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Researching the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada
  Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du Canada

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Canada's First Lighthouse Keeper: Jean Grenard Dit Belair, 1674-1744 
By Kenneth Donovan, 
5 January 2000
Historian, Fortress of Louisbourg Canadian National Historic Site
[First Published: The Lightkeeper, vol. 6, no. 4 (December, 1999), pp. 3- 5]

Lighthouses are imposing structures. Constructed of wood, stone, brick or concrete they are meant to be durable, long lasting and can stand indefinitely, especially if protected. When you come upon a lighthouse, do you ever pause and wonder about the people who looked after the light and what their lives were like? The light keepers and their families, much less permanent than the buildings they looked after, have usually long since passed on. Admittedly, the light keepers and their families endure through the blood lines and memories of their children and grand children but it is the rare person who can recall the lives of their ancestors beyond their grandparents. This is the story of Jean Grenard dit Belair, the first lighthouse keeper in what is today Canada. His memory and that of his family has survived because of the documents that have been preserved in the archives at the Fortress of Louisbourg, National Historic Site of Canada. 

A native of France, Jean Grenard was born in the town of Poitiers in 1674, the son of Leonard Grenard and Anna Polie. (Poitiers is located 300 kilometres southwest of Paris.) Enlisting in the troops of France's marine service, Jean Grenard was sent to Placentia, Newfoundland, probably during the 1690's. Established as a French fishing settlement in 1662, Placentia had been provided with a garrison to protect the fishermen and to enable them to fish in nearby harbours. By 1711 there were 600 people in Placentia, half of whom were full-time residents of the colony. Two of those residents included Jean Grenard and his future wife, Jeanne Ozelet. Within two years (1713) Jean Grenard and the other 160 permanent residents were forced to move to Louisbourg since France had lost the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) and the French had to leave Newfoundland and come to Cape Breton. 

Although uneducated, Jean Grenard had done well in the marine service, having risen in the ranks to become a sergeant. Two years after arriving in Louisbourg, Grenard married Jeanne Ozelet. Although he was forty one years and old for the time, Grenard must have been considered dependable and a good provider since he was a sergeant and carpenter as well. He had no trouble finding work in the developing town of Louisbourg since there was a shortage of skilled labour during the 1720's and 1730's when the fortifications were being constructed. 

Jeanne Ozelet, the daughter of Jean Ozelet and Madeline Beaufet, was probably born in Placentia since both of her parents as well as her grandmother and two of her sisters were witnesses to her wedding contract in Louisbourg on 25 January 1715. Like her husband, she was not able to sign her name. Jean Grenard remained a sergeant in the garrison and he and his new wife doubtless rented accommodation in the town. On 22 May 1722 Jean and Jeanne Grenard purchased a house lot on L'etang street in Block 20 of the town to the west of the convent of the Sisters of the Congregation. In the meantime, the Grenards had started to raise a family and by 1733 they had four children, two boys and two girls. 

Grenard had remained a sergeant until 1723 but by 1726 he had retired from the service and was described as a carpenter in the 1726 census. Although 52 years old, he had a strong constitution and continued to provide for his young family. Their third child, a son, Nicolas, was born on 31 July 1727 to be followed by another son Michel on 8 December 1729. Unfortunately, life could be brutal and short in the 18th century. Jeanne Grenard died on 15 January 1733, perhaps of smallpox, since there was an epidemic sweeping the town that claimed 194 people throughout 1732 and 1733 . Three weeks after the death of his mother, baby Michel, only three years old, died as well on the 9 February 1733. A widow with three young children, Jean Grenard had little choice but to remarry in an attempt to keep his family together. The only difficulty was finding a suitable mate since there were few available women in Cape Breton and Jean Grenard was getting on in years. By 1733 he was fifty nine years old at a time when life expectancy was approximately forty years. 

In spite of these apparent difficulties, Jean began to court Marie Fillant, a native of Normandy, and they were married on the 5 May 1733, four months after Jeanne had died. It was typical for widowed spouses with young children to remarry quickly throughout the 18th century and the people of Louisbourg were no exception. The widowed parents had little choice but to remarry as soon as possible in order to ensure that the children were looked after. 

Ten months after they were married, Jean and Marie Grenard had a baby, Pierre, who was born on the 9 March 1734. Over the next five years they would have another three children, two girls and another boy. In order to support his growing family of seven children, Jean Grenard had to continue to work since there were no old age pensions or general government support of older people. At sixty years of age, Jean Grenard was appointed keeper of the Louisbourg lighthouse. He remained in this position until his death ten years later. 

Louisbourg's first lighthouse had been started in 1730 but since it was such a massive structure- a rubble stone tower 70 feet high with a sophisticated lantern- the light did not begin operation until the 1 April 1734. The Louisbourg lighthouse was the first built in Canada and the second in North America. Using some of the latest technology, the lantern was constructed in a bronze basin approximately one metre wide and 25 centimetres deep that was filled with cod liver oil. Inside the basin there were 31 copper tubes attached to a copper ring that were kept afloat by a cork. Each tube or pipe had a cotton wick that absorbed the cod liver oil and when all 31 wicks were lit the light could be seen up to 18 miles at sea under ideal conditions. This was the lantern that Grenard and at least one assistant had to keep in working order and supplied with fuel from the 1 April until 31 December each year. 

There was a house built for the light keeper and Grenard doubtless stayed there during much of his employment. Grenard had a canoe and he could travel the approximate one mile distance across the harbour throughout most of the year from his house within the walls of the town. During high winds and rough seas, Grenard doubtless stayed in the lighthouse for a few days rather than walk the two hours around the harbour to his home. 

