The surname Bisson is one of the oldest names in Channel Islands. Originally du Buisson it is first mentioned in the archives of St Lo in Normandy in 1149, where Sir Geoffrey du Buisson was given the rights to the Parish Church of St Martin du Grouville in Jersey.

The earliest reference to the surname Bisson / Buisson in Guernsey is in the Vale Parish registers around 1540. The earliest ancestor I have been able to trace is Jean BISSON, son of Nicolas, who married Sara HUET at the Vale Parish Church in 1682. They had one son, Guillaume BISSON ...

• Guillaume BISSON ( 1694 - 1778 ) m 1730 Rachel BLONDEL ( ? - ? )
• Jean BISSON ( 1732 - 1808 ) m 1755 Elizabeth DOMAILLE ( 1733 - 1788 )
• Jean BISSON ( 1761 - 1842 ) m 1792 Suzanne MACHON ( 1769 - 1827 )
• Henri BISSON ( 1801 - 1878 ) m 1827 Rachel FALLA ( 1802 - 1888 )
• Henry BISSON ( 1828 - 1895 ) m 1851 Judith FALLA ( 1829 - 1902 )
• Frederic James BISSON ( 1868 - 1948 ) m 1890 Amy MARTEL ( 1870 - 1968 )
• Edna Amy BISSON ( 1894 - 1984 ) m 1922 Oscar Priaulx OZANNE ( 1899 - 1959 )

Jean junior was a fisherman in the Vale. Henri became a stonemason when the trade in Guernsey granite took off in the 19th century, and he and Henry junior developed a reputation for producing some of the finest monumental masonry in the island's cemeteries.

Last update: 21 Mar 2004
© Stephen Foote 1996-2004