Английская Википедия:George-Paschal Desbarats
Шаблон:Use Canadian English Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Infobox person
George-Paschal Desbarats (11 August 1808 – 12 November 1864) was a French-Canadian printer, publisher, businessman, and landowner. From 1841 he co-held an exclusive contract as the Queen's printer.
Life and career
George-Paschal Desbarats was born in Quebec City in Lower Canada on 11 August 1808,Шаблон:Sfn the third sonШаблон:Sfnm of Marie-Josephte (Шаблон:Nee Voyer) and Pierre-Édouard Desbarats, a printer and Deputy Registrar of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada.Шаблон:Sfn
Desbarats attended the school of the Presbyterian clergyman Daniel Wilkie and later apprenticed with a shopkeeper named James George and then a timber merchant in the Basse-Ville of Quebec City. He managed the family business from 1826 when his father fell ill and took it over when his father died two years later. He continued the business's relationsШаблон:Sfn with its co-owner Thomas Cary,Шаблон:Sfn and they may have co-owned Cary's Quebec Mercury newspaper from 1828 to 1848.Шаблон:Sfn The relationship appears to have been uneasy.Шаблон:Sfn
With Cary, Desbarats had a contract as printer to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada as of 1841. In September 1841 Desbarats and Stewart Derbishire received an appointment as "Her Majesty’s Printer and Law Printer in and for the Province of Canada";Шаблон:Sfn as the Queen's printers they had an exclusive contract to print and distribute government publications in the Province of Canada, a contract Desbarats maintained throughout his life. He thus moved as the capital did throughout the period to Kingston, Montreal, Toronto, and Quebec City, where in 1860 he and Derbershire established a business with the help of his son George-Édouard Desbarats and were responsible for the publication of works by such French-Canadian writers as Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé and Ernest Gagnon as well as the literary journal Le Foyer canadien.Шаблон:Sfn Amongst his commissions were the reprinting of Samuel de Champlain's works, completed after his death by George-Édouard in 1870.Шаблон:Sfn
Desbarats was active in industry and financing. He invested in railways and mining, and with Derbershire he acquired the Ottawa Glass Works near Vaudreuil, one of the province's first glassworks.Шаблон:Sfn He invested in the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad,Шаблон:Sfn which he promoted with a pamphlet in 1849 titled The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad: its position as a private undertaking, and advantages as a national work.Шаблон:Sfn
In 1847 Desbarats bought many properties and tracts of land, including one in the Chaudière valley where gold was being prospected, and a mining tract north of Lake Huron called the Desbarats Location. He was secretary of the Montreal Mining Company in 1847 and became president of the St Lawrence Mining Company in 1854.Шаблон:Sfn
Desbarats married three times, first to Henriette Dionne, daughter of Amable Dionne.Шаблон:Sfn After she died, Desbarats remarried in 1841Шаблон:Sfn to Charlotte Selby, daughter of the doctor William Selby,Шаблон:Sfn who had died a few years earlier; there was some resistance to the marriage as Desbarats was perceived to come from a lower social rank than the daughter of a prominent doctor.Шаблон:Sfn Last he married Jessie-Louise Pothier, daughter of Legislative Councillor Toussaint Pothier. His estate in Montreal was named Rose-Pré.Шаблон:Sfn
Desbarats died in Montreal on 12 November 1864.Шаблон:Sfn His son George-Édouard inherited the printing plant in Ottawa in 1865 and continued to expand the business.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Works cited
Шаблон:Portal bar Шаблон:Authority control