Grenard and his fellow light keeper were paid approximately 350 livres each per year, the equivalent of a fishermen's earnings during the summer and winter fishery.( The purchasing power of a livre in the eighteenth century was as follows: a bottle of Bordeaux sold for one and one quarter livres; a cow was worth 60 livres ; one pair of shoes sold for three livres.) The new lighthouse operated for only two years when the lantern was destroyed by fire on 11 September 1736. Reconstruction of a new lantern began almost immediately with an emphasis on making the light more fireproof. Using the same stone tower, some of the new safety features included a bigger cod oil basin so that the wicks could be spread further apart. There was no wood used in the construction of the tower and a new brick roof was sheathed in lead. To ensure further protection against fire, the window frames were made of iron. 

During the two years that the lantern was being reconstructed, there was a system of beacons established along the coast to aid navigation. Jean Grenard likely continued to draw his salary operating these beacons since the fires had to be supplied with coal and wood. He certainly would have needed the salary to support his young and growing family. On 12 November 1744, for instance, Grenard bought a pair of Basque shoes for his son Nicholas who was living with him at the lighthouse. The shoes cost five livres. On 19 December Grenard purchased a side of beef for his family at a cost of 55 livres. The beef was a supplement to the milk and the meat from the family's four goats and a ram kept in the back yard. Grenard did not eat much of the purchased beef since he died on 28 December 1744 after a brief illness. 

At the time of his death, Jean Grenard was 70 years old and the head of a large, extended family of children and grandchildren in Louisbourg. He left a widow, Marie Fillant, and six surviving children, two from his first marriage and four from his second marriage. Jean Grenard's eldest daughter, Marie Jeanne, had married Philibert Pinault, a master mason for the king, in Louisbourg during 1734 and by 1745 she had five of her own children. Jean Grenard's oldest son Nicholas was 18 years old at the time of his father's death. The four children from the second marriage ranged in age from six to eleven years. Under French civil law an inventory was required of the estate of each person who died with heirs. Since the inventory was intended to protect the inheritance of the minors, an exact enumeration was made of all the goods and property and the appraisers set the value of the estate. After the inventory was complete, the estate could be divided (if the heirs agreed) with the surviving spouse receiving half and the children equally sharing the remaining half. 

By outlining the number of rooms and describing their contents, the inventories provide information about the household of the deceased. Jean Grenard had probably started work about ten years of age of in Poitiers and he had lived in Newfoundland and Cape Breton for some fifty four years, most of his adult life. During that time his personal estate amounted to only 381 livres, exclusive of his house and land. Most of Grenard's possessions were well used and some were described as being half worn out. The assessors first entered the kitchen of the Grenard home and listed fireplace utensils such as two firedogs, a shovel, a pothanger, two gridirons, two trivets, three iron hooks, two cooking pots and a copper cauldron. The family's dishes included 24 pounds of "old pewter". There were only two candlesticks in the house and a coffee pot made of copper.

Unfortunately, the assessors did not describe the individual rooms in the house but, judging by the few household furnishings, the house was small. The family may have eaten in the kitchen. The dining furniture consisted of "a wretched table, six old wooden chairs and an old calico table cover," valued at only four livres ten sols. There were also three "old chests", an "old buffet" and ten napkins described as being worn out. The bedrooms were also poorly furnished and included " a bed fitted with a bedstead and a feather mattress, a bolster, two woolen blankets and a hanging of blue serge" valued at 40 livres. The bed, a four poster with a canopy that was typical of the period, was the most valuable item of furniture in the home. In addition to the blue serge bed hanging, there was also an "old" green serge bed hanging valued at three livres. The children slept on a feather mattress, valued at 25 livres, that was spread on the floor. There were nine "old bed sheets" for the family. 

The remaining items in the inventory included Jean Grenard's clothing and other personal belongings. Grenard had ten shirts, described as being "worn out", and valued at only nine livres. He also had two vests in poor condition as well as a pair of breeches, a hood, a double-breasted coat and a waistcoat, all described as being old and valued at only five livres. Grenard's best clothing consisted of a coat, two waistcoats and a pair of breeches valued at 50 livres. His wig had obviously seen better days since it and a hat were valued at only two livres. 

Jean Grenard, however, did have some prized possessions including an English watch with a silver case that was accessed at 60 livres as well as a pair of silver shoe buckles and silver sleeve buttons valued at nine livres five sols. Grenard also had a pocket telescope, a handy instrument in his work as light keeper. The final item listed in the inventory, noted Marie Fillant, "was a little canoe on the shore near the tower' that was valued at 20 livres. 

Jean Grenard became ill and apparently died in the light keeper's house near the lighthouse. Jean Grenard was assisted in his light keeping duties by his son Nicolas. After the capture of Louisbourg in 1745 by New England and British forces, the Grenard family was deported to France. Marie Fillant returned to Louisbourg, eventually remarried, and continued to raise her family in the Grenard house in Block 20 of the town. Nicolas Grenard returned to Louisbourg in 1749 and married Marie Perrigault, a native of Louisbourg. Nicolas became a fisherman and by 1754 he and his wife had two daughters. Marie Jeanne Grenard also came back to Louisbourg with her husband and five children. She eventually had nine children in Louisbourg. Nicolas Grenard, his sister Marie Jeanne and their step mother Marie returned to Cape Breton because of the economic opportunities available and their fond memories of growing up and living in Louisbourg. Although Jean Grenard's family had few material comforts, they had a loving and caring relationship. A member of the working poor, Jean Grenard made sacrifices in order to support his wife and children. In this regard, he was little different from hundreds of light keepers and their families who kept the lights along the coasts of Canada throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.