Jean Baptiste LeMoyne des Pins

Parents :

Jacques Joseph LeMoyne and Marguerite Guyon

Siblings :

Jacques Alexis

Spouse :

Louise Judith Duniere

Offspring :

Marie Louise, Julie Marguerite Louise, Jean Baptiste II, Marie Anne, Catherine Gilles, Marie Gilles, Sophie Lucile, Adrien Toussaint, Louis, Benjamin (I), Benjamin (II), William Henri and Joseph

Was born on February 19, 1751 in Montreal. When he reached the age of majority he received an inheritance from his mother of 60 000 pounds. He got out of the fur trade and expanded the family trade in cereals. By the age of 24 he already had numerous important supply contracts with the British troops. He married Louise, who was born April 7, 1751 at Quebec and whose father was Seigneur de la Gueronniare, on October 26 1772 in Montreal. He served in the military during the invasion of 1775.

He commanded a troop of Indians in the defensive campaign. Noted for his loyal and brave resistance to the invaders of 1775. Was taken prisoner by US Brigadier Richard Montgomery at Longeiul, Nov. 1775, was kept prisoner in New York State, the enemy contended he was to important to his country to allow an exchange for his return. During his captivity he found his business deteriorate and was released a physically and financially broken man.

Here is an account of the affaire, taken, translated and paraphrased form Necrologie in Journal de Quebec 29 July 1873:

The comander of Montreal sent a unit to Laprairie (south shore of Montreal) to repulse the attack, Captain LeMoyne commanded a unit of savages ("sauvages"). The cheif officer, seeing that the enemy had them outnumbered, ordered a retreat. Captain LeMoyne could not in time keep the savages from shooting at the enemy, they were captured and impriisioned and taken to New York. It was the end of Autumn, Captain LeMoyne suffered much on this long forced march, he contracted disease and became invalid for the rest of his days.

A letter from McPherson LeMoyne to Sir James McPherson Le Moine addresses this subject of his losses when investing in the war of American Independance :

Letter from McPherson LeMoyne of Boston to Sir James McPherson LeMoine of Quebec, dated Christmas Day, 1880:

My Dear Uncle:

During the war of American Independence, our ancestor, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, entered into heavy contracts with the British Government for the supply of provisions for the troops. The unexpected declaration of peace in 1783 found him with an immense amount of flour etc., on his hands at war prices, which fell almost immediately, involving a loss of 75 000 pounds, for which the British refused in any way to indemnity him. My late father, who is the authority of these statements which were told to him in his youth by old men, used to say that this was the cause of the ruin of our family, which until then had been very wealthy and that most of the family property had to be sold at that time to make good the enormous loss of our ancestor. He often pointed out to me when I was a child, a long wooden house, painted yellow, which used to stand on the north corner of LeMoine and McGill Streets in Montreal and which he said belonged to his grandfather and had been part of the family property.