Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau (March 27, 1745 – September 18, 1809) was the second in a line of distinguished

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

s whose influence has spanned three centuries. Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau was born at

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, the son of

Thomas-Jacques Taschereau Thomas-Jacques Taschereau (August 26, 1680 – September 25, 1749) was the patriarch of the illustrious Taschereau family in New France (Canada). It is believed that he may have come from some level of nobility in France and his family descended fro ...

. At the age of 14, he aided in the defence of the town against the British attack in 1759. He later became a member of the Legislative Assembly and

Legislative Council of Lower Canada The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The upper house consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly ...

, as well as 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 ...

and a judge. Taschereau inherited the seigneury of Sainte-Marie-de-la-Nouvelle-Beauce from his father and acquired the seigneuries of Jolliet and

Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce is a city in the Municipalité régionale de comté Beauce-Centre in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region and the population was 5,014 as of the Canada 2021 Census. The new city constitution dat ...

and a part of Linière, Mingan and

Anticosti Island ; moe, Notiskuan; mic, Natigostec , sobriquet = , image_name = RiviereHuileAnticosti.jpg , image_caption = Salmon fisherman on Rivière à l'Huile , image_map ...

. He was married twice and both marriages produced offspring that contributed to the growth of the Quebec and Canadian legal systems. His first wife was Marie-Louise-Élisabeth Bazin. His second wife was Louise-Françoise Juchereau Duchesnay (1771-1841), daughter of Antoine Juchereau Duchesnay. One son was Jean-Thomas Taschereau (1778–1832). Jean-Thomas was an MLA, a judge, and a publisher during his lifetime. A second son,

Thomas-Pierre-Joseph Taschereau Thomas-Pierre-Joseph Taschereau was born in Quebec April 19, 1775, a son of Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau, the patriarch of this important family, and his first wife, Marie-Louise-Élizabeth Bazin. He studied at the Petit Séminaire of Quebec from 1784 ...

was a lawyer, an MLA and a judge. Taschereau died at Sainte-Marie-de-la-Beauce

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taschereau, Gabriel-Elzear 1745 births 1809 deaths Lower Canada judges Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada People from Beauce, Quebec Gabriel-Elzear