UNE BIOGRAPHIE DANS L’HISTOIRE AMÉRICAINE
Des recherches généalogiques entreprises de longue date sur mes ancêtres, et précisément les Mousnier de Saintonge, m’ont mis sur les traces d’un Mousnier d’exception : un homme au destin extraordinaire qui rencontre, en la faisant, l’histoire américaine. Car ce Jean Mousnier (dit de la Montagne) a participé à la colonisation de l’île de Manhattan, dont il fut l’un des acteurs les plus engagés. C’est à la fois sa biographie que j’ai souhaitée présenter ici, car ce travail n’avait jamais été entrepris, et dans le même temps raconter quatre décennies de cette histoire américaine qui débute par l’arrivée sur l’île aux Manhattes de colons belges wallons en 1624 jusqu’à l’annexion de la colonie par la Couronne britannique en 1674.
Parution 2021 – Ce Jean Mousnier de la Montagne est un livre d’histoire indispensable :
262 pages magnifiquement illustrées (iconographie couleur), imprimé sur papier de grande qualité, couverture rigide. Ce qui en fait un ouvrage de référence et de collection (format 21,5 x 30 cm, poids : 1,6 kg)
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Jean Mousnier de la Montagne : un biopic hollywoodien
Jean Mousnier de la Montagne : Une biographie extraordinaire pour ce chirurgien né en Saintonge, explorateur en Amazonie, Colon sur l’île de Tobago, chez militaire puis vice gouverneur de Nieu Amsterdam
Jean Mousnier de la Montagne : un livre à l’iconographie soignée
Will I be able to find this book on Amazon? I am working on my family tree, I had no idea what was involved, my tenth great grandfather was Michel Eyquem de Montaigne b.1533 France. I live in Michigan, where some of the descendents settled here after the civil war. Thank you for any help. Mary
Hello Mary
Probably, we are “cousins”. I live in France (excuse me for my poor english), I write philosophy books and I was interested in the genealogy of my family: The « Mousniers » having lived near Saintes (Mousnier before the 19th century, then Mounié and now, Mounier. I wrote the biography of one of them: Jean (sometimes Jehan or joannes) MOUSNIER DE LA MONTAGNE. I undestand that you are a descendant of him, by his son Jehan (or Joannes, Jan, John) Montagne Jr. Or by William, his youngest son. This book is not on Amazon, but, if you send me your address (at pasmounier@gmail.com), I can send it to you (free – gift to a cousin). But, it is written in French, and it’s a « biography ».
Second point: you write “My tenth great grandfather was Michel Eyquem de Montaigne b.1533 France”. It’s not possible, and I’ll try to explain why. An American genealogist wrote, by mistake, that Jean Mousnier de la Montagne was a descending (son) of Michel de Montaigne. That is false, but this (viral) error was copied by many people and is still found, for example on geneanet. Because many people make their genealogical tree by copying other trees and without verifying the information. They are not genealogists, like me, who check (copy of act in hand) all the information. When you found this information on a site, you should have asked the person who made the tree to tell you where he found it and especially if he had checked it. In fact, the confusion that only an American could make is between Montagne and Montaigne.
But the surname of Jean Mousnier de la Montagne was MOUSNIER, and for the French philosopher Michel Montaigne was EYQUEM. But as his father had bought a castle in Montaigne in the Dordogne (today: town of Saint Michel de Montaigne), Michel Eyquem called himself « Lord of Montaigne ».
But, on the scale of France, these two famous people lived in two different regions: Jean Mousnier in Saintonge (near Saintes where the Mousniers were very numerous at the time), Michel Eyquem in Dordogne (near Bordeaux). Different families, different names, different locations.
But in Manhattan, people used to call Jean Mousnier de la Montagne : « Doctor La Montagne », and his son was called in America where he was born in 1632: John Mousnier de la Montagne, then quickly John Montagne ; and in France Michel Eyquem has become Montaigne.
Last points: Jean Mousnier was born in 1595 near Saintes (his birth certificate is lost), but the information is certain, because of his hand on a register in Holland. His father was also called Jean Mousnier de la Montagne (he signed on a document : the round robin) and must have been born before 1570. If he had been the son of Michel Eyquem, he would necessarily have been called Eyquem (at the time, we did not change his surname), and it turns out that Montaigne had no descendants. But take comfort… Jean was also a great guy, and you can be pround to be the decendant of him. And beware of unverified information on the net.
yours faithfully