Jacques Dupré (February 12, 1773 – September 14, 1846) was a Louisiana State Representative, State Senator and the eighth Governor. Born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

the eldest son of Laurent Dupré de Terrebonne (or, Dupré d'Arbonne) and Marie Joséphine Fontenot, Dupré was a creole of full French descent that grew up in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. When he was ten years old, his father died and his mother remarried. In 1791, he and his brothers received Royal

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Bayou Boeuf Kraemer is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 934. Its ZIP code is 70371. It is also known as Bayou Boeuf. Demographics Education Lafourche Parish Public Scho ...

. The next year Dupré married Théotiste Roy of Pointe Coupée Parish, in

Opelousas :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.'' Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were ...

. They raised seven children on a ranch northwest of Opelousas. Beginning in 1815, Dupré served as a Major in the 16th Regiment of the Louisiana Militia. He saw combat at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the French ...

along with two of his sons. First elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1816, Dupré was re-elected in 1822 and 1824. In 1828, Dupré was elected to the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

. In 1830, Dupré was chosen as

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

when Governor

Pierre Derbigny Pierre Augustin Charles Bourguignon Derbigny (June 30, 1769 – October 6, 1829) was the sixth Governor of Louisiana. Born in 1769, at Laon, France, the eldest son of Augustin Bourguignon d'Herbigny who was President of the Directoire de l'Aisne ...

died, and Senate President

Armand Beauvais Arnaud Julie Beauvais (September 6, 1783 – November 18, 1843), also known as Armand Beauvais, or Arnaud Jules Beauvais, was the seventh Governor of Louisiana, as well as member and Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and member ...

assumed the duties of Acting Governor. When Beauvais resigned two months later, Dupré became Acting Governor. He was the second Acting Governor within the year and there was a constitutional crisis over the lack of an elected Governor. The result was that a special election was called in 1831. The dispute over who succeeds the governor in case of his death would not be solved until the office of Lieutenant Governor was created in a new constitution in 1845. As governor, Dupré oversaw the incorporation of the first railroad, a canal company, a bayou improvement company, the Merchants Insurance Company of New Orleans, and a company to granulate sugar by a new process. During his administration there was also a prohibition of further immigration of

free persons of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...

into the state and the expulsion of all those who entered since 1825. Also in 1830, the seat of government returned to New Orleans from Donaldsonville. Dupré did not run for Governor in 1831 and when Andre B. Roman was elected, Dupré returned to the State Senate where he served 16 more years. He served another stint as

during 1838. On September 14, 1846, Dupré died and was buried in

Opelousas, Louisiana :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.'' Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were ...

Sources

Secretary of State of Louisiana

External links

Cemetery Memorial
by La-Cemeteries {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupre, Jacques 1773 births 1846 deaths Governors of Louisiana Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Louisiana Whigs 19th-century American politicians Louisiana state senators Louisiana National Republicans National Republican Party state governors of the United States