Louis de Gonzague Baillairgé, (18 February 1808 – 20 March 1896), was the son of Pierre-Florent Baillairgé

Pierre-Florent Baillairgé

Pierre-Florent Baillairgé, , was from Quebec, the son of Jean Baillairgé, and did spend some time in the wood carving and joinery end of his father's business...

 and grandson of Jean Baillairgé. A descendant of a family distinguished by several illustrious figures in the fields of wood-carving and architecture, he chose instead to go into law.

Baillairgé received his classical studies at the Petit Séminaire de Québec

Petit Séminaire de Québec

Le Petit Séminaire de Québec is a private French-language Roman Catholic secondary school in the Vieux-Québec area of Quebec City which was originally part of the Séminaire de Québec...

 and, in 1830, was articled to Philippe Panet

Philippe Panet

Philippe Panet was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born at Quebec City in 1791, the son of Jean-Antoine Panet, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec...

 and later to René-Édouard Caron

René-Édouard Caron

René-Édouard Caron was a Canadian politician, judge, and the second Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.Born in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Lower Canada, the son of Augustin Caron, a farmer, and Elizabeth Lessard, he studied at a Quebec seminary, the Petit Séminaire of Quebec, and studied law in André-Rémi...

. He and Caron formed a partnership in 1844 and it became extremely successful. Baillairgé became very wealthy and well known for his philanthropy. From the 1870s on, he assisted many individuals, groups and religious communities.