Preconfederation Ornithology

(1783-1842)

Pierre Chasseur was an artisan who pursued the trades of gilder and wood carver. In the 1810s Chasseur was collecting natural history specimens. By1824 he had assembled his collections in his house where he opened a museum in 1826.

Chasseur soon realized that in order to operate he needed financial support. He made a series of requests to the government for assistance. In 1828 and 1830 the government provided small assistance grants. In 1836, because of continuing financial difficulties, Chasseur offered his collection to the government. At that time the government was considering using the collection as a major focus of a new provincial museum.

As part of this initiative, Jean-Baptiste Meilleur M. D. (1790-1878) was commissioned by the government to inventory the collection. Meilleur, who had a strong interest in science and education, was a recent graduate in medicine from a University in Vermont. He had recently returned to Quebec to set up his medical practice. Meilleur listed 500 bird specimens, almost 100 mammals, as well as 40 reptiles and fish. In keeping with contemporary cabinets of curiosity the collection also contained aboriginal artifacts, foreign art objects and local historical items.

It is not clear if a specific list of the birds was ever made. Michel Gosselin in his article in Quebec Oiseaux "De Pierre Chasseur 100 and d’Oiseaux a Ernest Wintle" suggests that the collection contained primarily birds of Quebec. It seems likely that the Chasseur, followed the documented practice of his two known contemporaries, Thomas McCulloch (1776-1843) in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and Charles Fothergill (1782-1840) in Ontario, collected multiple skins of each species.

In the mid-1820s virtually nothing was published or documented on the birds of Quebec. If Meilleur’s list still exists it would be a significant addition to the history of the ornithology of Quebec.

Unfortunately, due to the tumultuous days of the Rebellion, the government did not proceed with the provincial museum. Perhaps with the future of the Chasseur collection in doubt its ultimate demise is not surprising. Some of it may have been destroyed by a fire in 1836 or 1837. Chasseur did not help his cause by fines and imprisonment for his involvement in the Rebellion. He died soon after in 1842.

Soon after the Rebellion the seat of government was moved to Kingston in 1841. This freed up space in the parliament building in Quebec. The government offered space to the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec’s for its library and museum. At this point, it is understood what was left of the Chasseur collection was incorporated into the new museum. In 1854 the Parliament building was destroyed in a calamitous fire which destroyed all the collections housed within.

Bibliography

• Duchesne, Raymond. 2000. Pierre Chasseur, Dictionary of Canadian Biography 1836-1850. Volume 7. Toronto: University of Toronto Press
• Gosselin, Michel. 2014. "De Pierre Chasseur 100 and d’Oiseaux a Ernest Wintle" Quebec Oiseaux 25: 14-20. Quebec: Regroupment Quebec Oiseaux