Michel Sarrazin
He had a great interest in botany, and kept up a frequent correspondence with the Académie Royale des Sciences in France, sending fellow scientists numerous specimens of North American plants, as well as detailed descriptions of dissections of animals.
Despite his high ranking position as one of the few colonial intellectuals, Sarrazin faced chronic financial struggles, and died in poverty at age seventy-five, leaving a widow and four children.
[1] When he wasn't with the troops, Sarrazin was kept busy travelling between the Hotels-dieu of Québec and Montreal, essentially treating the "civilian population of the entire colony".
[citation needed] In addition, Sarrazin was also called upon to perform autopsies, give advice in judicial matters, and provide affidavits of miraculous cures at the shrine of Sainte-Anne de Beaupré.
It was not until June 20, 1712, fifteen years after his return and at the age of fifty, that Sarrazin married Marie-Anne Hazeur, a former pupil of the Ursulines, in Montreal, Quebec.
[citation needed] Her father, Francois Hazeur, was a prominent businessman and seigneur, and consequently Sarrazin received the seigneuries of Grande-Vallée and of Anse-de l'Étang.
Upon Sarrazin's death, Marie-Anne was left destitute, having to rely on her husband's pension, and later returned to live with her brother, Canon Hazeur.
[citation needed] Sarrazin is credited with the discovery of sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), a member of the ginseng family, which was one, "among the number of unique plants of that country".
This plant, found mainly in bogs and marshes around Québec, proved to be an effective treatment for smallpox, a disease which plagued Europe and America at the time.
[citation needed] As a correspondent of the Académie Royale des Sciences, Sarrazin consistently sent samples back to Paris, with no expectation of recognition.
His only publication by the Académie Royale des Sciences discussed the syrup extraction process of Canadian maple trees, which can be found in "Observations botaniques".
[citation needed] Sarrazin was also a surgeon, and although he was not permitted to diagnose illnesses or prescribe medication, he was adept at healing fractures, bandaging wounds, draining abscesses and bleeding patients.
Sarrazin was the only certified surgeon present during a smallpox epidemic aboard a ship anchored in Québec, the Diligente, and thus was in charge of medical procedure surrounding the ordeal.
While there was no treatment for smallpox, Sarrazin was successful in preventing the spread of disease and in alleviating the pain of his patients by administering cold baths for the fever and powder for the sores.
Sarrazin's own concerns for the nun are apparent in his writings; "No matter what option I choose, I see my Sister de l'Assomption in danger of an imminent death.
