Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau (; March 27, 1745 – September 18, 1809) was the second in a line of distinguished

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

s whose influence has spanned three centuries. Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau was born at

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 ...

, the son of

Thomas-Jacques Taschereau Thomas-Jacques Taschereau (; August 26, 1680 – September 25, 1749) was the patriarch of the illustrious Taschereau family in New France (Canada). It is believed that he may have come from some level of nobility in France and his family descended ...

. At the age of 14, he aided in the defence of the town against the British attack in 1759. He later became a member of the Legislative Assembly and

Legislative Council of Lower Canada The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the Parliament of Lower Canada from 1792 until 1838. The Legislative Council consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canad ...

, as well as a

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 ...

and a judge. Taschereau inherited the seigneury of Sainte-Marie-de-la-Nouvelle-Beauce from his father and acquired the seigneuries of Jolliet and Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce and a part of Linière, Mingan and

Anticosti Island Anticosti () is an island located between the Jacques Cartier and Honguedo Straits, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in L'Île-d'Anticosti (Municipality), Minganie MRC, Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. UNESCO's World Heritage On September 19, 2023, ...

. He was married twice and both marriages produced offspring that contributed to the growth of the Quebec and Canadian legal systems. His first wife was Marie-Louise-Élisabeth Bazin. His second wife was Louise-Françoise Juchereau Duchesnay (1771-1841), daughter of Antoine Juchereau Duchesnay. One son was Jean-Thomas Taschereau (1778–1832). Jean-Thomas was an MLA, a judge, and a publisher during his lifetime. A second son, Thomas-Pierre-Joseph Taschereau was a lawyer, an MLA and a judge. Taschereau died at Sainte-Marie-de-la-Beauce

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taschereau, Gabriel-Elzear 1745 births 1809 deaths Lower Canada judges Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada People from Beauce, Quebec Politicians from Chaudière-Appalaches Gabriel-Elzear