Cyrille-Hector-Octave Côté (September 1, 1809 – October 4, 1850) was a physician 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 Cyrille-Hector Côté 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 1809, of

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

descent, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec and the Petit Séminaire de Montréal. He became a teacher. In 1831, he started the study of medicine at

McGill College McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, but transferred to the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

shortly afterwards. Although he graduated with a medical certificate there in October 1831, he was at first not allowed to practice in Lower Canada because he had completed his studies in less than five years. However, in April 1832, he was given his license and entered practice at Sainte-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie. In 1833, he moved to Napierville. Later that year, he married Margaret Yelloby Jobson, the daughter of a prosperous local farmer. In 1834, 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 L'Acadie and was a radical member of the Parti patriote. Côté became a leader for the Patriote movement in his region and joined Les Fils de la Liberté. After a price was set on his head, he left for the United States. Although originally supporting

Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (; October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reform ...

, he now allied himself with Robert Nelson and helped prepare a declaration of independence for Lower Canada. On February 28, 1838, with Nelson, he led a group of Patriotes into Lower Canada; they were quickly dispersed. The American authorities arrested the group's leaders because the United States were officially neutral in this dispute but they were released shortly afterwards. At this point, Côté began to organize a group known as the Frères chasseurs. In November 1838, Nelson and Côté took over the village of Napierville but were again defeated by volunteer troops loyal to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. He returned to the practice of medicine and settled at Swanton, Vermont. By 1840, he had abandoned the Patriote movement and moved to Chazy, New York the following year. He returned to Lower Canada in 1843, now a preacher for the

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

faith. In 1844, he was ordained a Baptist minister and settled at Saint-Pie, Quebec. In 1848, he went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and helped prepare pamphlets to educate people about the Baptist faith, as well as translating an existing work into French. In 1849, he went to Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir (later

Marieville, Quebec Marieville () is a city in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is located within the Rouville Regional County Municipality in the Montérégie region about east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 11,332. History In 170 ...

). He died in Hinesburg, Vermont in 1850, after suffering a heart attack while attending a Baptist meeting there.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cote, Cyrille-Hector-Octave 1809 births 1850 deaths Politicians from Quebec City Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Quebec revolutionaries 19th-century Canadian Baptist ministers Lower Canada Rebellion people