Father Simon LeMoyne, S.J., (1604-1665)

Simon Le Moyne, (22 October 1604 – 24 November 1665), was a Jesuit priest in Lower Canada who was involved in the mission to the Hurons. His notability in Canadian history comes from his work as an ambassador of peace to the Iroquois. Le Moyne joined the Society of Jesus in 1623. Le Moyne had 16 years of education and experience in the priesthood in France before arriving in the New World in 1638 and heading out to his mission in Huron country. He was there until the destruction of the Huron nation brought him back to Quebec in 1650. He traveled to Canada in 1638 assigned to the Huron Mission. At around 1653, he set out on an Iroquois Mission, at a high personal risk to himself, that would take him through the St. Lawrence and into Lake Ontario where he would reach a fishing village at the mouth of the Oswego River in present-day New York State. From there, he traveled south to Onondaga Lake, home of the Onondaga who were the keepers of the council fire of the Iroquois Nation. After converting a large number of the Iroquois, including some chiefs, he returned to Canada giving a favorable report and thus being assigned to several more missions including work with the Mohawks. Le Moyne was also the first to discover the Salt Springs of Onondaga, located near what is today Syracuse, New York. The last journey appears to have been in 1662 when he returned with a number of French who had been held captive by the Iroquois. Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York is named after Simon Le Moyne.