Pierre Belleque

Pierre Belleque or Pierre Billique (5 February 1797 – 1849) was a French Canadian fur trader in the British-claimed Columbia District, which was also known as the Oregon Country and also claimed by the United States. He settled on the French Prairie in what is now the state of Oregon where in 1843 he participated in the Champoeg Meetings. Pierre was elected one of three Constables. He voted affirmative for the measure to form a provisional government at the May 2, 1843 meeting. That measure passed and led to the creation of the Provisional Government of Oregon.

Origins He was born in the parish of L'Assomption-de-la-Sainte-Vierge in Charlevoix county in the province of Québec. He was born 5 January 1797, and baptized the following day by the parish priest, Father Dominique (born Jean-Baptiste Prémoulx) at the parish church, Saint-Pierre-du-Portage. His baptism can be seen on any genealogy site which carries the parish records of Québec. His father, a farmer, was Louis Bélêc and his mother, Marguerite Baudouin (Beaudoin). He was the tenth of eleven children, and the youngest of the four siblings known to have survived beyond two years of age.

Fur trade In 1818, Belleque signed up with the British North West Company, and became an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1821 when the two companies were forced to merge. Around 1830, he claimed some land on the French Prairie in the Willamette Valley. The couple would have seven children). At that time of this petition, Belleque had three children. In 1843, at Champoeg, Belleque participated in the debates over whether the settlers in the region should establish their own government, or wait until the Oregon boundary dispute was settled. At the final vote on May 2, 1843, Some of the French Canadian pioneers voted against forming a government.

Pierre Belleque would remain at his farm for 15 years, and then left for the California Gold Rush in 1848. Returning home by steamship in 1849 from San Francisco, he became quite ill from a fever contracted in the Gold Fields. He died before reaching home and was buried at sea near the mouth of the Columbia River in October 1849.