Barthélemy Joliette (September 9, 1789 – June 21, 1850) was a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

, businessman,

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

and political figure 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 ...

and

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

. He was a descendant of

Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore an ...

Early years

He was born Barthélemy Jolliet in the parish of Saint-Thomas at Montmagny in 1789, a descendant of the explorer

. After his father's death, his mother remarried and he grew up in

L'Assomption L'Assomption () is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the L'Assomption River. It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption. It is located on the outer fringes of the Montreal urban area. ...

. He articled as a notary with his uncle,

Joseph-Édouard Faribault Joseph-Édouard Faribault (May 4, 1773 – August 3, 1859) was a notary and political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Leinster in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1808 to 1809. He was born in Berthier-en-Haut, the son of ...

, was qualified to practice in 1810 and set up practice in L'Assomption.

Career and marriage

Joliette served as a captain in the local militia 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 ...

. In 1813, he married Charlotte Lanaudière, daughter of Charles-Gaspard Tarieu de Lanaudière and received as

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

part of the seigneury of Lavaltrie. 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

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

in March 1820; however, parliament was dissolved shortly afterwards and he did not run in the election that followed later that year. After his mother-in-law died in 1822, Joliette took on much of the running of the family seigneuries. He had a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

built to convert the pine forests into lumber for export to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. Joliette also established a new village, Industrie, that was later to become

Joliette Joliette is a city in southwest Quebec, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Montreal, on the L'Assomption River and is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Joliette. It is considered to be a part of the North Shore of Greate ...

. He was named justice of the peace in 1826 and promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the militia the following year. In 1830, he was elected to the legislative assembly for the newly formed riding of L'Assomption, formerly part of Leinster but only served until 1832, when he was appointed to the Legislative Council. In the meantime, he had expanded his lumber operations, although it was necessary to go further afield in such of timber. Joliette also built a

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

at Industrie and built a railroad to link it to Lanoraie. He also built a church and the Collège de Joliette, run by the Clerics of St Viator. He remained loyal to the government during 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 served on the Special Council that administered the province afterwards. He appears to have been opposed to the union of Upper and Lower Canada. He 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 1841, but attempted to organize support for a motion contesting the legality of the union.

Death and legacy

He died in Industrie in 1850. Besides the town of

, rue Joliette and Joliette station 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 ...

were named for him.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joliette, Barthelemy 1789 births 1850 deaths Joliette Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Tarieu de Lanaudière family Jacques Marquette