung by a wasp on the neck shortly before her death, which was initially believed to be the likely cause.

However, a contemporary newspaper report described how a post-mortem examination revealed severe heart degeneration as the likely cause "which might have caused pain in the neck, where Mrs. Pitts thought she had been stung," leading to a coroner's verdict of "death by natural causes".