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The Scandal Makers : The Cogniacers, Part 1
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| Author/collaborator |
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| Title |
The Scandal Makers : The Cogniacers, Part 1
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| Abstract |
The story of a group of nineteenth-century families, notorious as counterfeiters, who lived on a road known as Cogniac (today part of Chemin Hudon) in Dunham Township, Missisquoi County. "Cogniac," the author explains, was an eighteenth-century slang word for fake money, and the people who lived on the Eastern Townships road were called "Cogniacers." In the nineteenth century, the vast majority of U.S. counterfeit bank notes circulating in all of North America were printed on "Cogniac Street" road. The author explains that the most notorious of these counterfeiters was Ebinezer Gleason Sr. (1766-1851), who established a national network of dealers, distributors and wholesalers along with his partner, storeowner and politician Seneca Paige (1788-1856), to spread the counterfeit currency. Together, the two men formed the Canadian Counterfeiting Company and, between 1800 and 1830, controlled the majority of counterfeit money circulating in the United States. The author explains that Canadian authorities did little to stem this counterfeiting enterprise, so long as the Cogniac families did not print Canadian bank notes.
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| Website Title |
Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network
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| Website Type |
Documentary
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| Date |
December 2020
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| URL | |
| Language |
en
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| Notes |
See also the author's: "Living on Easy Street: The Counterfeiters of Missisquoi County, Part 1." Living on Easy Street: The Counterfeiters of Missisquoi County, Part 1 | Townships Heritage WebMagazine |
| Citation |
Darch, Heather. “The Scandal Makers : The Cogniacers, Part 1.” Documentary. Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network. Last modified December 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw-kLTkK17g.
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