Joseph Pierre de Bonnecamps (7September 170828May 1790) was a French Jesuit,

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and professor and tutor.

Biography

Carte d un voyage fait dans la Belle Riviere en la Nouvelle France M

Bonnecamps was born in

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He entered the Jesuit seminary at Paris in 1727 and was ordained in 1743. He was professor of

hydrography Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primar ...

at the Collège de Québec,

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

, from 1743 to 1757, during which time he was a member of the expedition of

Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville Pierre-Joseph Céloron de Blainville (29 December 1693, Montreal—14 April 1759, Montreal) — also known as Celeron de Bienville (or Céleron, or Céloron, etc.) — was a French Canadian Officer of Marine. In 1739 and '40 he led a detachment to ...

to the

Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

from June to November 1749, occupying the roles of chaplain, hydrographer and historian. He completed the first map of the Ohio Valley. He travelled for health reasons to France in 1757—1758; the next year, he returned to New France as professor or mathematics at the Collège de Québec, then at the Collège du Mont (affiliated with the

University of Caen Normandy The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

, the building of which today houses the Normandy Antiquities Museum) in Caen from 1759 to 1760.

Defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or ...

during the suppression of the Jesuits in France in 1762, he became a parish priest and was chaplain of Brest Prison from 1762 to 1766. Bonnecamps was a missionary in

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

from 1762 to 1766. He was tutor to the children of Admiral de Tronjoli at Tronjoli Castle, near Gourin, from 1768 to 1790. He is entombed at the Church of Notre-Dame de Gourin.

References

*
Joseph Pierre de Bonnecamps, "Account of the voyage on the Beautiful river made in 1749, under the direction of Monsieur de Céloron, by father Bonnecamps," in Reuben Gold Thwaites, ed., ''The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents,'' 73 vols. Cleveland: Burrow Brothers, 1896-1901, vol. 69.

External links

at the Biographical Dictionary of Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnecamps, Joseph Pierre de Bonnecamps Bonnecamps Bonnecamps Bonnecamps