George-Antoine Belcourt (1803-1874) was a Jesuit missionary, priest and author. He was born in Baie-du-Febvre, Quebec and ordained in 1827. He was bilingual French and English.

• Father Belcourt aspired to do missionary work. In 1830 he went to Manitoba with Archbishop Bernard-Claude Panet. He learned Anishinaabe, the language of the Ojibwe people, in order to convert them to christianity. His book of grammar, Principes de la langue des sauvages appelés Sauteux was published in Quebec in 1838.
• He started the first native-only mission west of Saint Boniface in Manitoba, but it was closed down a year later due to raiding.
• In 1834 he established a mission at Baie-Saint-Paul on the Assiniboine River, where he taught the local people about European-style agriculture.
• In 1838 he traveled to Rainy Lake and was unsuccessful at starting a mission because the local people were unwilling to give up their Hudson's Bay Company supplied liquor, a requirement for conversion to christianity.
• In 1840 he estabished a mission among the Wabaseeemong Independent Nations.
• In 1847 Beclourt believed that the First Nations people were discriminated against by the Hudson's Bay Company in the fur trade. He prepared a petition to Queen Victoria that was signed by 977 First Nations people but Earl Grey, the colonial secretary, took no action on the case. Moreover, Father Belcourt was arrested for inciting discontent among the local people. He was quickly released and sent to Pembina, North Dakota as a missionary to the Chippewa.
• Belcourt arrived at Rustico, Prince Edward Island in 1859.
• In 1866, Belcourt was intrigued by a new form of transportation, the steam powered automobile. He purchased one from Mr. Aliza DeWare of New Jersey and had it shipped to Rustico. Belcourt had the honour to drive the first automobile in Canada.
• He retired to a farm at Shediac, New Brunswick.
• Father Belcourt's legacy includes: Belcourt, a town in North Dakota named after the priest, and in 1959 Belcourt was designated a National Historic Person by the Canadian Government. He prepared a Dictionnaire sauteux, later published by Father Albert Lacombe in 1874, and he also translated the catechism of the diocese of Quebec into Chippewa.

Sources

• Wikipedia
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• Father Belcourt's First Car

L'abbé Georges-Antoine Belcourt (1803-1874), prêtre, missionnaire Jésuite, auteur, né à la Baie-du-Febvre en 1803. Ses parents sont Antoine Belcourt et Josephte Lemire.

• Il fit ses études à Nicolet et fut ordonné le 10 mars 1827.
• Vicaire aux Trois-Rivières (1827-29) et à Saint-François-du-Lac (1829-30).
• Curé de Sainte-Martine (1830-31)
• Missionnaire au Manitoba (1831-38)
• Curé de Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-Lévis (1838-39)
• Auteur des Principes de la Langue des Sauteux en 1839.
• Curé de Saint-François-Xavier dans le Manitoba (1839-40)
• Curé à Saint-Paul, Minésota, États-Unis (1840-49)
• Curé de Pembina dans le Dakota aux États-Unis (1849-59)
• Curé de Rustico sur l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard (1859-1860), encore (1865-1869).
• En 1866, Belcourt a été intrigué par une nouvelle forme de transport, l'automobile à vapeur alimenté. Il a acheté une de M. Aliza DeWare du New Jersey et l'avait envoyé à Rustico. Belcourt a eu l'honneur de conduire la première automobile sur voie publique au Canada.
• Curé de Sainte-Claire (1865)
• Retiré à Shédiac dans le Nouveau Brunswick (1869-1874).
• Décédé à Shédiac le 31 mai 1874.
• Inhumé au cimetière de la paroisse Saint Thomas, Memramcook, Nouveau Brunswick.

Sources

• Human Rights in Canada A Historical Perspective
• Dictionnaire Biographique Clergé Canadien-Français
• Dictionnaire biographique du Canada
• La première automobile dans Canada