The family of Messervey flourished in the Island of Jersey, especially in the parish of St. Martin, as early as the beginning of the fourteenth century. An ancient coat of arms is, "Or 3 cherries gu. stalked, vert, Crest; _A cherry tree proper." Motto: "Au valereux coeur rien impossible."
Clement Messervey, thought to have been son of Jean and Marie (Machon) Messervey of the Isle of Jersey, born 1655, was a taxpayer in Portsmouth, N. H. in 1673. He conveyed his homestead in Newington to his son Clement, 6 Aug. 1710. He and wife, Elizabeth, died before 1720. Children were:
Aaron m. Susanna ____; 1. in Salem, Mass. Widow m. John Batten. Sons by first marriage were William and Aaron.
Daniel m. Deborah ____.
John mentioned 1705; prob. d. young.
Elizabeth m. Michael Whidden; 6 Jan. 1694.
Tamsen m. Joseph Ham, 1704.
Clement m. Elizabeth Jones, 24 Sept. 1702. Rem. to Scarboro, Me.
"To The Valiant Heart Nothing Is Impossible"
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The earliest known home of the Meserves or Meserveys was on the Isle of Jersey, largest of the Channel Islands. It was this place that Clement Meserve, our common ancestor and six known generations of his predecessors made their home, going back to 1500.
Clement Meserve was born in 1645 in Gorey Grouville, on the Isle of Jersey. He was a farmer and raised cattle with his father. It was he who decided to leave a good life with security and venture forth to the New World.
Around 1670, Clement came by ship that arrived at Strawberry Banke, which was the early name for Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
A few years later he married Elizabeth (last name not known) from Welch Cove, a section of Kittery and started a family. They had six children, named John, Elizabeth, Clement, Daniel, Tamsen and Aaron. They lived near Portsmouth Harbor for some time.
In 1693, he and his family had a pew in the North Church at Portsmouth. Later we find that the family moved to Newington, a town located between Portsmouth and Dover. Several years later he signed an agreement, giving his home, land and orchard to his son Clement, who in return would care for his parents as long as they should live. Clement Meserve, the progenitor of most of the Meserves in America today, had died by 1721.
The American branches of this family spell the name in various forms. We find Mesharvy, Meservie, Meservey, Maserve, Messervey, Meservee, and Meserve; the latter spelling the most common.
His descendents settled in towns of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, making up the different branches of the family tree. Present generations now stretch across America and Canada.
Clement Messervey 