Alexandre Dumas ( c. 1726 ? July 11, 1802) was a lawyer, notary , businessman and political figure in Lower Canada .

A Huguenot , Dumas was born in Negrepelisse , France around 1726 and came to New France in 1751 with a cousin Jean Dumas Saint-Martin as representatives of a French merchant. He was involved with the fisheries in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and was also involved in retail trade. With a partner, he operated a grist mill on the Saint-Charles River . He renounced his faith in 1760 to marry a Roman Catholic , Josephte Laroche, widow of Jean Requiem, a ship's captain. In 1767, with others, he obtained a lease on the seigneury of Saint-Maurice and the Saint-Maurice ironworks . Dumas served as a captain in the militia and helped defend the town of Quebec against the Americans in 1775; he remained active in the militia becoming lieutenant-colonel by 1802. In 1776, he married Marie-Francoise Fornel, the daughter of Louis Fornel and the widow of Antoine-Florent Meignot. In 1778, Dumas became sole lessee of the ironworks, holding it until 1783, when the lease was taken over by Conrad Gugy . Dumas qualified to practice as a notary in 1784; he qualified to practice as a lawyer the following year. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Dorchester County in 1796.

In 1802, he married Catherine, the daughter of Jean-Thomas Lee, a merchant whose son Thomas later also served as a member of the legislative assembly. Dumas died at Quebec City later that year.

External links [ edit ]

• "Biography" . Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Quebec de 1792 a nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec .
• "Alexandre Dumas". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press . 1979?2016.