Jean Poingdestre was a native of Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

 and a supporter of the Royalists

Cavalier

Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...

 in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

. He was born in the parish of St Saviour

Saint Saviour, Jersey

-Notable sites:*Highlands College*De La Salle College*St. Michael's Preparatory School*Hautlieu School*Grainville Cricket Ground*Grainville School*Jersey Evening Post offices and printing works-External links:**...

, at the Poingdestre fief of Grainville. He graduated at Cambridge, and was made a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...

 in 1636, after studying Classics

Classics

Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...

, specialising in Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

. Poingdestre was offered the job of Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

's Latin Secretary (foreign translator) during the war, but seems to have declined. In 1648 he was forced to take refuge in Jersey, where he participated in the defence of Elizabeth Castle

Elizabeth Castle

Elizabeth Castle is a castle in Saint Helier, Jersey. Construction was started in the 16th century when the power of cannon meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St. Helier was vulnerable to attack by ships armed with...

 in 1651. After the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

, Poingdestre returned to England before becoming Lieutenant Bailiff of Jersey, resigning in 1676. During this time, he wrote Cæsarea or A Discourse of the Island of Jersey, a comprehensive survey of Jersey geography

Geography of Jersey

This article describes the geography of Jersey, an island territory in the English Channel. The island of Jersey has an area of 116 square kilometres, with 70 kilometres of coastline. Jersey claims a territorial sea of and an exclusive fishing zone of ....

, customs, law, governance

Politics of Jersey

Politics of the Bailiwick of Jersey takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitution.As one of the Crown Dependencies, Jersey is autonomous and self-governing, with its own independent legal, administrative and fiscal systems.The legislature is the Assembly of...

, folklore and trade.

An English lawyer, William Trumbull

William Trumbull

Sir William Trumbull was an English statesman who held high office as a member of the First Whig Junto.-Biography:...

, visited Jersey and met Jean Poingdestre in 1676. He described him thus:

"Jean Pointdextre, Esquire is the next in Place, & was the late Lieut.Bailiff: He was admitted Jurate upon a Recomendatory Letter obtaind from above & putt into the place of Lieutenant ... He is a person of Experience & Capacity, as well in the businesse of the Publiq (having a good knowledge of the Court of England) as in that of the laws of that Country, which he has studdyed beyond any other, & digested the laws of Normandy into a Method sutable to the Practise of the Island. His great fault is His very passionate temper, ... He is undoubtedly the fittest person to help to Compile a Body of Law & is acquainted with all the Abuses in the Practise" [sic throughout]

The Poindexter

Poindexter

Poindexter is an American surname descended from the Poingdestre family of Jersey. In its original form, the name means 'right fist'.-Surname:People with the surname Poindexter:...

family of America is descended from Jean's great-nephew, George Poindexter.

Sources

• Biographical portrait from the Jersey Legal Information Board
• Cæsarea or A Discourse of the Island of Jersey, Preface to the 1889 Société Jersiaise edition.
• Poindexter descendants association website. Contains an online version of Caesarea. (some erroneous information)