Damien Marchesseault

Damien Marchesseault (born April 1, 1818 in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu , Lower Canada , †  January 20, 1868 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American politician . He was mayor of Los Angeles from 1859 to 1860 and from 1861 to 1865.

Career

The spelling of the last name of this American politician is given differently in the sources. Once it is written Marchesseault , other sources call it Marchessault or even Marchesseau . It is no longer possible to determine which version is historically correct. This article uses the version of the English Wikipedia. In his youth, Damien Marchesseault came to New Orleans , Louisiana , where, among other things, he took part in gambling. He then fought in the Mexican-American War . From 1853 he lived in Los Angeles, where he embarked on a local political career as a member of the Democratic Party . In 1859 Marchesseault was elected mayor of Los Angeles. He held this office between May 9, 1859 and May 9, 1860. After the death of his successor Henry Mellus on December 26, 1860 and the short provisional term of William Woodworth , he was re-elected to this office, which he after some Re-elected between January 7, 1861 and May 6, 1865. This time was marked by the events of the Civil War and the discussion about a possible split of the state of California in two parts.

Between 1866 and 1868 Damien Marchesseault held the post of Water Overseer of Los Angeles , with a brief interruption in 1867 , which was paid more than that of Mayor. In this office he was also responsible for the quality of the water pipes, which were still wooden at the time. After several lines broke and the city got into problems, the population became increasingly dissatisfied with Marchesseault. This and his increasing gambling debts led to his shooting suicide on January 20, 1868.

Web links

• Damien Marchesseault in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard
• The Mayors of Los Angeles
• Damien Marchesseault in nndb (English)