François Dollier de Casson (1636 – 27 September 1701) was born in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

into a wealthy

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

and military family. He began his adult life in the army which he left after three years to continue his studies and become a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. After becoming a

Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

, he was assigned to

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 ...

, an assignment he took with some reluctance. He arrived in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in 1666 and was immediately sent as a military

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

with Prouville de Tracy in an action against the Mohawks. He was active as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and explorer until becoming superior of the Sulpicians in New France in 1671. He also built the first canal. In 1674, François returned to France for an extended rest and served as

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

to his nephew. He returned to Canada in 1678 and served the Sulpicians until his death. François Dollier de Casson is perhaps best known for his ''Histoire de Montréal''. He also contributed to

church architecture Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of churches, convents, seminaries etc. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by borrowing other architectural styles as ...

and served as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the diocese of Quebec. He ordered the first street survey of Montreal, executed by notary and surveyor

Bénigne Basset Des Lauriers Bénigne Basset Des Lauriers ( 1639 – 4 August 1699) was born in France and gained historic importance after he emigrated to New France in 1657. Bénigne Basset was almost immediately involved in the justice system becoming a seigneurial not ...

, creating the street layout of what is now known as

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

. He was one of the key figures of the first attempt to dig the

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal ( in French (language), French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroug ...

, in 1689.

References

External links

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

''Histoire du Montréal''
1636 births 1701 deaths French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic priests in New France History of Montreal French military chaplains Roman Catholic missionaries in New France Sulpician missionaries {{NewFrance-stub