Louis-Adélard Senécal (July 10, 1829 – October 11, 1887) was a

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 ...

businessman and political figure. He was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

member in the

1st Canadian Parliament The 1st Canadian Parliament was in session from November 6, 1867, until July 8, 1872. The membership was set by the 1867 federal election from August 7 to September 20, 1867. It was prorogued prior to the 1872 election. It was controlled by a ...

representing

Drummond—Arthabaska Drummond—Arthabaska was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was created by the ''British North America Act'', 1867. It was amalgamated into the Richmon ...

, represented Yamaska in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to 1871 and was a member of the Senate of Canada for Mille Isles division in 1887. He was born Louis-Adélard Sénécal in Varennes,

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 1829 and then moved to Verchères with his family while still very young. In 1850, he set up a general store there with a partner. The following year, he entered the business of selling grain with his father. He declared bankruptcy the following year due to debts incurred earlier; his father and wife helped him settle these debts. In 1853, in partnership with his father and others, he became the owner and captain of a steamship travelling between Verchères and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. The company acquired additional vessels and Senécal formed partnerships with a number of other shipping companies transporting goods in the region. He also speculated in land and was involved in the operation of

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s and

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

s. In 1867, he was forced to declare

personal bankruptcy Personal bankruptcy law allows, in certain jurisdictions, an individual to be declared bankrupt. Virtually every country with a modern legal system features some form of debt relief for individuals. Personal bankruptcy is distinguished from corporat ...

. This did not affect the Pierreville Steam Mills Company, of which he was a part owner. However, he was forced to sell his share in the company after a series of fires left him short of liquid assets. He was elected to both the provincial and federal legislatures in 1867. During the 1870s, he expanded into railway construction, building the Richelieu, Drummond and Arthabaska Counties Railway. His son-in-law, Charles-Ignace Gill, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, helped provide Senécal with the required political connections for railway construction and also looked after some of Senécal's other business interests while he was otherwise occupied. In 1880, he was named superintendent for the

Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway The Canadian province of Quebec formed the ''Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway'' (QMO&OR) in 1874 to link those cities since private companies, without the usual subsidies from the Federal Government of Canada, could not get financin ...

; sections of this railway were later sold to the Canadian Pacific Railway and the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rail ...

. Senécal was also treasurer for the Parti conservateur du Québec during this period which many saw as a conflict of interest because of the heavy government involvement in railways at the time. During the 1880s, he was also president of the Montreal City Passenger Railway Company, the

North Shore Railway North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company. In 1883, he received the cross of commander in the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. He was named to the Senate in January 1887 but died in Montreal later that year. He was entombed at 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 ...

in Montreal.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Senecal, Louis Adelard 1829 births 1887 deaths Canadian businesspeople Canadian senators from Quebec Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs People from Varennes, Quebec Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery