The Hilys from Brittany

Two of the posts last month featured Louis John Hiley and his parents Louis François and Mary Hily. Louis John was born on Cape Breton Island and his father Louis François on St Pierre et Miquelon.

St Pierre et Miquelon was first settled by immigrant seafarers from western France (mainly Basques, Normans, and Bretons) early in the 17th century.

Louis François's father, also called Louis François, was born in Le Minihic-sur-Rance, a commune just south of St Malo in Brittany. Louis François snr was born in 1857.  

The towns of Minihic-sur-Rance and Pleurtuit in Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany

At some point before the year 1891 Louis François snr made the journey, possibly sailing from St Malo, to St Pierre et Miquelon because it was there in 1891 that he married Honora Power. He is described as a carpenter on the marriage record. Louis François jnr was born the following year and Louis François snr died in 1897 in St Pierre.

Record of the death of Louis François snr in 1897

Translation by Alexander Hiley:

On this day August 26th eighteen hundred and ninety seven, at nine o’clock in the morning, in the presence of  Marie Lefevre, first deputy delegate of the civil registry of the municipality of Saint Pierre (islands of the French colony Saint Pierre and Miquelon) appear before us:  Mr Hily, Jean Marie, 38 years old, carpenter, cousin to the deceased and Pierre Lefèvre, 39 years old, master blacksmith, both of whom residing and domiciled on Saint Pierre, declare that last night, at half past six in the evening Louis François Hily, aged 40, carpenter, residing and domiciled at Rue de la Gentille on this island, born in Minihic-sur-Rance (Ille -et-Vilaine) on August 27th eighteen hundred and fifty seven, son of the late Jean Hily and Marie Joséphine Dupre, husband to Honora Power, housewife residing on said island, died at his home whereby confirmation of his death has been made. The declarants have signed alongside us the present act after it was given to them to read.

It is possible to trace the Hilys back for several more generations.

Louis François snr.'s Hily ancestors were:

Jean Louis Hily

Born 1815 

Married Marie Josephine Dupré in 1844

Louis René Hily

Born 1776 

Married Jeanne Marie Monnier in 1803

Died 1833

André Hily

Born 1731

Married Françoise Huby in 1760

Died 1781

Guillaume Hily 

Married Guillemette Levesque in 1731

All the births, marriages and burials of the above four Hilys took place in Pleurtuit - see map above.

l'église St Pierre in Pleurtuit

A later photo of the church
The spire of the bell tower was removed in 1941

The Dilemma of Doctor Hiley

Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, silent and sound films, radio serials and TV series. The first story 'The Missing Millionaire' appeared in 1893 and from then until 1978 Blake starred in more than 4000 stories. 

The stories were written by about 200 different authors. One of these was Walter Tyrer, and in 1952 he wrote 'The Dilemma of Doctor Hiley'. The story is listed as No. 258 in the Sexton Blake Library (3rd Series) and was published by Amalgamated Press.

Front cover of the book

Ralph Hiley is introduced on page 4

In the story Sexton Blake and his sidekick Tinker help to track down a man who is on the run and infected by a deadly virus. Dr. Hiley and Nurse Joan Schofield look after the man when he is caught and hospitalised and nurse him back to health, but have to spend a period of isolation together afterwards to make sure they have not been infected. They fall in love but Dr. Hiley reveals that he is already married but that his wife Rita left him and he has not seen her for many years. Sexton Blake locates Rita but she is very ill and requires a life-saving operation which is performed by Dr. Hiley. She tells him that after she left him she married another man which means that the doctor and the nurse are now free to marry each other.