The first Canadian Jean Rousseaux was born in Paris in 1570 and died in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, in 1643. His great great grandson, Jean Baptiste Rousseaux, nicknamed like all his forebears St Jean or St John, was born in 1758. His father operated a trading post at the mouth of  the Humber River, where he traded with the local natives. Rousseaux learned to speak native languages and was to become an interpreter for the Upper Canada government.

When his father died in 1774, Rousseaux became the owner of the trading post. Six years later, he married Marie Reine Martineau in Montreal and settled in Cataraqui, spending summers at the trading post. Bored by being left alone in the summer, Marie deserted him in 1786. Being Catholics, they could not divorce, even though Marie admitted to being the guilty party.

In 1787, Rousseaux met Margaret Cline or Klein. She had been captured by the Iroquois when she was young and had been adopted by them. She was attracted to Rousseaux, who was one of the few white people she had met who could speak her language. To marry Margaret, Rousseaux had to give up the Catholic Church. Eventually they were married three times; the first was an aboriginal ceremony in 1787; the second was an Anglican wedding in Ancaster in 1795; the third was in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1807 after Marie died.

The Rousseaux family moved to Ancaster in 1794 after Rousseaux bought James Wilson's share of Wilson's Mills. He built a 1½-storey log home, which doubled as an inn called the Rousseaux Hotel. After expanding the mills, Rousseaux sold the company in 1809 to a consortium called the Union Mill Company. With the money, Rousseaux rebuilt the house/hotel as a 2-storey frame building on what is now Wilson Street. He named the hotel the Union Hotel after the source of his wealth.

In addition to keeping a hotel, Rousseaux speculated in land. At one time, Rousseaux owned land in Hamilton between what is now Queen and Locke Streets and from Main Street to Aberdeen Avenue. In 1796, Rousseaux, James Wilson, and Richard Beasley bought Block 2 of the Six Nations Grant (now Waterloo County) on a 999-year lease. However, Beasley soon bought his partners out.

Rousseaux died in 1812 of pleurisy while on active service against the Americans in the War of 1812. His wife continued to run the hotel until 1815, when his son George took over. The old Union Hotel was the site of the Bloody Assize. The old Union Hotel was later renamed, and burned down in 1844. George Rousseaux built another hotel called the Union Hotel across the street at 386 Wilson Street. This building was made of stone and is still there.

Old Union Hotel in Ancaster

Rousseaux's grandson, George Brock Rousseaux, built a house near the site of the first Union Hotel and it too is still there. Known as the Rousseau House, it is a fine restaurant (see www.rousseauhouse.ca for more information).

Rousseau House in Ancaster