Lt-Colonel The Hon. Louis-Charles Foucher (September 13, 1760 – December 26, 1829) was Solicitor General for

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 ...

and elected to the 2nd Parliament of Lower Canada for Montreal West, and afterwards for York and

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. His final position held was Judge of the

Court of King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

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 ...

. His home from 1820, ''Piedmont'', was one of the early estates of the

Golden Square Mile / ''Mille carré doré'' , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, Neighbourhood , image_skyline = Ravenscrag.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = ''Rave ...

Background

Born 1760, at Rivière-des-Prairies, Quebec, he was the son of Antoine Foucher (1717-1801) and his first wife Marie-Joachim Chénier (1723-1786), daughter of Jean-Baptiste Chénier (1684-1760), of

Lachine, Quebec Lachine () is a borough (''arrondissement'') within the city of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was an autonomous city until the municipal mergers in 2002. History Lachine, apparently from the French term ' ...

. Antoine Foucher's father had come 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 ...

as a young man but had returned to his native

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

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 ...

, where Louis-Charles' father was born, before he too came to

in 1739. Originally a

baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

, Antoine Foucher had a successful career as a

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 ...

Terrebonne Terrebonne, meaning ''good earth'' in French, is a name of several places in North America: ;Canada *Terrebonne, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal ** Terrebonne station, a commuter railway station in Terrebonne, Quebec **Terrebonne City Council, the go ...

, but he is best remembered as the owner of the first

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

(staging in 1774 the first production of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

with various

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

at his home in Montreal) to which he dedicated his small fortune. Louis-Charles' mother's family had been settled in

since at least 1651.

Career

From 1773 to 1780, Louis-Charles Foucher studied at the Collège Saint-Raphaël. From 1780, he was part of

Fleury Mesplet Fleury Mesplet (January 10, 1734 – January 24, 1794) was a French-born Canadian printer best known for founding the ''Montreal Gazette'', Quebec's oldest daily newspaper, in 1778.Galarneau, Claude.Mesplet, Fleury, in ''Dictionary of Canadia ...

's ''Enlightenment Circle''. Foucher qualified to practice as a notary in 1784 and was admitted to the

Bar of Montreal The Bar of Montreal (french: Barreau de Montréal) is the section of the Bar of Quebec for lawyers in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has it beginnings in 1693 when, as a Royal Province of the French colonial empire, ''Canadien'' lawyers ...

in 1789, setting up his own legal practice with Joseph Bédard. Just six years later in 1795, Foucher was named Solicitor General for

. The following year, in 1796, he was elected to the 2nd Parliament of Lower Canada 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 ...

for Montreal West; he had also run unsuccessfully for Effingham County. In 1800, he was defeated again in Effingham but elected in York County. He was elected in

in 1804. In 1803, Foucher was appointed

Puisne Puisne (; from Old French ''puisné'', modern ''puîné'', "later born, younger" (and thence, "inferior") from late Latin ''post-'', "after", and ''natus'', "born") is a legal term of art obsolete in many jurisdictions and, when current, used main ...

judge in the provincial court for Trois-Rivières district and, in 1812, he was named to the

at Montreal. Unusually for a

, politically Foucher was a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

. In 1817, the

, led by 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 ...

, brought charges against him for misdemeanor and delinquency in the exercise of his functions, and demanded his dismissal. The matter was referred to the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

, who in 1819 decided in his favour, and as such he kept his judicial seat.

Private life and family

During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, Foucher served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia. In 1820, he moved into ''Piedmont'', one of the early estates of the

, which after his death was sold to

John Frothingham John Frothingham (June 1788 – 22 May 1870) was a Canadian merchant. He established British North America's largest wholesale hardware house, Frothingham & Workman. He was President of the City Bank of Montreal from 1834 to 1849, and a generous ...

.McCord Museum, Montreal
/ref> In 1787, he had married Marie-Élizabeth, daughter of

Pierre Foretier Pierre Foretier (January 12, 1738 – December 3, 1815) was a fur trader, seigneur and official in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1738, the son of a shoemaker who died when Pierre was nine. He became a merchant supplying goods to fur ...

Seigneur ''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'' (or ...

Île Bizard Île Bizard is an island near the Island of Montreal in the Hochelaga Archipelago region. History Historically named Île Bonaventure, by 1723 it had come to be named Île Bizard, after Jacques Bizard, to whom it was conceded as a fief in 1678, ...

. Madame Foucher's sister was married to The Hon.

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 ...

, Joint Prime Minister of the Canadas. Foucher died at Montreal in 1829. His daughter Marie-Léocadie married her first cousin The Hon. Hugues Heney, who had inherited their grandfather's

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 ...

at Île Bizard.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foucher, Louis-Charles 1760 births 1829 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Lower Canada judges People from Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles French Quebecers