Joseph-Narcisse Cardinal (February 8, 1808 – December 21, 1838) 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 ...

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 ...

. He was the first person executed for taking part in 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 ...

. He was born in Saint-Constant in 1808, the son of Joseph Cardinal, a

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 ...

merchant, and studied at the

Petit Séminaire de Montréal Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans *Petit (EP), ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua *Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type *Petit four *Petit G ...

. He moved to

Châteauguay Châteauguay ( , , ) is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, located both on the Chateauguay River and Lac St-Louis, which is a section of the St. Lawrence River. The population of the city of Châteauguay at the 2021 Cens ...

with his family, articled as a notary there and qualified to practice in 1829. He was a school trustee there from 1829 to 1832. In 1831, he married Eugénie, the daughter of Bernard Saint-Germain, an interpreter with the Indian Department. His parents and one of his brothers died in a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic in 1832. Cardinal served in the local militia, becoming captain in 1834. In 1834, 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 Laprairie County, as a supporter of the

parti patriote The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal prof ...

. In 1837, he resigned from his position in the militia and became one of the Patriote leaders in the county. Cardinal did not take part in the armed rebellion, but fled to New York after his political opponents threatened to turn him over to the authorities because of his support for the Patriote movement. He returned in 1838 and became a member of the Association des

frères chasseurs The Frères chasseurs (French for "Hunter Brothers") were a paramilitary organization that fought in the Patriote Rebellion on the Patriote side, seeking to make Lower Canada, now Quebec, an independent and democratic republic. After the failure ...

. He was leader for the Patriote army at Châteauguay during the rebellion in 1838 and was later captured at

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (french: Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, C ...

. Considered leaders of the rebellion at Châteauguay, Cardinal and three others were sentenced to death for the crime of high treason with a recommendation for executive clemency. Cardinal and

Joseph Duquet Joseph Duquet (September 18, 1815 – December 21, 1838) was a notary in Lower Canada. He was executed for his part in the Lower Canada Rebellion. He was born in Châteauguay, Lower Canada in 1815. He studied at the Petit Séminaire de Montré ...

were hanged at Montreal in December 1838. He was buried in the old Catholic cemetery at Montreal. In 1858, his remains were moved to the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (french: Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run a ...

and buried under a monument dedicated to the Patriotes of 1837–8.

External links

* * * French Wikipedia article about failed Patriote raid on Kahnawake in November 1838 :fr:Attitude des Amérindiens du Bas-Canada lors des rébellions de 1837-1838 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardinal, Joseph-Narcisse 1808 births 1838 deaths Lower Canada Rebellion people Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Executed Canadian people People executed by Lower Canada People executed by British North America by hanging Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery

See also

External links