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Jean-Olivier Arcand

Canadian politician

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ6169726 ↗
Source-derived summary

Jean-Olivier Arcand (July 22, 1793 – November 14, 1875) was a land surveyor and political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Hampshire in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1822 to 1824.

He was born in Deschambault, the son of Joseph Arcand dit Boulard and Marie-Louise Delisle, and was educated at the Séminaire de Nicolet. He served as an officer in the militia during the War of 1812. Arcand received his commission as a surveyor in 1821 and settled in Yamaska. He did not run for reelection to the assembly in 1824. In 1824, Arcand married Marguerite Pélissier, whose sister married Marie-Joseph Godefroy de Tonnancour. In 1835, he became attorney for seigneur Aignan-Aimé Massue. Arcand took part in the protests held in Lower Canada from 1837 to 1838 and was imprisoned in Montreal in March 1838; he was freed under a general amnesty in July of that same year. Prior to 1837, he had been named commissioner for the trial of minor causes, but he was stripped of that position following his arrest.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Jean-Olivier Arcand” is canadian politician. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Jean-Olivier, Arcand and Canadian, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1793, 1875, 1822, 1824—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1793-07-22. For this dossier, Jean-Olivier, Arcand and Canadian is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “canadian politician” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6169726. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1793, 1875, 1822 and 1824.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Jean-Olivier Arcand”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Jean-Olivier Arcand primary sources, Jean-Olivier Arcand archive and Jean-Olivier research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jean-Olivier Arcand”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Jean-Olivier Arcand” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.