Decarteret, A Family History

Part 2

Early Life

His father died when he was only ten years old and this meant that he became a Ward of the Crown. Initially the Governor Anthony Paulet held the wardship, but it passed to his uncle George Paulet the boy's grandfather. As he grew older he became less capable of looking after his daughter Rachel, her nine children and the family estate, and Philippe abandoned his studies at Oxford and returned home, although still under age, to take charge of his property.

He was soon prominent in island life, leading the militia in St Ouen and St Mary when a Spanish invasion was feared. He married Anne Dowse, daughter of Sir Francis, of Nether Wallop, Hampshire, before coming of age, claiming possession of his inheritance in March 1605. After a dispute over who was entitled to the income of his estate in the previous 4½ years was settled, Philippe was sworn in as a Jurat in September of that year and soon became an influential member of the States, often being sent as a representative to the Court in London, where he had many friends at high level. He kept out of the constant disputes between Bailiff Jean Herault and Governor Sir John Peyton and was promised by James I, who knighted him in 1617, that he would be the island's next Bailiff, and was duly appointed in January 1627.