Jules-Maurice Quesnel (October 25, 1786 – May 20, 1842) was a

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

r, member of the

Beaver Club The Beaver Club was a gentleman's dining club founded in 1785 by the predominantly English-speaking men who had gained control of the fur trade of Montreal. According to the club's rules, the object of their meeting was "to bring together, at sta ...

, businessman and political figure in

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 born Julien-Maurice Quesnel 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 ...

in 1786, the son of

Joseph Quesnel Joseph Quesnel (15 November 1746 – 2 or 3 July 1809) was a French Canadian composer, poet, playwright and slave-trader. Among his works were two operas, ''Colas et Colinette'' and ''Lucas et Cécile''; the former is considered to be the first ...

, and studied at the Collège Saint-Raphaël. He joined the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

as a clerk and assisted David Thompson in his explorations in 1805 and 1806. He travelled with Simon Fraser on his exploration of the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

in 1808. The

Quesnel River The Quesnel River is a major tributary of the Fraser River in the Cariboo District of central British Columbia. It begins at the outflow of Quesnel Lake, at the town of Likely, British Columbia, Likely and flows for about northwest to its conflu ...

Quesnel Lake Quesnel Lake is a glacial lake or fjord in British Columbia, Canada, and is the major tributary of the Fraser River. With a maximum depth of , it is claimed to be the deepest fjord lake in the world, the deepest lake in BC, and the third-deepest ...

, the town of

Quesnel, British Columbia Quesnel (Kee-nel in French) is a city located in the Cariboo Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. Located nearly evenly between the cities of Prince George and Williams Lake, it is on the main route to northern British Columbia and th ...

, and École Jules Quesnel Elementary in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

are named after him. In 1811, he returned east and served in the Montreal 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 ...

, reaching the rank of lieutenant. He then moved to Kingston and later

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

as a merchant, finally settling in Montreal. With a partner, John Spread Baldwin, he became involved in the buying and selling of goods, including the export of timber and flour and owned shares in

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s operating in the region. Quesnel was named a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, also served as warden of

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

at Montreal from 1830 to 1839 and was a member of the commission for the Montreal harbour. In 1838, he was named to the special council that governed

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 ...

after 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, in 1841, 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 ...

. He died in Montreal in 1842 and was buried in the parish church of Notre Dame.

Family

Madame Marie Josette Quesnel by William Notman

His brother Frédéric-Auguste was a member of the legislative assembly and legislative council. Jules-Maurice Quesnel, an advocate married in June, 1816, Marie Josette Cotte, daughter of Gabriel Cotte, and his wife, Angelique Blondeau, who had founded the Catholic Orphan Asylum in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. His sisters-in-law were Madame Francois Antoine Larocque and Madame Alexis Laframboise. Jules-Maurice Quesnel died in May, 1842, aged 54. His widow died June 6, 1866.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quesnel, Jules-Maurice 1786 births 1842 deaths Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Canadian justices of the peace