Melchior-Alphonse de Salaberry (or Melchior-Alphonse d'Irumberry de Salaberry; May 19, 1813 – March 27, 1867) was a

Canadien 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 ...

lawyer and political figure. He was born in Saint-Philippe-de-Laprairie,

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 1813, the son of Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, the hero of the

Battle of Chateauguay The Battle of the Chateauguay was an engagement of the War of 1812. On 26 October 1813, a combined British and Canadian force consisting of 1,530 regulars, volunteers, militia and Mohawk warriors from Lower Canada, commanded by Charles de Sal ...

. He was appointed commissioner for small causes in 1836. In 1837, he was named to the

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 ...

, but never took his seat due to 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 ...

. In the same year, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the local militia and prevented the capture of

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortificat ...

by the Patriotes. In 1841, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature 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 C ...

for Rouville. He was forced to run again for his seat in 1842 after accepting the post of clerk of the Richelieu district court; however, he was defeated by William Walker. He was admitted to the bar in 1845 and practised law with Robert-Shore-Milnes Bouchette. In 1847, he was appointed assistant

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

of Montreal and, in 1848, assistant adjutant-general of the Lower Canada militia. He served in this last post until his death 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 ...

in 1867.

Family

Melchior-Alphonse de Salaberry married Marie-Émilie Guy, the daughter of

Louis Guy Louis Guy (June 27, 1768 – February 17, 1850) was a notary and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1768, the son of a merchant there. Guy studied to be a land surveyor and learned English at the College of New ...

, in 1846. The couple's daughter, Miss Hermine de Salaberry was a native of Quebec, and was educated in Quebec city and in Montreal. In 1889, she was accorded a private audience with Her Majesty

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

at the instance of H.R.H. the Princess Louise (later Duchess of Argyll). In October 1895, Hermione unveiled the monument to Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, which commemorates the

. The de Salaberry family resided at 833 Sherbrooke Street, Montreal.

References

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''La famille d'Irumberry de Salaberry'', P-G Roy (1906)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salaberry, Melchior-Alphonse de 1813 births 1867 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Canadian people of Basque descent Canadian coroners