Andrew Le Mercier | |
---|---|
portrait by John Greenwood | |
Born | 1692 Caen |
Died | 1 April 1764 (aged 71–72) |
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Pastor |
Andrew Le Mercier (1692–1764) was a French-born Protestant Huguenot leader in Boston in the 18th century and author.
Le Mercier was born in Normandy, France in 1692, completing clerical studies in Geneva at the then Geneva Academy in 1715 and arrived in Boston (then in the English colony of Province of Massachusetts Bay) in 1716 recruited by André Faneuil as pastor of the Boston French Church (now 24 School Street) and remained there until 1741 when the church closed.
Le Mercier was a respected leader amongst the small Huguenot community that existed in New England for almost three decades.
Personal
His son Andrew Le Mercier Jr would serve in the British colonial forces during the French and Indian War.
Shipwreck Relief
Sometime in 1737-1738 he built a house for the relief of shipwrecked mariners on Sable Island. There is belief that the Sable Island horses were introduced by him.
Later years and death
Le Mercier retired after the closure of the Boston church to a farm in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and died there in 1764.
Books
Le Mercier is credited to two books:
- "The Church History of Geneva, in Five Books, with a Political and Geographical Account of that Republic" (Boston, 1732)
- "Treatise against Detraction" (1733)
References
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Huguenot Identity" (PDF). mass.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- "Sable Island: Some of the First and Some of the Last Inhabitants".
- The church history of Geneva, in five books. As also a political and geographical account of that republick. By the Reverend, Mr. Andrew Le Mercier Pastor of the French church in Boston. ISBN 978-1171106739.