Gallichan

Gallichan family page

A previously unidentified Mr Gallichan, photographed by Ernest Baudoux. We believe that this is Matthieu Gallichan, pictured opposite

Record Search

Direct links to lists of baptisms, marriages and burials for the Gallichan family can be found under Family Records opposite. If you want to search for records for a spelling variant of Gallichan, or for any other family name, just click below on the first letter of the
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Matthieu Gallichan (1820-1902), Deputy of St Lawrence (1876–1886), Jurat of the Royal Court (1886–1902). The portrait, by an unknown artist, hangs in St Lawrence Parish Hall

Origin of Surname

Gallichan is an interesting example of the need of going back to the earliest form of a name. One writer derives it from two Latin words, gallus, a cock, and cano, I sing. Perhaps he guessed that the first Monsieur Gallichan was famous for rising at cock-crow.

But in 1269 and 1306 the name was spelt Le Galicien, showing that he came from Galicia, probably the one in Spain. We hear more than once of Spanish traders settling in Jersey. A further clue is that the name does not appear in works giving the derivation of French surnames.

Guy Fortescue Burrell de Gruchy, in Medieval Land Tenures in Jersey wrote of Gallichan or Le Gallichan, "a family of some local importance," that "the name implies that the first holder came from Galicia in Spain; it is likely that he was one of the mercenaries of many races employed by Henry II".

Early records

The name is one of the oldest in Jersey. In 1180, Guillaume Gallichan owed the Crown relief, on inheriting the Fief of Handois, in St Lawrence. His son was probably the Raoul Gallichan who was an Island hostage held, with the sons of other principal Islanders, by King John to ensure their fathers` loyalty, after the fall of Normandy. He was released in 1214 and witnessed in about 1218 a charter, with other leading Island men. He married Jeanne, niece of Adam de Sottevast and of Guillaume de Bricquebec, Norman seigneurs, who gave their niece a generous dowry, which comprised a fief in Grouville and another in St Lawrence, the latter being worth 14 Quartiers 6 cabots, which sum gave its name to the St Lawrence fief: the Fief des Quatorze Quartiers. There was born of this union two sons, Raoul and Robert Gallichan. De Gruchy writes that "The Crown looked upon this dower as an attempt to deprive the King of land of the [disaffected] Normans, and Raoul and Robert...spent their long lives in trying to hold it. Raoul [senior] got an order for restitution in 1240-1 on the plea that his wife`s uncles were seized of the fiefs the day they gave her in marriage, but this was upset...Robert Gallichan was still trying to get it back in 1305".

The Fief of Handois was not involved in the above suit, but as an example of how such extended legal proceedings could adversely affect a family`s fortune, see Godel. Raoul Gallichan was Seigneur of Handois in 1274 and Robert Gallichan, his son, was seigneur in 1309 but had lost the fief by 1323 to a foreign financier, which would, perhaps, tend to confirm the above supposition. The family, nonetheless, had descendants and retained, in many branches, land and influence.

The surname was found in the Short Inquisition of 1274. Drouet Gallichan was born in Trinity in about 1505 and Jean Gallichan in the same parish in 1513. Collas, Johan, Philipot, Rauf and Sire Serves Gallichan, priest, are listed in the Jersey Chantry Certificate of 1550. With over 1,200 baptisms on record, it is also one of the most frequently encountered names in the Jersey church registers. In early registers, the surname was most often to be found in Trinity and St Martin, although branches of the family were also to be found living in St Lawrence, St Peter, St Helier, Grouville and elsewhere. Gallichan remains a common name in Jersey.

Offices Held

Raoul Gallichan, Seigneur of Handois, served on an Inquest in Guernsey in 1254 and was in 1269, in Jersey, a Jurat at the Assizes. Thomas Gallichan of St Martin (1748-1796) was Dénonciateur of the Royal Court 1782-1791, before becoming in 1791 Deputy-Viscount [Deputy-Sheriff] of Jersey. Another Thomas Gallichan was Constable [Mayor] of Trinity 1833-1839 and 1849-1852. An Ecrivain (Solicitor) in St Helier, he had married in 1831 the daughter and heiress of Jurat Philippe Le Maistre of Bras de Fer, Augrès. In recent times, Mr John Le Sueur Gallichan held the same office, as Constable of Trinity. Matthieu Gallichan (1820-1902), who was another Solicitor, was Deputy-Viscount in 1854, Deputy of St Lawrence, 1876-1886, before becoming a Jurat, 1886-1902.

The family also gave to the Island several ecclesiastics, among whom were Sire Nicolas Gallichan, Rector of St Mary -1349-, Sire Servais Gallichan, priest, (above) living in 1550, and Sire Etienne Gallichan ( -1571), priest, Greffier of the Ecclesiastic Court -1567-1570. His principal heir was Jean Gallichan, son of Robin, the said Jean being his nephew. Other heirs were Michel and Jacques Gallichan. William Charles Gallichan (1785-1836), a native of St Martin and former Militia Lieutenant, became by 1818 a clergyman. He acted as Vicar of St Martin on various occasions, before becoming Chaplain of the Jersey General Hospital, 1830-1836: ABSJ, VII, 287. The Reverend James Gallichan was to fulfill the same role, -1847-1857.

Members of the family have held commissions in the Royal Jersey Militia, among whom was Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Gallichan, who had fought in the Battle of Jersey (1781), when a young officer. James Gallichan of St Peter joined, instead, the Royal Navy, becoming a Captain.

Variants

• Gallichan, 1240
• Galichien
• Gallichen
• Galicen, 1331
• Galissian c1340
• Le Galicien, 1306
• Galicien pre-1292
• Le Galycien 1309
• Galichan 1299
• de Gallycen 1274
• Galician 1254, Gallicien 1240
• Galitan
• Galliceanus 1186
• Legalitien 1180

Family records

Family trees

• Jacques Gallichan (1545-1626)
• Descendants of Estienne Gallichan (1600)
• Descendants of Jean Gallichan (1627)
• Descendants of Jean Gallichan, a different descendant line from the tree above Added 2018
• Descendants of Jean Gallichan (1745)
• Descendants of Edouard Gallichan
• Descendants of Josue Gallichan and Rachel Gibaut
• Descendants of Thomas Gallichan
• Descendants of Thomas Gallichan - 2
• Descendants of Pierre Gallichan Added 2016
• Descendants of Jacques Gallichan Added 2016
• Descendants of Pierre Gallichan - 2 Added 2018
• Descendants of Philippe Gallichan Added 2020
• Descendants of Daniel Gallichan (1620) Added 2022
• Descendants of Elie Gallichan Added 2023

Church records

Tips for using these links

• Gallichan baptisms in Jersey
• Gallichan marriages in Jersey (groom)
• Gallichan marriages in Jersey (bride)
• Gallichan burials in Jersey

Biographies

• Walter M. Gallichan, author

Great War service

• Gallichan family members who served in World War 1
• Presentation to Private George Gallichan, MM, at the Town Hall

Occupation records

• Gallichan Occupation identity cards

Family wills

• Gallichan family wills from 1663 to 1980 held by Jersey Archive

Newspaper records

• Gallichan land valuer
• Thomas Gallichan appointed to reservoir planning committee in 1848
• Builder Thomas Gallichan presented his model for Victoria College in 1848
  

• Gallichan burial records 1820-1978

Family businesses

• Charles Gallichan was a chemist at 13 King Street in the 1830s
• P C Gallichan ran men's outfitter La Belle Jardiniere at 59 King Street in the 1880s and '90s
• Philip Gallichan was a shoemaker at 70 King Street in the 1840s
• Philip Gallichan was a grocer at 32 Halkett Place in the 1850s
• E J Gallichan Jersey's longest-established jewellers

Family homes

• Bras de Fer, Trinity
• Handois Manor, St Lawrence
• La Maison Gruchy, St Brelade
• Ville au Veslet St Lawrence
• Bon Air, St Lawrence

Family album

Matthew and Catherine Gallichan

Click on any image to see a full-size version

George, Sydney, Herbert and Donald Gallichan

Gladys Rose Gallichan was born in St Helier in 1889 and emigrated to Newfoundland in 1914. She married Fridelain Chaine (1890-1964) in Edmonton, Alberta in 1917 and they had two daughters Lily (1919-1977) and Gladys Mary (1921-2004). The family are pictured here on holiday on a Canadian National train. Gladys was the daughter of Henry Thomas (1857- ) and Mary, nee Hayes (1856-1895). Henry Thomas was the illegitimate son of Jane Gallichan (1818- )

Occupation curfew cards

Curfew passes issued to Charles and John Le Sueur Gallichan during the Occupation as members of the Trinity Honorary Police ^[1]

Arms

Pre-1500 arms researched by Julian Wilson

Family gravestones

Family gravestone in St Lawrence Church cemetery

Tips

The church record links above will open in a new tab in your browser and generate the most up-to-date list of each set of records from our database. These lists replace earlier Family page baptism lists, which were not regularly updated. They have the added advantage that they produce a chronological listing for the family name in all parishes, so you do not have to search through A-Z indexes, parish by parish.

We have included some important spelling variants on some family pages, but it may be worth searching for records for a different spelling variant. Think of searching for variants with or without a prefix, such as Le or De. To search for further variants, or for any other family name, just click on the appropriate link below for the first letter of the family name, and a new tab will open, giving you the option to choose baptism, marriage or burial records. You will then see a list of available names for that type of record and you can select any name from that list. That will display all records of the chosen type for that family name, and you can narrow the search by adding a given name, selecting a parish or setting start and end dates in the form you will see above. You can also change the family name, or search for a partial name if you are not certain of the spelling

The records are displayed 30 to a page, but by selecting the yellow Wiki Table option at the top left of the page you can open a full, scrollable list. This list will either be displayed in a new tab or a pop-up window. You may have to edit the settings of your browser to allow pop-up windows for www.jerripediabmd.net. For the small number of family names for which a search generates more than 1,500 records you will have to refine your search (perhaps using start or end dates) to reduce the number of records found.

New records

Since August 2020 we have added several thousand new records from the registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These will appear in date order within a general search of the records and are also individually searchable within the database search form

Notes and references

1. ↑ These cards are held by Jersey Archive. Visit The Archive online catalogue for more information. A subscription may be needed to view some of the site's content