This ceremonial uniform, consisting of a tunic and a pair of pants, belonged to Charles Numa de Blois (1867-1952), a physician.

Dr. de Blois, the son of Joachim de Blois and Arthémise Fréchette, was born on November 1, 1867, in the Saint-Roch parish of Quebec City. A graduate of the Université Laval, he left to specialize in therapeutic medicine for nervous and chronic diseases in New York, Germany, and Paris. In 1896, upon his return, he opened his private hospital, which he preferred to call a sanatorium, where he treated nervous disorders.

In addition, from 1911 to 1949, he was the owner of the Maison Rocheleau in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, now Trois-Rivières, also known as the Manoir des Jésuites. Nearby, de Blois operated a mineral water spring for therapeutic purposes.

In 1894, Charles Numa de Blois married Marie Cordélia Carignan, the daughter of Onésime Carignan (1839-1897), a merchant, wholesale grocer, and alderman in Trois-Rivières (1876-1888) as well as an MP from the Conservative Party in the House of Commons (1891-1896) for the federal riding of Champlain.

Among other children, the de Blois-Carignan couple had a daughter, Marie Berthe Cécile Françoise de Blois, baptized the day after her birth on November 22, 1897, whose godfather was none other than the future 3rd bishop of Trois-Rivières, Father François-Xavier Cloutier. Her godmother was Aglaé Lebel, the widow of Onésime Carignan and the child’s grandmother.

Donation from Guy Tousignant
Musée Pierre-Boucher Collection
2009 237 C.2-1