Quetton St. George
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Laurent Quetton St. George (born Laurent Quet; 4 June 1771 – 8 June 1821) was a French Royalist military officer who became a merchant and landowner in Upper Canada.


Early years in France

Born in
Vérargues Vérargues (; Provençal: ''Verargas'') is a former commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Entre-Vignes. Climate The climate is hot-summer Mediterranea ...
near
Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
, France, he was forced into exile by the French Revolution that led to the fall of the
king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...
. He initially settled in the Rhineland and then joined the ''Légion de Béon'' around 1794–1795. He subsequently marched with the Royalist army to Brittany in 1796.


Settling in Upper Canada

He then acquired land offered to French Royalists in Upper Canada and arrived via Quebec in 1798. He was led by
Joseph-Geneviève de Puisaye Joseph-Geneviève, comte de Puisaye (6 March 1755 – 13 September 1827) was a minor French nobleman who fought as a counter-revolutionary during the French Revolution, leading two unsuccessful invasions from England. He later led a group of Fren ...
to land located in Windham, where his son Henri would live in his later years. He spent time as a fur trader with natives around Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching before becoming a merchant in 1802 at York, Upper Canada (now Toronto). He worked with the British Army and English-speakers associated in Upper Canada. He formed a friendship with John Spread Baldwin and William Warren Baldwin, but his imperfect English meant he did not form a close bond with others in Upper Canada. His home in York (at the northeast corner of King and Frederick streets) was designed by William Baldwin and built from 1807 to 1810. The house was the first brick residence in the town, and it was later owned by the Baldwin family before being demolished in 1901. Despite working in the New World, his family returned to France, leaving him alone in Canada. In 1815, he travelled to France and England, and he remained in Europe until his death in 1821. In 1819, he married Adèle de Barbeyrac in France, who gave birth to their son Henri. He previously had a son and daughter by Marguerite Vallière in Upper Canada.


Henri Quetton de St. George

His son Henri Quetton de St. George (c. 1822–1896) was not born in Canada, but would arrive after his father's death to Canada and died in 1896 at
Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and th ...
. The younger Quetton would remain in Canada (other than a brief time in the brewing business at
Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...
), including the founding of Washago, Ontario, establishing a lumber business (Quetton St. George and Co.), and becoming a wine merchant in Toronto. Quetton's wife and daughter would not remain in Canada. His daughter, Madeleine St. George, returned to France to work at an orphanage in Paris and died there in 1914, and his wife left for France without him. Quetton died in Canada in 1896 and is buried at Temperanceville United Church in Richmond Hill.


Legacy

*St. George Street in Toronto is believed to be named for him, and
St. George station St. George is a station on Line 1 Yonge–University and Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway. It is located north of Bloor Street West between St. George Street and Bedford Road. It is the second-busiest station in the system after Bl ...
was named after the street. *
Lake St. George (Ontario) Lake St. George is a kettle lake in Richmond Hill, Ontario and now located in the conservation area managed by the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). The lake is named for Henri St. George, French-born son of French Royalist, and one-t ...
is named for his son Henri, whose estate (built in the 1850s and burned down in 1908) was located next to the kettle lake.


See also

* Chouannerie *
Joseph-Geneviève de Puisaye Joseph-Geneviève, comte de Puisaye (6 March 1755 – 13 September 1827) was a minor French nobleman who fought as a counter-revolutionary during the French Revolution, leading two unsuccessful invasions from England. He later led a group of Fren ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St. George, Quetton 1771 births 1821 deaths Upper Canada people French monarchists French emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada French counter-revolutionaries