Jean Jacques "John James" Juhan

Additional Curator's Notes:

A book written by a Payzant descendant gives an interesting lineage for Jean Jacques (or John James) Juhan. According to this book, Mary Payzant and Her Descendants, Jean Jacques was either the son or grandson of Francois Julien de St. Jean, who was the son of Julien de St. Jean and Marguerite de Bonneville, who was the son of Victoire de St. Jean, Marquis de Lausanne. The book claims that it was this Victoire de St. Jean who supposedly moved the family to Switzerland.

This book also claims that both Jean and Marie died in the West Indies. It is true that Marie died in Haiti. However, Jean Jacques Juhan is found in Philadelphia about 1783. His arrival, with three children, was published in the Pennsylvania Journal. By that time, he has adopted the Anglicized version of his name and he is listed as a music teacher and pianoforte inventor.

I must urge caution with these family books. Unless there are sources included, they are of dubious value.

-- Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Volunteer Curator, August 9 2017.

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Jean Jaques Juhan was born April 2, 1736 in Yverdon, Vaud, Canton of Bern, Switzerland and died after 1787, place unknown.. He was the son of Jean-Marc Juhan and wife Suzanne M. Guesler. Parish records in Yverdon show that he was Catholic, and that he made his First Communion in 1751, age 15.

Jean Jacques Juhan married Marie Payzant about 1763 or 1764 in Nova Scotia. Marie was the daughter of Louis Phillipe Payzant and wife Marie Anne Noget. She was born about 1746 in St. Helier, Isle of Jersey, Channel Islands, and died before 1783 in Haiti, French West Indies. Her family were Huguenots, who fled persecution and found refuge on the English Channel Islands, before coming to the New World.

At some point between 1758 and 1760, Jean Jacques Juhan emigrated to Nova Scotia. The Crown Land Office records show he received a land grant on July 4, 1760, and another grant on July 21, 1761, in Newport Township. By 1761 he was in close contact with the French Protestant community at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He formed a close relationship with a Peter Bourgois and they co-owned several tracts of land in the Newport area.

In 1762 he served as Clerk at the Newport Township meeting, during which there was a drawing for lots of land. Soon after, he is found living in the Falmouth area, where he served as a member of the Falmouth Court of Sessions. He does not remain in Falmouth long.

In December, 1762, Jean Jacques takes the Oath of Allegiance to the English crown and is granted a license to open a school in Halifax, where he teaches Latin, French, arithmetic, bookkeeping and writing. One of his students is Jean (or John) Payzant, his future brother-in-law, who went on to become a Congregational minister in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

By 1768, Jean Jacques has disposed of his royal grant lands in Newport. Some of the land is believed to have gone to Lewis Payzant, his brother-in-law. He moves his wife and three children to the American Colonies, settling in Boston, Massachusetts. He went first; Marie and children followed, arriving October 4, 1768 aboard the sloop Ranger.

Upon arrival in Boston, he switches from being Swiss to being French. He again opens a school, where he teaches French, music, dance, and several musical instruments. He made and sold violins and other instruments. He was a part of the Boston cultural scene for as long as he was there.

After the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, Jean decides to seek a less rebellious colony in which to live. He and his family disappear from Boston but reappear late 1770 in South Carolina. Charleston's South Carolina Gazette posted a notice on September 21, 1771, that Mr. Juhan, lately arrived, proposes to teach music, various musical instruments and to repair instruments. The family is still in Charleston in April 1772, when Jean is again mentioned in the Gazette.

The rebellious attitude of Boston spread to the southern colonies. In 1772, Jean and Marie leave Charleston for Haiti, French West Indies, where they remained during the Revolutionary War period. In 1804, Jean and Marie's daughter, Marie Elise, who had married Rene Godard, wrote to her uncle, Rev. John Payzant, in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. In this letter she tell her uncle that most of her family is now dead, only two brothers remaining.

Jean Jacques Juhan, according to his daughter's letter, is dead by 1804, but the place is not known. Her mother and two brothers died in Haiti. Jean is found in Philadelphia about 1783. His arrival, with three children, was published in the Pennsylvania Journal, which notes that he is the inventor of the North American Forte Piano. He again advertises to teach music. He, along with son Alexander, is soon immersed in Philadelphia Quaker society. They are noted performers, offering a broad range of musical styles.

Jean Jacques Juhan is still alive in 1787, the date of his last performance in Philadelphia. Beyond that, his whereabouts, the date of his death, and place of burial are unknown.

Children of Jean Jacques Juhan and wife Marie Payzant There are five children for this couple, all born in Nova Scotia, but names of only three have been documented so far.

• Francis Juhan, born c.1764, married Rebecca Woodward.
• Stephen Alexander Juhan, born 1765, married Elizabeth Martha Bourdeaux
• Maria Elise Juhan, born c.1765-66, married Rene Godard
• Son #3, died before 1783 in Haiti
• Son #4, died before 1783 in Haiti