Jean de Bérard-Moquet-Montalet

Jean de Bérard-Moquet-Montalet
Born26 January 1762
Died3 June 1814(1814-06-03) (aged 52)
Sapelo Island, Georgia, U.S.
Resting placeHigh Point Cemetery, Sapelo Island, Georgia, U.S.
OccupationPlanter
Spouse(s)Renee Michel Mirault
Angélique Servanne Charlotte de Picot-Boisfeuillet

Jean de Bérard-Moquet-Montalet, Chevalier Marquise de Montalent (26 January 1762 – 3 June 1814) was a French nobleman who became noted for his production of the noted "Savannah Grey" bricks at the Hermitage Plantation near Savannah, Georgia, where he was also a planter.

Life and career

Bérard-Moquet-Montalet was born in 1762 to Jean-Baptiste Mocquet and Louise Gaillard, natives of Nantes, France. He was raised in Paris.[1] He had one sister, Lucie Mocquet de Montalet,[2] and one brother, William Polycarp Montalet.[3]

He married Renee Michel Mirault in France.[4]

Between 1794 and 1798, he commanded a militia in Saint-Domingue under English rule.

In around 1798, with a handful of slaves, he moved to Savannah, Georgia. He gave the slaves French names, including Mathurin, Dominique, Prene, Gustin, Antoine and St. Foix.[1] Shortly after arrival, he purchased the 230-acre (93 ha) Hermitage Plantation,[5] from Patrick Mackay, and a section of the northeastern part of Sapelo Island, where his father-in-law, Peter M. I. Mirault, had been living.[4] He continued the plantation's brick-making history,[1] producing more of the much-sought-after "Savannah Grey" bricks which were used in Savannah's buildings.[6] He later spent more time on Sapelo Island and sold the Hermitage to his brother.[4]

Bérard-Moquet-Montalet became a widower around 1802.[4] In 1804, he married Angélique Servanne Charlotte de Picot-Boisfeuillet.[7] She died the following year.[1]

Death

Bérard-Moquet-Montalet died in 1814,[8] aged 52. He was interred in High Point Cemetery on Sapelo Island, Georgia.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Matrana, Marc R. (2009-01-01). Lost Plantations of the South. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-60473-469-0.
  2. ^ "Founders Online: October 1797". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  3. ^ Gamble, Thomas (1923). Savannah Duels and Duellists, 1733-1877. Review Publishing & Printing Company. p. 30.
  4. ^ a b c d "The bulletin of the Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia. (Augusta, Ga.) 1920-1957, June 01, 1921, Image 13 « Georgia Historic Newspapers". gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  5. ^ Matrana, Marc R. (2009-01-01). Lost Plantations of the South. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-60473-469-0.
  6. ^ "Hermitage Plantation - American Aristocracy". americanaristocracy.com. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Buddy (2017-03-01). Sapelo: People and Place on a Georgia Sea Island. University of Georgia Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-8203-5016-5.
  8. ^ McKinley, Archibald Carlisle (1991). The Journal of Archibald C. McKinley. University of Georgia Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8203-1187-6.