René-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière (; 1641–1709) was a French-Canadian

Poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, 1st Seigneur de Lotbinière in

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

(1672), Judge of the Provost and Admiralty Courts and Chief Councillor of the Sovereign Council of New France.

Birth

Baptised 14 November 1641, in the Church of Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he was the son of Louis-Théandre Chartier de Lotbinière and Élisabeth d'Amours de Clignancourt (1613–1690), daughter of Louis d'Amours de Louvieres (died 1640), Sieur de Serain, Chief Councillor to King Henry IV of France at the Grand Châtelet,

. He was the brother-in-law of Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil,

Governor General of New France Governor General of New France was the vice-regal post in New France from 1663 until 1760 and the last French vice-regal post. It was replaced by the British post of Governor of the Province of Quebec following the fall of New France. While t ...

, and the uncle of the last

, Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal. In 1651, at the age of ten, he arrived with his parents in

, and was educated at the Jesuit's College 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 ...

Career

As an officer in the 1660s he took part in some early campaigns against the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

and

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, soon after composing his first known poem. Following in his father's shoes he was appointed Deputy

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

in 1670. In 1672, he was granted a

Seigneury A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal system, feudal title in Ancien Régime, France before the French Revolution, Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owne ...

which he named after one of his family's old seigneuries in France, Lotbinière, which had since been passed to the Chateaubriand family of Combourg as a wedding dowry. Two years later his name was put forward by the Compagnie des Indes Occidentales and appointed a Councillor of the Sovereign Council of New France. The following year he was made a Councillor for life by

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, the only such Councillor to hold the appointment by the King. In 1677, he replaced his father as Lieutenant-General for Civil and Criminal Affairs (Judge) of the Provost Court. In stark contrast to his father, he held this position to the great satisfaction of his peers, yet again drawing the praise of

for his honesty and competence. In 1698, he was appointed Judge of the

Admiralty Court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, ...

. Bishop Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier appointed him a director of the Hôpital général de Québec, and he also intermittently served as subdelegate to the

Intendant of New France The Intendant of New France was an Public administration, administrative position in the French colony of New France. He controlled the colony's entire civil administration. He gave particular attention to settlement and economic development, and to ...

from 1677 to 1706. In 1703,

appointed de Lotbiniere Chief Counsellor of the Sovereign Council of New France, ranking fourth in the hierarchy of the colony, being preceded only by the governor, the intendant, and the bishop.

Military

De Lotbinière had maintained his connections to the military after his early campaigns against the

. In 1673, he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Quebec Militia, and in 1684 again accompanied Joseph-Antoine de La Barre in campaigns against the

as Commander of the Regiment of Quebec. At the Siege of Quebec 1690 he was the colonel of the Quebec militia in the defence of the colony.

Family

in 1678, de Lotbinière married Marie Madeleine Lambert du Mont (1662–1695), daughter of Eustache Lambert du Mont (1618–1673), Seigneur and Commandant of the Quebec Militia. After his father returned to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1679, they lived at his old house, ''Maison Lotbinière'' in Quebec, where all his children were born and where he died. René-Louis and his wife were the parents of seven children, *Rene-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière (1681-1718), became an officer in the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another du ...

and was killed at

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. *Antoine Chartier de Lotbinière (1684-1743). His godparents were Joseph-Antoine de La Barre,

; and Madame

Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye (; 12 February 1632 – 20 September 1702) was a French businessman active in Canada. The richest financier and businessman in New France, he played an important part in the colony's economic life (such as its trad ...

.Biographie de Pere Valentin, p.108
/ref> He became a Récollet

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and went by the name ''Valentin''. *Pierre-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière (1686-1713), lived and died at

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

. * Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière, married Marie-Francoise Renaud d'Avène des Méloizes, daughter of Captain François-Marie Renaud d'Avène des Meloizes. They were the parents of Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière. *Louise-Philippe Chartier de Lotbinière (1690-1725). In 1708, she married Captain Francois Mariauchau d'Esgly (1670-1730), of the Dauphin's Regiment and the Governor-General's Guards; King's Lieutenant at

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 ...

. They were the parents of Louis-Philippe Mariauchau d'Esgly, 8th Bishop of Quebec. *Marie-Louise Chartier de Lotbinière (1691-1761). In 1709, she married Captain Louis Denys de La Ronde (1675-1741), Cross of Saint-Louis. He was the brother of Admiral Simon-Pierre Denys de Bonaventure and brother-in-law of Claude de Ramezay of Château Ramezay,

Governor of Montreal The governor of Montreal was the highest position in Montreal in the 17th century and the 18th century. Prior to the establishment of the 1663 Sovereign Council, the governor of Montreal was appointed by the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal. Th ...

. They were the grandparents of Major-General Pierre Denys de LaRonde (1762-1824) who commanded the

militia at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

and founded

Versailles, Louisiana Versailles is an unincorporated community in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located along the East Bank of the Mississippi River, approximately 3.5 miles below the lower limit of New Orleans. The community, for governmental an ...

. They were the great grandparents of Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba, who built the Pontalba Buildings in

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and the Hôtel de Pontalba in

, where she lived for the last twenty years of her life. *Angelique de Lotbinière (1692-1772), was married twice. In 1712, she married Jean-Francois Martin de Lino de Chalmette,

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. Their son, Louis Xavier Martin de Lino de Chalmette founded

Chalmette, Louisiana Chalmette ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in, and the parish seat of, St. Bernard Parish in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The 2010 census reported that Chalmette had 16,751 people; 2011 population was listed as 17,119; however, th ...

, and married the sister of

Antoine Philippe de Marigny Antoine Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville (17 July 1721 – 6 November 1779), Chevalier de St. Louis, was a French geographer and explorer. Born in Mobile in 1722, he was part of the Creole elite of French Louisiana. Biography Antoine Ph ...

, grandfather of

Bernard de Marigny Jean-Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville (1785–1868), known as Bernard de Marigny, was a French- Creole American nobleman, playboy, planter, politician, duelist, writer, horse breeder, land developer, and President of the Louisian ...

. The

was fought at

, on the plantation of Louis's son, Ignace Martin de Lino de Chalmette. In 1722, Angelique married Captain Nicolas-Marie Renaud d'Avène des Méloizes (1696-1743), Comte des Meloizes and Chevalier de St Louis, whose sister was married to her brother, Eustache. They were the parents of Angelique-Genevieve d'Avene des Meloizes, the subject of Nadine Grelet's book, ''La Belle Angelique'' (2003) and one of the two central figures in William Kirby's classic book, '' The Golden Dog'' (1873). She was married to Michel-Jean-Hugues de Pean (directly descended from

Hugues de Payens , commonly known in French as or ( – 24 May 1136), was the co-founder and first Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Origin and early life The Latin text of William of Tyre's ''History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'', dated , calls him , ...

), but better known for her affair with François Bigot. Her brother, Nicolas Renaud d'Avene des Meloizes-Fresnoy (1729-1803), became the Marquis de Fresnoy through his marriage to the heiress Agathe-Louise de Fresnoy.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotbiniere, Rene-Louis Chartier De 1641 births 1709 deaths People of New France