Pierre Menard

Pierre Menard (born October 7, 1766 near Montreal , Canada , †  June 13, 1844 in Randolph County , Illinois ) was an American politician . Between 1818 and 1822 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Illinois.

Career

The Pierre Menard House in Ellis Grove

Pierre Menard, the son of a French soldier, attended public schools in his homeland for a short time. At the age of about 15 he began working in the fur trade in what is now Illinois. At the beginning of the 1790s he had already founded his own successful trading agency in Kaskaskia . By 1793 he was a respected entrepreneur. Politically, he joined the Democratic Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson . Between 1803 and 1809 he was a member of the Indiana Territory Legislature ; 1812-1818 he was a member of the Council of the Illinois Territory ( Illinois Territorial Council ).

After Illinois' accession to the Union in 1818, Menard was elected lieutenant governor of the new state alongside Shadrach Bond . He held this office between 1818 and 1822. He was Deputy Governor . One reason for his choice was that he belonged to the French-speaking part of the population. This created a balance between this and the English-speaking population.

After the end of his time as Lieutenant Governor, Pierre Menard withdrew from politics and returned to his private business. He died on June 13, 1844 in Randolph County, where he was also buried. The Menard County , Illinois was named after him. His former home in Ellis Grove was listed as Pierre Menard House on the National Register of Historic Places .

Web links

• Pierre Menard in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard