François-Pierre Cherrier (September 3, 1717 – July 21, 1793) was a French-born merchant and

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. He was born in

Savigné-l'Évêque Savigné-l'Évêque () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. Population See also *Communes of the Sarthe department The following is a list of the 354 communes of the Sarthe depar ...

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the ''Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It had ...

, the son of François Cherrier and Périnne Isambart, and came to Saint-Antoine-de-Longueuil in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

, where his uncle was parish priest, in 1736. Cherrier opened a store there and became notary for the

seigneury ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

in 1738. He married Marie Dubuc in 1743. In 1750, Cherrier was named royal notary for the parish of Longueuil. After the

conquest of New France Conquest is the act of military wiktionary:subjugation, subjugation of an enemy by force of Weapon, arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast area ...

by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, Cherrier's commission as a notary was renewed but his finances suffered as the result of the conversion of the currency. In 1765, he moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in the hope of better prospects but returned to

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly acr ...

two years later. In 1770, he moved to Saint-Denis where his son

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

was parish priest. Cherrier continued to practise as a notary there until 1789 and died in Saint-Denis at the age of 75. His sons Benjamin-Hyacinthe-Martin and Séraphin and his grandson Côme-Séraphin served in the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

. Hhis daughter Rosalie married

Joseph Papineau Joseph Papineau (October 16, 1752 – July 8, 1841) was a notary, seigneur, and political figure in Lower Canada. Between 1773 and 1775, he worked as a surveyor. Papineau was also a horticulturalist whose estate home at Montebello is a to ...

, also a member of the Assembly. Her son,

Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower ...

, was the leader of the ''

Parti patriote The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal prof ...

'' in the Legislative Assembly and a major participant in the events leading up to the

Lower Canada Rebellions The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

of 1837–1838. Her second son,

Denis-Benjamin Papineau Denis-Benjamin Papineau (November 13, 1789 – January 20, 1854) was joint premier of the Province of Canada for Canada East from 1846 to 1848. His joint premiers for Canada West during this period were William Henry Draper and Henry Sherwood. ...

, was also active in the ‘’Patriote'' movement. After the reunification of Lower Canada with

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

in 1841, he became joint premier of the new

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

from 1846 to 1848. Another daughter, Périne-Charles, married

Denis Viger Denis Viger (June 6, 1741 – June 16, 1805) was a carpenter, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1741, the son of a shoemaker. He worked as a carpenter and also carved wooden objects for the church ...

and was the mother of

Denis-Benjamin Viger Denis-Benjamin Viger (; August 19, 1774 – February 13, 1861) was a 19th-century politician, lawyer, businessman in Lower Canada. He was a leader in the ''Patriote'' movement. Viger was part of the militia in the early 19th century and th ...

, who was also active in the ''Patriote'' movement. He also became co-premier of the Province of Canada, from 1843 to 1846.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cherrier, Francois-Pierre 1717 births 1793 deaths Papineau-Viger-Cherrier families People from Sarthe Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Emigrants from France to New France