Claude Dénéchau (March 8, 1768 – October 30, 1836) was a businessman and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. He was born in

Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

in 1768, the son of surgeon Jacques Dénéchaud. He went into business with his brother Pierre at Quebec, later entering the import-export on his own. In 1800, he married Marianne-Josette, the daughter of

seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

Jacques-Hyacinthe Simon, dit Delorme. In the same year, he became a member of the

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

s. After her death, he married Adélaïde, the daughter of Louis Gauvreau in 1807. In 1808, he was named justice of the peace for Quebec district. In the same year, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of e ...

for the Upper Town of Quebec and represented it in the assembly as a member of the English party until July 1820. He was a captain in the local militia during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, becoming lieutenant-colonel in 1828. In 1813, he leased the seigneury of Bellechasse from the nuns of the Hôpital Général of Quebec and settled at the manor house at Berthier. He became a partner in a toll bridge across the Rivière du Sud in 1818. He served as commissioner for the trial of small causes at Berthier and was also president of the Quebec Fire Society. Dénéchau was a member of the

freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and became provincial grand master for the districts of Quebec and Trois-Rivières in 1820. He was secretary-treasurer of the Union Company of Quebec, which operated the Union Hotel at Quebec. He died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

at Berthier in 1836. During the last year of his life, he had renounced freemasonry and he was buried in the local church. His daughter Eulalie-Antoinette married physician Marc-Pascal de Sales Laterrière and his daughter Zoé-Louise married physician Olivier Robitaille, who later became a mayor of Quebec City.

External links

* * 1768 births 1836 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Canadian Freemasons

References

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