Joseph Duquet (September 18, 1815 – December 21, 1838) was a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

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 ...

. He was executed for his part in the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (), commonly referred to as the Patriots' Rebellion () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Together wit ...

. He was born in

Châteauguay Châteauguay ( , , ) is an off-island suburbs, off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, located on both the Châteauguay River and Lake Saint-Louis, Lac St-Louis, which is a section of the St. Lawrence River. The population of the ...

, Lower Canada in 1815. He studied at the

Petit Séminaire de Montréal 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 Peti ...

and the Collège de Chambly. Duquet articled as a notary with

Joseph-Narcisse Cardinal Joseph-Narcisse Cardinal (February 8, 1808 – December 21, 1838) was a notary and political figure in Lower Canada. He was the first person executed for taking part in the Lower Canada Rebellion. He was born in Saint-Constant in 1808, the son ...

and then studied law with Chevalier de Lorimier. In 1837, he continued his training as a notary with his uncle Pierre-Paul Démaray at Dorchester (later

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal, located roughly halfway between Montreal and the Canada–United States border with the state of Vermont. It is sit ...

). Démaray was arrested for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

in November 1837 but was freed by a group of Patriotes while he was being escorted to the jail 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 ...

. Duquet helped his uncle escape to the United States. After a skirmish at Moore's Corner, he escaped to

Swanton, Vermont Swanton, Vermont may refer to: *Swanton (town), Vermont *Swanton (village), Vermont Swanton is a village in the town of Swanton in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. It is sometimes called Swanton Village to distinguish it from the surrou ...

. In February 1838, he took part in an attempted invasion of Lower Canada by Robert Nelson. Duquet returned to Lower Canada in July 1838 after an amnesty was proclaimed. He then helped recruit members for the

frères chasseurs The Frères chasseurs (French for "Hunter Brothers") were a paramilitary organization that fought in the Patriote Rebellion on the Patriote side, seeking to make Lower Canada, now Quebec, an independent and democratic republic. After the failur ...

and organized a lodge at Châteauguay. He was captured with Joseph-Narcisse Cardinal at

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, across from Montreal. Establi ...

when they attempted to get weapons from the native people there. At a trial in November 1838, he was sentenced to death for the crime of high treason with a recommendation for executive clemency. He was hanged at Montreal in December 1838 and buried in the old Catholic cemetery there. In 1858, his remains were moved to the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (, ) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges Ro ...

and buried under a monument dedicated to the Patriotes of 1837–8.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* French Wikipedia article about failed Patriote raid on Kahnawake in November 1838 :fr:Attitude des Amérindiens du Bas-Canada lors des rébellions de 1837-1838 {{DEFAULTSORT:Duquet, Joseph 1815 births 1838 deaths Lower Canada Rebellion people Executed Canadian people People executed by Lower Canada People executed for treason against the United Kingdom People executed in British North America by hanging Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery

See also

External links