Jacques Dupré

Who was Jacques Dupré?

Jacques Dupré was a Louisiana State Representative, State Senator and the eighth Governor.

Born in New Orleans the eldest son of Laurent Dupré de Terrebonne and Marie Joséphine Fontenot, Dupré grew up in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. When he was ten years old, his father died and his mother remarried.

In 1791, he and his brothers received Royal Spanish grants on Bayou Bœuf. The next year Dupré married Théotiste Roy of Pointe Coupée Parish in Opelousas. They raised seven children on a ranch northwest of Opelousas. Beginning in 1815, Dupré served as a Major in the 16th Regiment of the Louisiana Militia. He saw combat at the Battle of New Orleans along with two of his sons.

First elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1816, Dupré was re-elected in 1822 and 1824. In 1828, Dupré was elected to the Louisiana Senate. In 1830, Dupré was chosen as President of the Senate when Governor Pierre Derbigny died and Senate President Armand Beauvais assumed the duties of Acting Governor. When Beauvais resigned two months later, Dupré became Acting Governor. He was the second Acting Governor within the year and there was constitutional crisis over the lack of an elected Governor. The result was that a special election was called in 1831. The dispute over who succeeds the governor in case of his death would not be solved until the office of Lt. Governor was created by a new constitution in 1845.