Book Synopsis
The book offers a history of my Crowdy and Tessier ancestors. James Crowdey, as his name appears in records, is the earliest known of my Crowdy ancestors. He was a tailor in Gloucester, England, in the 17th century. One of his descendants, Hon. James Crowdy, served as Colonial Secretary of Newfoundland in the 19th century. James returned to England after serving in the Newfoundland legislature, but his son Charles remained in St. John's as a physician and surgeon. My maternal grandfather descended from Dr. Charles Crowdy. My Tessier ancestors were Huguenots in southern France who came to England to escape persecution. Two Tessier descendants, brothers Peter and Lewis, immigrated to Newfoundland from the west of England in the 19th century and established a lucrative fish business. My material grandmother descended from Peter Tessier. My grandparents married in St. John's and moved to Montreal, Quebec, where my mother was born. The book ends with chapters on my mother and her siblings.