Little is known of Jacques Tanesse. He appears in records in New Orleans when it was again under French control (after being ceded to the Spanish for several decades) and stayed on when it became an American possession.

He is best known today through his surviving maps and plans, which date from ca. 1810-1820 and are some of the most important in the early history of New Orleans. These include the initial layout of the subdivision of Faubourg Tremé and plans of the entire city. Tanesse was also an architect; the Halle des Boucheries, which he designed, still stands. Tanesse was also interested in land development. He purchased a lot in the Faubourg Marigny and attempted to sell the house built there; it did not sell, so he instead offered it in a lottery.