Elzéar-Henri Juchereau Duchesnay (July 19, 1809 – May 12, 1871) was a

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 ...

, lawyer and political figure in Canada East. He also served in the Senate of Canada from 1867 until his death. Juchereau Duchesnay, also sometimes referred to as Henri-Elzéar, was born in Beauport,

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 ...

in 1809, the son of

Antoine-Louis Juchereau Duchesnay Antoine-Louis Juchereau Duchesnay (February 18, 1767 – February 17, 1825) was a seigneurial system of New France, seigneur, soldier and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born at Quebec City in 1765, the son of Antoine Juchereau Duch ...

. He studied law, was called to the bar in 1832 and settled at Sainte-Marie-de-la-Beauce. In 1838, on the death of his first wife, Julie Perrault, daughter of Jean-Baptiste-Olivier Perrault, he inherited part of the

seigneury ''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'' (o ...

of Sainte-Marie. In 1846, he became

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

in the local

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. He was also interested in farming and was president of the county agricultural society. He was elected 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 ...

in 1856 for the Lauzon division and served until

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, when he was appointed to the Canadian Senate. He served as mayor for Sainte-Marie-de-la-Beauce from 1868 to 1870. He died at Sainte-Marie-de-la-Beauce in 1871. One of his sons, Charles-Edmond, became superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Another son Henri-Jules served in the House of Commons. He was the grandfather of François-Xavier Chouinard, clerck of the Ville de Québec until 1961.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duchesnay, Elzear-Henri 1809 births 1871 deaths Canadian senators from Quebec Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada People from Beauce, Quebec