Joseph Drapeau was a seigneur

Seigneurial system of New France

The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...

, merchant and political figure in Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

. He represented Northumberland in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada

The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791...

 from 1809 to 1810.

He was born in Pointe-Lévy

Lévis, Quebec

Lévis is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre Laporte Bridge, connect western Lévis with Quebec City. The Société de transport de...

, the son of Pierre Drapeau and Marie-Joseph Huard, dit Désilets. Drapeau moved to Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 during the 1770s. In 1779, he obtained a permit to sell alcoholic beverages and, in 1781, a hotel-keeper's license. He also operated a general store in the Lower Town of Quebec City and supplied goods to merchants Louis Bourdages

Louis Bourdages

Louis Bourdages was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born Louis-Marie Bourdages in Jeune-Lorette, Quebec in 1764, the son of Raymond Bourdages, an Acadian doctor and merchant. Bourdages studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec, where he met Pierre-Stanislas Bédard...

 and Louis Bélair. Drapeau married Marie-Geneviève Noël, the daughter of the seigneur of Tilly, in 1782. He was an officer in the militia and served during the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 invasion of 1795-6. In 1799, he owned a shipbuilding yard at Baie-Saint-Paul

Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec

Baie-Saint-Paul is a city in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Baie-Saint-Paul is the seat of Charlevoix Regional County Municipality. The city is situated at the mouth of the Gouffre River...

. He was able to acquire the seigneuries of Champlain, Lessard (also known as Pointe-au-Père), Rimouski and Saint-Barnabé, Grand-Métis, Pachot (also known as Rivière-Mitis) and Sainte-Claire. After selling part of his holdings, Drapeau then purchased half of the seigneury of Île-d'Orléans

Île d'Orléans

Île d'Orléans is located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The island was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage of French Canadians can trace ancestry to early residents of the island...

. For a time, he also owned a small portion of the seigneuries of Rigaud-Vaudreuil, Gentilly, Perthuis, Beauvais, Rivière-Duchesne, and Sainte-Barbe-de-la-Famine. He died in office in Quebec City at the age of 58.

His grandson Ulric-Joseph Tessier

Ulric-Joseph Tessier

Ulric-Joseph Tessier was a Quebec lawyer, judge, seigneur and political figure. He was a member of the Senate of Canada representing the Gulf division from 1867 to 1873 and served as mayor of Quebec City from 1853 to 1854....

served in the legislative assembly for the Province of Canada and the Canadian senate and was also mayor of Quebec City.