The Hon. Charles Eusebe Casgrain

Doctor; Senator (first Franco-Ontarian appointed to the upper chamber).

Charles Eusebe Casgrain was born to a distinguished French Canadian family whose ancestors on his fathers’ side first came to Canada around 1750. Maternally he descended from Jacques Baby, a regimental officer who landed in Quebec around 1665.

As a young man, after receiving his license in medicine from McGill University in 1851, Dr. Cosgrain travelled to Detroit to begin his practise. By 1856 he relocated to Windsor where he quickly rose to the position of coroner and jail surgeon.  During the Fenian Raids of 1861 he acted as surgeon to the British and Canadian troops stationed in Windsor. Later he served two years on Windsor council, and was a member of the Board of Education.  In 1864 Dr. Casgrain was elected general president of all the French societies in the County of Essex. His political affiliation was to the Conservation Party. In recognition of Dr. Casgrain’s many civic contributions in Canada West, and on the advice of Prime Minister John A. MacDonald, Dr. Casgrain received an appointment to the Senate in 1887, where he served his country for more than 20 years.

The Hon. Charles Casgrain married twice: first to Charlotte Chase (died 1866), and later to Mary Dougall Street (died 1904). Illness overcame him in the last year and a half of his life. He died surrounded by his family at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Windsor.

Sources:

Casgrain, The Hon. Charles Eusebe, C.M., M.D. (website). Parliament of Canada. ParlInfo.Accessed: Feb. 15, 2018.

Senator Casgrain Dead. The Globe [Toronto],  March 9, 1907.

Senator Casgrain passes peacefully; death ends long and eventful career. The Evening Record [Windsor], March 8, 1907.