Louis de Gonzague Baillairgé (18 February 1808 – 20 March 1896) was the son of

Pierre-Florent Baillairgé Pierre-Florent Baillairgé (29 June 1761 – 9 December 1812) was from Quebec, the son of Jean Baillairgé, and did spend some time in the wood carving and joinery end of his father's business. His brother, François, already was there and the ...

and grandson of

Jean Baillairgé Jean Baillairgé (31 October 1726 – 6 September 1805) was a carpenter by trade and there is some reference to his being an architect. He was born in Blanzay, France and his death occurred at Quebec City, Quebec, Lower Canada. Jean arrived at Q ...

. A descendant of a family distinguished by several illustrious figures in the fields of wood-carving and architecture, he chose instead to go into law. Baillairgé received his classical studies at the

Petit Séminaire de Québec Petit is a French-language surname literally meaning "small" or "little". Notable people with the surname include: *Adriana Petit (born 1984), Spanish multidisciplinary artist *Alexis Thérèse Petit (1791–1820), French physicist * Amandine Pet ...

and, in 1830, was articled to

Philippe Panet Philippe Panet (February 28, 1791 – January 15, 1855) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born at Quebec City in 1791, the son of Jean-Antoine Panet, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec. He began to a ...

and later to

René-Édouard Caron René-Édouard Caron (21 October 1800 – 13 December 1876) was a Canadian politician, judge, and the List of lieutenant governors of Quebec#Lieutenant Governors of Quebec, 1867–present, second Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. He was born ...

. He and Caron formed a partnership in 1844 and it became extremely successful. Baillairgé became very wealthy and well known for his philanthropy. From the 1870s on, he assisted many individuals, groups and religious communities.

References

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1808 births 1896 deaths Pre-Confederation Quebec people {{Canada-hist-stub