Prudent Beaudry

Prudent Beaudry (born July 24, 1816 in Mascouche , Lower Canada , † October 6, 1893 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American politician of Canadian origin. Between 1874 and 1876 he was mayor of Los Angeles.

Career

Prudent Beaudry came from a wealthy Canadian family of French descent. He studied in Montreal and New York City and then returned to Canada. After the rebellions of 1837 he left the country and went to the United States, where he advocated the annexation of Canada to the United States. Around 1840 he temporarily settled in New Orleans , where he worked in commerce. In 1842 he moved to Montreal, where he and his brothers ran an import-export company. He was often on business in Europe. Around 1850 he went to San Francisco with his brother Victor during the gold rush. He sold his stake in the Montreal company to his other brothers.

In San Francisco he ran a business to supply gold prospectors. The business was destroyed by two fires and in 1853 he moved to Los Angeles for the first time. He only stayed there briefly at first. He went to an ophthalmologist in Paris for some time to cure an eye disease. Then he lived again in Montreal for five years. In 1861 he received a lucrative contract to equip the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War , which he carried out from Los Angeles. In Los Angeles he worked in various industries. At times he also suffered business setbacks. He was involved in the commercial and real estate industries and became a director of First National Bank in Los Angeles.

Beaudry's political party affiliation is not recorded. Between 1871 and 1873 he was a member of the city council . In 1873 he became President of the newly formed Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles and in 1874 he was elected mayor of the city. He held this office between December 18, 1874 and December 8, 1876. It is noteworthy that his brother Jean-Louis Beaudry was mayor of Montreal at around the same time. As mayor, Prudent Beaudry had the streets of Los Angeles paved and put in a better condition. At that time, new hospitals were also created. After the end of his time as mayor, Beaudry continued his business career. In the meantime, he suffered a few setbacks when a partner bank went bankrupt. In total, he built up his own fortune five times in the course of his life and lost four of them again. He died on October 6, 1893 in Los Angeles and was buried in Montreal at his request.

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personal data
SURNAME	Beaudry, Prudent
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Canadian-American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	July 24, 1816
PLACE OF BIRTH	Mascouche , Lower Canada
DATE OF DEATH	October 6, 1893
Place of death	Los Angeles , California