Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres (22 November 1721 or April–May 1729 – 24 or 27 October 1824) was a Canadian cartographer who served in the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
, as the aide-de-camp to
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
James Wolfe James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. ...
. He later went on to serve as the Lieutenant-Governor of Cape Breton and later as Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island. Des Barres also created the monumental four volume ''
Atlantic Neptune The ''Atlantic Neptune'' is a monumental four volume atlas which was the most important collection of maps, charts and views of North America published in the eighteenth century. It was created by Colonel Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres. Des ...
'', which was the most important collection of maps, charts and views of North America published in the eighteenth century. Colonel Des Barres is buried with his wife in the crypt of St. George's (Round) Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia.


Early life

Des Barres, who is seen as having lived through important changes in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
's history, is thought to have been born in
Basel, Switzerland , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
(although
Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...
has also been suggested), and was a member of a
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
family. His parents were Joseph-Leonard Vallet DesBarres and Anne-Catherine Cuvier and he was the eldest of their three children. Des Barres read mathematics and art at the University of Basel, studying under John and Daniel Bernoulli. Upon the completion of his studies he left for
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.Jerry Lockett. Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada. The adventurer & Map Maker's Formative Years. Formac Publishing Company Limited, Halifax, NS. 2011. There he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. It was there that Des Barres trained to become a military officer, and studied military surveying. His training would also benefit him later in life for surveying, map making, and coastal charting. In 1756 he was commissioned into the Royal Americans (the 62nd Foot later known as the
60th Foot The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
).


Seven Years' War

In 1756 Des Barres sailed to North America and was with
Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...
's fleet when it attacked the
Fortress of Louisbourg The Fortress of Louisbourg (french: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two siege ...
in 1758. He distinguished himself by capturing a French entrenchment at Kennington Cove. Soon he was put to work charting the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the approaches to Quebec, information that would be used the following year in James Wolfe's's assault on the City of Quebec. In 1760 he was at Halifax to prepare plans for the city's defences and naval yard. Jonathan Binney and DesBarres met the Mi'kmaw chiefs at
Arichat, Nova Scotia Arichat is an unincorporated place in the Municipality of the County of Richmond, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the main village on Isle Madame on the southeastern tip of Cape Breton Island. Toponym The name derives from a Mi'kmaq word meaning ...
, in 1761, and concluded a lasting peace. By 1762 he was sent to Newfoundland to survey Harbour Grace and Carbonear and to draw up plans for new harbour defences to replace those destroyed by the French. James Cook was sent as his assistant. (DesBarres may have met Cook earlier at either Louisbourg or Halifax.)


Castle Frederick

Des Barres established an estate at
Falmouth, Nova Scotia Falmouth ( ) is a village located along the Avon River in Hants County between Mount Denson and Windsor in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. History Falmouth and area was known as Pisiquid by the Acadians. Having migrated from Port Royal ( ...
, known as Castle Frederick, which served as his base of operations from 1764 until he returned to England in 1773. The 1770 Nova Scotia census indicates Castle Frederick had a staff of 41 men, 13 women, 5 boys, and 33 girls. One of the women, Mary Cannon, served as housekeeper and manager of Castle Frederick from 1764 to 1794. She also administered tenant farmers on Des Barres' land holdings of in
Tatamagouche Tatamagouche (Mi'kmaq: ''Taqamiju’jk'') is a village in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Tatamagouche is situated on the Northumberland Strait 50 kilometres north of Truro and 50 kilometres west of Pictou. The village is located along ...
, in
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
and approximately in
Maccan Maccan is a small community in the Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Cumberland County 10 minutes away from Amherst, Nova Scotia on Nova Scotia Route 302, Route 302. The word Maccan is derived ...
, Nappan, and
Minudie Minudie is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Cumberland County about from River Hebert. Once a thriving town with a population peaking about 1870 at more than 600 people, Minudie today still has three churches b ...
. His Tatamagouche holdings formed the western coastal boundary of the
Philadelphia grant The Philadelphia grant describes of land along the south shore of the Northumberland Strait between Tatamagouche and Pictou, Nova Scotia. Following expulsion of the Acadians, the British government distributed Acadian land to various landlords un ...
.


Atlantic Neptune

Des Barres made many maps of the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, mapping the coast of North American from Newfoundland to New York. His survey of the coast of
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
took approximately ten years due its length and intricacy. Des Barres was exasperated with the work, stating "There is scarcely any known shore so much intersected with Bays, Harbours, and Creeks as this is" "and the Offing of it is so full of Islands, Rocks, and Shoals as are almost innumerable." The survey work was carried out in the summer and in the winter he would retire to Castle Frederick to complete his charts and drawings. His most notable work is the ''Atlantic Neptune''. In 1774 under direction for the British Admiralty, Des Barres compiled and edited his and many others' charts and maps of eastern North America. The completed work was published in 1777, having cost the Admiralty an estimated £100,000.


Governor

To accommodate the arrival of the
United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America dur ...
, Cape Breton was created as a separate colony from Nova Scotia (as was New Brunswick) and Des Barres served as the lieutenant governor of
Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...
from 1784 to 1787. He laid out the original plan of the capital, Sydney. He was later governor of
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
from 1804 to 1812. Dalhousie University has a number of items of Colonel Des Barres in one of its archive collections. He died at the age of 102, and his date of death is variously given as 24 and 27 October. Colonel Des Barres is buried St. George's (Round) Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia. While he was buried beside his wife Martha, he was survived by his mistress Mary Cannon and their four children. His funeral took place in St. George's Round Church in 1824.


Publications

* ''
Atlantic Neptune The ''Atlantic Neptune'' is a monumental four volume atlas which was the most important collection of maps, charts and views of North America published in the eighteenth century. It was created by Colonel Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres. Des ...
'' (atlas of Eastern North America)


Legacy

The following road is named after DesBarres: * Des Barres St., Sydney, Nova Scotia


See also

* Military history of Nova Scotia *
List of cartographers Cartography is the study of map making and cartographers are map makers. Before 1400 *Anaximander, Greek Anatolia (610 BC–546 BC), first to attempt making a map of the known world *Hecataeus of Miletus, Greek Anatolia (550 BC–476 BC), geogr ...


References


Further reading

* Stephen J. Horns. ''Surveyors of Empire: Samuel Holland, J.F.W. Des Barres, and the Making of The Atlantic Neptune.'' McGill/ Queen's University Press. 2011. * LD Kernaghana. A Man and his Mistress: J.F.W. Des Barres and Mary Cannon. Acadiensis. 1981 * Evans, G.N.D, ''Uncommon Obdurate: The several public careers of J. F. W. Des Barres'', Boston/Toronto: Peabody Museum/University of Toronto Press, 1969 * Bird, Will, ''an Earl Must Have a Wife'', Toronto: Clarke Irwin, 1969 * The ''Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly'', Volume 5, Number 2, 1985, contains several articles about Des Barres: :*Robert J, Morgan, "Des Barres the Founder" :*Stephen B. MacPhee, "Des Barres and His Contemporary Mapmakers" :*Douglas B. Foster, "Des Barres the Town Planner" :*Lois K. Kernaghan, "'A Most Excentric Genius': The Private Life of J. F. W. Des Barres" :*Mary Ellen Wright, "'You come late Monsieur le'Governor. Why you not come before?'"


External links


Archaeological excavations of his home, Castle Frederick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Des Barres, Joseph Frederick Wallet 1824 deaths People from Basel-Stadt Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Swiss cartographers Canadian cartographers Canadian centenarians Men centenarians Swiss centenarians Lieutenant Governors of Cape Breton Island Swiss military engineers Canadian military engineers Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Royal American Regiment officers Lieutenant Governors of the Colony of Prince Edward Island 18th-century Swiss military personnel 19th-century Swiss military personnel 1720s births