The Stuart McCombs Family Home Page:Information about Jean Postell
Jean Postell (b. 1660, d. 1729)
Notes for Jean Postell:JEAN POSTELL
Jean Postell was born in Dieppe, Normandy in France about 1660. His wife, Madeline Pepin, was born about 1670 in Grenoble, France. They were married about 1685. Whether they married in France, along their journey to America, or even after they landed at Charlestown, S.C., we do not know. Jean and Madeline were the parents of sons, John Pierre, Jacques, and John Jr., the first members of the Postell family to be born in America. We do not know in which trade Jean Postell was trained in France, but he earned a good living as a planter in South Carolina. He owned several valuable parcels of land in and around Charlestown. He is listed as a landowner in French Santee, Goose Creek, and town lots 177 and 178 in Charlestown. The land in French Santee was situated along the Santee River, and his holdings at Goose Creek were along the upper Ashley River. Most farmers chose to settle near rivers or creeks because of the vast availability of water, necessary for the successful growth of their crops. The reason for purchasing the land lots in Charlestown is easy to understand. While the Postells were not wealthy people, they did have a high social standing and probably found it to be much easier to take their part in society by living (at least part-time) in the city. Aside from his land holdings, Jean Postell owned twenty-two slaves, which would have made it possible for him and his family to be away from the family plantation during the hottest part of the summer. With that much help, he could have maintained his crops in good order and still have had plenty of time to enjoy the genteel society of Charlestown. While Jean Postell did not live to be a very old man (estimates of his age at the time of his death range from the late fifties to the early sixties), through much hard work and good land investments, he provided a very good base for his children to build on. So it is that Jean Postell left a strong legacy, not just to his sons, but also to every descendant from his day to the present time. If measured by current standards, Jean Postell would certainly have to be recognized as supremely successful in both his business and personal endeavors.
There has always been some mystery in regard to Pierre Postell. Research yields few actual facts about his life. The only thing that really gives credence to his life is that his name is listed on the burial register at St. Phillip's Parish in Charleston, S.C., where Jean Postell is buried, but there is no record or date of actual burial. There is however, the very important question as to whether Jean and Madeline Postell had three children or four. In the book, "HUGUENOT EMIGRATION TO AMERICA" by Charles W. Baird, the children of Jean and Madeline Postell are listed as Jean (John); Pierre (Peter); and Jacques-Jean (James-John). If Charles W. Baird's listing is correct, (and he took his information from the Liste des Francois et Suisses refugiez en Caroline [List of French and Swiss refugees to Caroline]), then there is the question of an extra family or two that would need to be reconstructed in an order different to that currently accepted as correct. One thing is certain, Charles Baird's work shows that he was a very meticulous researcher. It is hard to believe he would have made the mistake of combining the names of two people into one hyphenated form. We must also remember that Charles Baird's work was done in the mid to late 1800s, His information was probably much more accurate than that we have available to us now, and he could have had benefit of personal contact with Postell family members who would have had the correct information. The Postell family lived very close knit for the first hundred years they were in this country. It would stand to reason that the generations Charles Baird could have talked with would have been well taught in the family history. It makes much more sense that there were only three children, and that family research has just failed (or refused) to recognize it as fact. If there were only three original family lines descending from Jean and Madeline Postell, it would also mean that we have all descending lines accounted for, with the need for a few changes in the early alignment of the family.
More About Jean Postell:
Burial: Unknown, St. Philip's Parrish.
More About Jean Postell and Madeline Pepin:
Marriage: 1679, Charleston, SC.
Children of Jean Postell and Madeline Pepin are:
- +Jean Postell, b. 1686, Charleston, SC, d. 1744, Charleston, SC.
- Pierre Postell, b. 1688, Berkeley Co. S.C., d. 1731.
- +Jacques James Postell, b. 1692, Berkeley Co. S.C., d. 1750, Dorchester County, SC.
- +John Postell, b. 1692, Berkeley Co. S.C., d. 1736.
- Samuel Postell, b. 1700, d. 1727.