Jacques Dupré (February 12, 1773 – September 14, 1846) was an

Louisiana Creole Louisiana Creole is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Also known as Kouri-Vini, it is spoken today by people who may racially identify as white, black, mixed, and Native ...

politician who served as a Louisiana State Representative, State Senator and as the acting Governor of Louisiana from January 14, 1830 to January 31, 1831.

Biography

Born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

the eldest son of Laurent Dupré de Terrebonne (or, Dupré d'Arbonne) and Marie Joséphine Fontenot, Dupré was a creole of full French descent that grew up in

St. Landry Parish, Louisiana St. Landry Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 82,540. The parish seat is Opelousas. The parish was established in 1807. St. Landry Parish comprises the Opelousas, LA Micr ...

. When he was ten years old, his father died and his mother remarried. In 1791, he and his brothers received Royal

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

Bayou Boeuf Kraemer is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 934. Its ZIP code is 70371. It is also known as Bayou Boeuf. Demographics Education Lafourche Parish Public ...

. The next year Dupré married Théotiste Roy of Pointe Coupée Parish, in

Opelousas Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a junction here. According to the 2020 census, Opelousas has a population of 15,786, a 6 ...

. They raised seven children on a ranch northwest of Opelousas. Beginning in 1815, Dupré served as a Major in the 16th Regiment of the Louisiana Militia. He saw combat 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 ...

along with two of his sons. First elected to the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

in 1816, Dupré was re-elected in 1822 and 1824. In 1828, Dupré was elected to the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

. In 1830, Dupré was chosen as

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

when Governor

Pierre Derbigny Pierre Augustin Charles Bourguignon Derbigny (June 30, 1769 – October 6, 1829) was the sixth Governor of Louisiana. Born in 1769, at Laon, France, the eldest son of Augustin Bourguignon d'Herbigny who was President of the Directoire de l'Aisne ...

died, and Senate President

Armand Beauvais Arnaud Julie Beauvais (September 6, 1783 – November 18, 1843), also known as Armand Beauvais, or Arnaud Jules Beauvais, was the List of Governors of Louisiana, seventh Governor of Louisiana, as well as member and Speaker of the Louisiana House o ...

assumed the duties of acting governor. When Beauvais resigned two months later, Dupré became acting governor. He was the second acting governor within the year and there was a constitutional crisis over the lack of an elected governor. The result was that a special election was called in 1831. The dispute over who succeeds the governor in case of his death would not be solved until the office of lieutenant governor was created in a new constitution in 1845. As governor, Dupré oversaw the incorporation of the first railroad, a canal company, a bayou improvement company, the Merchants Insurance Company of New Orleans, and a company to granulate sugar by a new process. During his administration there was also a prohibition of further immigration of

free persons of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

into the state and the expulsion of all those who entered since 1825. Also in 1830, the seat of government returned to New Orleans from

Donaldsonville Donaldsonville (historically ) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistic ...

. Dupré did not run for governor in 1831 and when Andre B. Roman was elected, Dupré returned to the State Senate, where he served 16 more years. He served another stint as

during 1838. On September 14, 1846, Dupré died and was buried in

Opelousas, Louisiana Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 in Louisiana, Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 in Louisiana, U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a ju ...

Sources

Secretary of State of Louisiana

External links

Cemetery Memorial
by La-Cemeteries {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupre, Jacques 1773 births 1846 deaths Governors of Louisiana Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Louisiana Whigs Louisiana state senators Louisiana National Republicans National Republican Party state governors of the United States 19th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature