Joseph Bowles Learmont was born on May 15, 1839, in Montreal, Quebec.

He was a businessman, the head of the firm of Caverhill, Learmont & Co, wholesale hardware merchants, Montreal (est. 1854). As a very cultured man, he frequently lectured on literary and historical subjects. He was a collector of rare books and manuscripts, etchings, engravings, autograph letters, etc. He was an early member of the Numismatic and Antiques Society. He served on the Committee of Management of Montreal General Hospital and the Montreal Board of Trade. He was a governor of the Victorian Order of Nurses (Montreal Branch), director of Charity Organization Society, member of Executive committee of Lord’s Day Alliance, treasurer of Montreal Art Association, councillor, and treasurer of the Archaeological Institute of America. Learmont was the author of a paper on “Folk-lore” including Canadian folklore, and “The Canadian Indian.”

In 1873, he married Amelia Jane Holton (1849–1875) and in 1882, he remarried Charlotte Smithers (1847–1934). He died on March 12, 1914, in Montreal, Quebec.