John LaPierre was born in France on February 2, 1681. Later a resident of Ireland, in 1707 he was ordained by the Church of England as a missionary and minister. In 1708 LaPierre came to South Carolina, where he ministered at a congregation of French Protestants. After twenty years there, LaPierre moved to the vicinity of Brunswick, North Carolina, where he worked as a missionary for the Anglican church. Nearly destitute from the lack of public support for church leaders in that part of the colony, in 1734 LaPierre moved north to Craven Precinct. In addition to conducting religious services, LaPierre also provided educational opportunities to his congregants and occasionally traveled throughout the surrounding region, delivering sermons in remote communities. LaPierre was later credited with the establishment of twenty parish churches in North Carolina. He died in New Bern in about 1755.