Jacques Baby

Who was Jacques Baby?

Jacques Baby, dit Dupéron was a Canadian fur trader and an employee of the British Indian Department.

He was born in Montreal in 1731. He was a trader and Indian agent at Logstown, near the current location of Ambridge, Pennsylvania. After the fall of New France in 1760, he refused to swear allegiance to George III. After he learned that his brother François was transferring operations from France to London, Baby swore the oath of allegiance and resumed trading in the Detroit area. In 1777, he was appointed a captain and interpreter in the Indian Department. He owned large amounts of land on both the American and British sides of the Detroit River. In 1787, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Detroit militia and, in 1788, he was named to the land board of the Hesse District. He died at Detroit in 1789.

His son James later became a judge and a member of the Executive Council and Legislative Council of Upper Canada. His sons François, James and Jean Baptiste were members of the Legislative Assembly.