Jean-Baptiste & Jean–Pierre Montador
Fishermen
In the 1841 Census – There were two French Boats in Anstruther Harbour curing fish. The crew numbered 13 Frenchmen two of them slept ashore. One of these was Jean-Baptiste Montador from Boulogne. He later changed his name to John and became a British subject, this was the first recording of him in Scotland. Six months later he married a Cellardyke lass, Christian Robertson.
Jean-Baptiste was born on 6/8/1817 in Pas de Calais, the youngest of the 8 children of Francois Montador and Madeleine Delpierre. Like his father, Jean-Baptiste was a herring fisherman and probably a smuggler. The cover for this activity was thought to be the trade in pigs’ bladders from France used as floats for fishing nets by Scottish fishermen. Brandy was concealed in the bladders!
After his marriage in 1842 the couple travelled a number of times between France and Scotland. Their first child was born in Boulogne, the next two in Cellardyke and the two youngest in Boulogne – one son and four daughters.
Christy, died in Boulogne on 3rd August, 1851. With small children to care for Jean-Baptiste returned to Cellardyke and one year later married Christy’s cousin, Jacobina Scott. It is thought that it was about this time that he gave up smuggling as the British Navy was becoming too good at detecting the illicit trade.
Jean-Baptiste and Jacobina lived Tolbooth Wynd, Cellardyke, in 1861. In 1871 they bought the newly built 32 West Forth Street.
In 1881 he was awarded a medal for services in saving the lives of the crew of the INS registered Monarch in his boat Francis KY 802 (named after his eldest son who was lost in 1865). A number of boats had bypassed the stricken vessel, Jean- Baptiste put his crew at great risk in carrying out the rescue. He stated ‘I only did what I could, and I could do no more’.
His second son, John Montador, skipper and owner of the Jacobina, was lost off Stonehaven in 1878. The house in West Forth Street was later named Forthbank, after the merchant ship from which a second son perished
Jean-Baptiste was a very successful fisherman and fully integrated into the Cellardyke community being elected onto the town council in 1888, he died in 1896.
Jean-Pierre Montador [photo] was Jean-Baptiste’s brother. In 1859 Jean-Pierre married Barbara Robertson the sister of his brother’s wife Christian in Boulogne by which time they had six children. Jean-Pierre and Barbara spent most of their lives moving between Cellardyke, Boulogne and possibly Wales.
Jean-Pierre’s son Francois died as the result of an accident at Rosyth dockyard in 1915.
His son James set up a fish merchant’s business in East Street, St Monans, which was carried on by his sons James Francois and Harry and son-in-law Bert Stewart.
Research by Eileen Montador
