Arthur TRAHAN (1877-1950)Born in Nicolet on May 26 1877, son of Narcissus Trahan, merchant, and Adeline-Rebecca Rousseau.
Arthur Trahan was educated at Nicolet Seminary and Laval University in Montreal. Was accepted to the Bar of the Province of Quebec on July 12 1901. Established consulting king's law on August 9 1912.
Practiced law in Nicolet. Was secretary of the Commission for Municipal Code Review in Quebec from 1910 to 1912. President of the Bar for the District of Trois-Rivières in 1916 and 1917. Member of the Montreal reform club. Nicolet alderman from 1911 to 1917. Elected Liberal MLA for Nicolet at the by-election on June 2 1913. Re-elected unopposed in 1916. Resigned on November 14 1917 to be a candidate in federal elections. Elected without opposition Liberal MP in the House of Commons in Nicolet in 1917. Reelected in 1921.
His seat became vacant after his appointment as judge of the Superior Court on May 5 1923.
Died in Montreal on September 22 1950 at the age of 73 years and 4 months. Buried at Nicolet, September 26 1950.
First married in Nicolet, September 24 1902, to Josephine Dufresne, daughter of Honoré Dufresne, notary, and Josephine Blondin; then in Hull, in the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Grace on June 26 1924, Diane Leduc, daughter of Charles Leduc and Ursula Gravel.
Arthur's two sons were also illustrious lawyers. The following biographies are from Mémoire du Québec (Internet).
Jacques TRAHAN: lawman (lawyer) born in 1911 in Nicolet. Studied at Nicolet Seminary and the University of Montreal. Judge of the Municipal Court of Montreal (1963-1964). Judge of the Court of Sessions of Peace (1964-1981). President of the Liquor License Control Commission (1971-1980). Deputy Judge in the Tax Court of Canada (1983-1994). Acted as ad hoc coroner in response to the tragedy of the Monsanto plant, the Turcot exchange in Montreal, the Trois-Rivieres bridge and following the assassination of Pierre Laporte in 1970. Died in 2004 in Montreal.
Marcel TRAHAN: lawman (lawyer) born in 1914 in Nicolet. Studied at Nicolet Seminary, at St. Joseph Seminary in Trois-Rivieres and the University of Montreal. Legal Counsel (1943-1948) and Registrar (1948-1950) of the Court of juvenile offenders. Clerk of the Court of Welfare (1950-1961). Coroner district of Montreal (1961-1965). Judge of the Court of Welfare (1965-1984). Member of the Higher Council of Education (1980 -). Chaired the inquest on the violent death of Vincent O'Neil and indicted 21 members of the FLQ. Died in 2006 in Montreal. Children of Marcel: Dominique, Étienne and Anne-Marie (graduated in law from the University of Montreal in 1967. At the Canadian Transport Commission since 1981, Anne-Marie Trahan agreed to come to the Department of Justice in Ottawa as Deputy Minister and became one of the few women to occupy such a high position within the public service. In 1994, Anne-Marie Trahan became a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec.)
Bibliography:
Marcel Trahan. En quête de justice et de fraternité (Renée Joyal and Jean Trépanier, 2005).
