Gilbert Dupre

Gilbert Louis Dupré Sr. (September 20, 1858 – December 18, 1946), was a self-educated lawyer and state representative from Opelousas, Louisiana, known for his initial political opposition to Governor Huey Pierce Long Jr. He held his state House seat from 1913 to 1932. A native of St. Landry Parish in South Louisiana, he maintained his legal office for many years in Opelousas.

In his last year in office, Dupré, by then an elderly deaf man, spoke out against the Long intra-party challenger, Dudley LeBlanc of Abbeville through the Long newspaper, the Louisiana Progress.

As was common at the time, Dupré read law outside of a university setting, working first in the office of the St. Landry Parish clerk of court. He was admitted to the bar in 1880 and established his law office in Opelousas. In 1887, Dupré was a member of the Louisiana state militia and was on active duty at the time of a riot in Morgan City in St. Mary Parish. He was a member of the Masonic lodge, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Roman Catholic Church.

From 1888 to 1992 and again from 1913, to fill the seat vacated by A. H. Garland, who left the state, until 1932, Dupré was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He served as a state district court judge by election from 1896 to 1900 and by appointment in 1914. He was elected judge in 1916, 1920, and 1924, while he also served in the part-time legislative post. Such dual office-holding is no longer permitted. Judge Dupré, as he was long known, was a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1921.

In 1881, Dupré married Julia B. Estilette (1860–1944) of Opelousas, the daughter of his law partner, E. D. Estilette. She was born in New Haven, Connecticut, where her father was attending Yale University. E. D. Estilette was a judge and in 1876 the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives. The couple had four children, including twin daughters, a son, and a third daughter. He was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Dupré outlived his wife by two years. They are interred along with other family members at the Myrtle Grove Cemetery in Opelousas. Long then noted that Dupré "was much amused and almost came over."