This round, tarnished metal plaque engraved with an English inscription (“Josh Badeaux, Esq., King’s Notary, Aged 58 Years, Died Sept. 12th, 1835”) honours the memory of Joseph Badeaux (1777-1835).
He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Badeaux, a notary, and Marguerite Bolvin, the daughter of sculptor Gilles Bolvin (1710-1766), who, in 1734, carried out the interior decoration of the third parish church of Trois-Rivières.
Like his brother Antoine-Isidore and his father, Joseph Badeaux would become a notary. In October 1798, Joseph opened his office in Trois-Rivières. On June 9, 1800, fatherless, he married Marguerite Dumont (she signed “Dumon”), the daughter of Jean-Baptiste Dumont and Marie Magdeleine Leblanc of St-Mathieu-de-Béloeil, in Trois-Rivières. Marguerite was the niece of the Honourable Pierre-Louis Deschenaux (1759-1802), a notary, lawyer, and judge.
Marguerite died following the birth of their first child. Joseph went on to remarry the sister of Amable Berthelot, a lawyer, in May 1802, this time in Quebec City. Amable was a friend who was present at Joseph’s first wedding. Joseph’s new wife, Geneviève, would give him 14 children.
In addition to his roles and responsibilities as a notary, Joseph Badeaux was a precentor, and it was said that his voice “could fill a vast cathedral” or “break the windows” of the parish church.
He was also a justice of the peace for the district of Trois-Rivières, a collector for the Immaculate Conception parish fabrique in Trois-Rivières, then a churchwarden, sheriff, and one of the five trustees appointed by the governor to direct the repair work on the Trois-Rivières church (1818). As of 1823, Joseph Badeaux was granted the primarily honorary title of “king’s notary.”
Joseph Badeaux died on September 12, 1835; his funeral was held on September 15.
Several dignitaries were present at his burial, which took place in the nave of the parish church. Among those present were Jean Desfossés, a merchant and the subject of the miniature portrait owned by the Musée Pierre-Boucher and produced by artist Gerome Fassio.
Donation from the Badeaux family
Musée Pierre-Boucher Collection
1991 1077 H
