Jacquemart was a stockbroker and numbered among the founders of the Comptoir d'escompte, one of the first credit houses in Paris. He died in 1804, the very year the cemetery opened, and it was to him that the very first perpetual plot was granted: the system that would make the fortune of the place begins there. A single title is retained from his life, that of the bank.
The story
Pierre Jacquemart received the first perpetual plot ever granted at Père-Lachaise, in the very year the cemetery opened. The system that would make the fortune and the fame of the place — buying a place for ever, instead of a common grave reclaimed after a few years — begins here, with him.
Born on 29 October 1739, Jacquemart was a stockbroker and one of the founders of the Comptoir d'escompte, a bank that advanced merchants the money owed on their bills before they fell due. His other fortune was industrial: his spinning mills and his paper works kept the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in work.
He was buried on 4 June 1804, two weeks after the cemetery opened. The inscription in Division 29, chemin Masséna, keeps only one title from his life: “Pierre JACQUEMART, l'un des fondateurs, du Comptoir d'Escompte, 1739-1804.” Not the mills, not the paper works, not the men of the faubourg: the bank was enough for eternity — literally, since the plot is perpetual.
The grave
A grave whose interest goes beyond its occupant: it is the first perpetual plot granted at Père-Lachaise, at the creation of the cemetery in 1804. The system that would make the fortune and the glory of the place — buying a plot for ever — begins here. The inscription, for its part, retains a single title: “Famille JACQUEMART — Pierre JACQUEMART, l'un des fondateurs, du Comptoir d'Escompte, 1739-1804.” — Jacquemart family. Pierre Jacquemart, one of the founders of the Comptoir d'Escompte, 1739-1804.
On site, do not miss
A tomb with a place in the history of the cemetery: it is the first perpetual plot of Père-Lachaise. The inscription calls him “l'un des fondateurs du Comptoir d'Escompte” — one of the founders of the Comptoir d'Escompte.
Visitors' questions
Where is Pierre Jacquemart's grave?
In Division 29, chemin Masséna, second row. His plot carries a historical value: it is the first perpetual plot granted in the cemetery, at its creation in 1804. He died in 1804, the very year the cemetery opened.
Claude ChappeWhy is his plot historic?
Because it is the first perpetual plot at Père-Lachaise, granted in the year the cemetery opened. The system of plots in perpetuity — buying a place for ever — starts here, with him.
Reine FévezWhat was his trade?
Stockbroker and financier: he was one of the founders of the Comptoir d'escompte de Paris, one of the capital's first credit institutions. It is the only title his stone keeps.
James de RothschildWhat does his inscription say?
“Famille JACQUEMART — Pierre JACQUEMART, l'un des fondateurs, du Comptoir d'Escompte, 1739-1804.” One clause, one title, two dates: the bank was enough for eternity.
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