Pierre de Rastel de Rocheblave (March 9, 1773 – October 5, 1840) 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, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in

Kaskaskia, Illinois Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois. Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, it was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country. It was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population peaked at about 7,000 in the 18th c ...

in 1773, the son of

Philippe-François de Rastel de Rocheblave Philippe-François de Rastel de Rocheblave also, known as, Philippe de Rocheblave and the Chevalier de Rocheblave (March 23, 1727 – April 3, 1802), was a soldier and businessman in the Illinois Country, of Upper Louisiana, and later, a pol ...

, and moved to Montreal with his family after the American Revolution. Like his father, he entered the fur trade and he worked for his father at Detroit. He helped found the XY Company in 1798 and looked after the Athabasca department as a wintering partner. He was put in charge of the Red River department after the company merged with 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 ...

in 1804; he was later put in charge of the Athabasca and then Pic departments. In 1811, he was named manager for the new South West Fur Company. During the War of 1812, he was named captain of the

Corps of Canadian Voyageurs The Corps of Canadian Voyageurs was raised in September 1812, by the British Army, as a military water transportation corps. Its mission was to maintain the supply lines, between Montreal and the western posts. The corps was disbanded in March ...

and served as major in the militia after the war. He was involved in coordinating the transfer of assets when the North West Company merged with the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1820s and served as agent for the HBC until he retired from the fur trade in 1827. Rocheblave purchased land at Coteau-Saint-Louis on the island of Montreal and elsewhere in the province. He helped develop the

Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad The Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad (C&SL) was a historic railway in Lower Canada, the first Canadian public railway and one of the first railways built in British North America. Origin The C&SL was financed by Montreal entrepreneur and br ...

. He was named a justice of the peace for

Montreal District Montreal District was colonial district in New France and British North America with its capital in Montreal. A descendant of the district exists today as the judicial district of Montreal. Western parts transferred to Upper Canada, later as ...

in 1821 and also served on various commissions. In 1827, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Montreal West. He was named to the Legislative Council in 1832 and was named to the Special Council that administered the province after the Lower Canada Rebellion. He opposed the union of

Upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

and Lower Canada and was president of an organization that opposed any such plan. He died at Coteau-Saint-Louis in 1840. His widow Elmire, died in 1886. Both were buried in the Church of Notre Dame, Montreal.

Family

Elmira Rastel de Rocheblave by William Notman

Hon. Pierre Rastel de Rocheblave, of Montreal, and his wife, Elmire, daughter of Jean Bouthillier had two daughters. One daughter married Capt. W. L. Willoughby, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and died in 1846. Another daughter, Mademoiselle Elmire de Rocheblave danced at the Citizens' Ball in Montreal with the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) when His Majesty visited Canada in 1860. The family resided at 2073 St. Catherine Street, Montreal, Quebec.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rastel de Rocheblave, Pierre de 1773 births 1840 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada People from Kaskaskia, Illinois North West Company people Canadian people of the War of 1812