Joseph-François Perrault (June 2, 1753 – April 5, 1844) 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 ...

Early years

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 1753, the son of

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r Louis Perrault and grandson of François Perrault, and was brought to

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

during the

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attack on the town. In 1763, his father returned to Quebec City and left his children with his brother

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while he returned to

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on business. Joseph-François studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec. In 1772, he left the province to meet his father in

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. When he arrived, his father was at

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and they were finally reunited there in the spring of 1773.

Career

In 1779, the younger Perrault was captured by native warriors allied with the British and brought to

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while traveling down the Ohio River with Colonel David Rogers and Captain Robert Benham. There, he met his uncle Jacques Baby, dit Dupéront. Unable to rejoin his father, Perrault began working for his uncle at

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He later entered retail trade on his own, later leaving that business and becoming involved in various other activities, including teaching bookkeeping and translating legal publications. Perrault also became involved in theatre at Montreal with Pierre-Amable de Bonne. In 1795, he was named clerk of the peace and protonotary for the Court of King's Bench at Quebec. 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 Huntingdon County in 1796; he was reelected in 1800. In 1806, he helped establish the '' Courier de Québec'' and was also involved in the production of the '' Le Vrai Canadien'' at Quebec. Although he was originally a strong supporter of the English party, Perrault became a moderate Reformer later in life; he opposed the use of force to secure political change. Perrault was active in

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, establishing a lodge at Quebec City and serving as deputy grand master for the province in 1816. He helped establish the Education Society of the District of Quebec to provide education for the town's poor children and served as its president. He also helped establish the British and Canadian School Society of the District of Quebec, an organization with similar aims.

Death

He died at Quebec City in 1844.

Family

His grandson Joseph-Xavier Perrault later served in the legislative assembly and also was involved in promoting education in the province.

References

External links

* * High School named after hi

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrault, Joseph-Francois 1753 births 1844 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Canadian Freemasons Petit Séminaire de Québec alumni