Jean-Marie Ducharme

Who was Jean-Marie Ducharme?

Jean-Marie Ducharme was a fur trader and political figure in Lower Canada.

He was born in Lachine, Quebec in 1723, the son of a farmer there who also was involved in the fur trade. He entered the fur trade in the southwest. He helped establish the French establish Fort Duquesne near the current site of Pittsburgh. After the British took control of Quebec, Ducharme began operating near what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin, then known as La Baye. In 1763, he transported ammunition to Michilimackinac, contravening a British ban. He was later arrested and imprisoned at Montreal. In 1772, Ducharme was trading with the Little Osages on the Missouri River, leading to an attempt by the Spanish to capture him; his furs were confiscated, but Ducharme managed to escape to Montreal. He continued to trade in the La Baye area. He was arrested by the British after the American Revolution for selling supplies to the Americans. Ducharme became a partner in a general store set up at Michilimackinac in 1779. In 1779-80, he helped lead a British expedition against the Spanish at St. Louis. After he retired from the fur trade, Ducharme represented Montreal County in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1796 to 1800.