Étienne Mayrand (September 3, 1776 – January 22, 1872) was a

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

businessman and political figure. He was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1776 and went on to work in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

with the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

. He established a business in grain and hay at Rivière-du-Loup (later

Louiseville Louiseville is a town in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. It is located near the mouth of the 'Rivière-du-Loup', on the north shore of Lac Saint-Pierre. Louiseville is twinned with Soissons in France and Cerfontaine in ...

in Maskinongé County), also expanding into real estate and money lending. Mayrand served in the militia as an officer during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, becoming captain and, in 1846, major. He also held several posts as commissioner in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

for Saint-Maurice County in 1816. Mayrand served as a member of the Special Council which governed the province following the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

and was named to the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as ...

in June 1841. He resigned from the council later that same month. He was married four times: * first to a native woman, who bore him two daughters, during his time with the North West Company * then, to Sophie Héneau from Berthier * thirdly, to Thérèse Heney at Montreal * finally, to Félicité Le Maitre-Bellenoix, the widow of Louis Gauvreau, a Quebec merchant He died in Rivière-du-Loup (Louiseville) in 1872. His grandson, Hormidas Mayrand, later served in the Canadian House of Commons.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayrand, Etienne 1776 births 1872 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada