John Janvrin

John Janvrin (29 August 1762 – 22 December 1835) was a Jersey-born merchant, shipowner, and colonial official active on Cape Breton Island and in the Gaspé region of present-day Canada. He was a member of the Cape Breton Executive Council during the 1790s, a lieutenant-colonel in the colonial militia, and a justice of the peace. Janvrin Island, off Isle Madame, bears his family's name.

Early life

Janvrin was born on 29 August 1762 at Saint Brélade, Jersey, the son of Brelade Janvrin, a merchant, and Elizabeth de Lecq. The family belonged to the Valpy dit Janvrin line, a Jersey merchant family with North American trade links from the seventeenth century onward. In 1826 the family received permission to use the surname Janvrin alone. In 1796, Janvrin exported 660 barrels of pickled fish to Barbados and shipped 102 barrels of pickled salmon to Portugal and 35 to Ireland.

Return to Jersey and later ventures

Janvrin returned to Jersey around 1815–1817 and during the 1820s transferred management of the Cape Breton operations to his eldest son, John. The younger John purchased the Arichat facilities on 5 February 1829 for £1,200; in 1836 the firm shipped two million pounds of cod to Brazil.

In later years Janvrin entered banking and finance, becoming a partner in the London brokerage firm of DeLisle, Janvrin, and DeLisle; contemporary correspondence references "John Janvrin & Co. of the city of London."

Political career

During the 1790s Janvrin sat on the Executive Council of Cape Breton, then governed as a separate colony without an elected assembly. He served for many years as a justice of the peace and in 1800 sat on a local board of trade with his brothers. After returning to Jersey, he held the office of Constable of Saint Brélade from 1817 to 1820.

Military service

Janvrin held the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Cape Breton militia. Lieutenant Governor Macarmick organised the colonial militia in 1794, partly to defend against a possible French attempt to retake Cape Breton, drawing its officers from Jerseymen and Loyalists in the colony.

Personal life

On 16 December 1799, at Saint Helier, Janvrin married Esther Elizabeth Filleul (1780–1864). They had three sons and eight daughters. He died on 22 December 1835 at Saint Brélade, Jersey, aged 73.

Legacy

Janvrin Island, west of Isle Madame in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, retains the family name. The Nova Scotia government repossessed the island around 1894. Janvrin Harbour, a community on the island, also preserves the name.

Francis's grandson Frederick Janvrin took over the Gaspé operations in 1837 and sold the family's Gaspé fishing establishments between 1841 and 1855.