Pierre Berthelet (15 April 1746 - 2 January 1830) was a merchant in the Montreal area. He was also heavily involved in real estate. Berthelet probably began his first successful business ventures in the fur trade. Records show that he was successful as a wheat merchant. Real estate transaction records show that he was the largest property owner in

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 ...

by 1820. The importance of Pierre Berthelet to Canadian economic history stems from his success in the transitional economy in which he flourished. From the fur and wheat trade to a much more complex real estate and financial business stream, he adapted and transitioned and left a large, well organized estate to his heirs. A son,

Antoine-Olivier Berthelet Antoine-Olivier Berthelet (May 25, 1798 – September 25, 1872) was a businessman, philanthropist and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1798, the son of Pierre Berthelet, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Mo ...

, was to continue in real estate and take the family into

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 ...

politics. His son-in-law,

René-Joseph Kimber René-Joseph Kimber (November 26, 1786 – December 22, 1843) was a physician and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East, in the Province of Canada. He represented Trois-Rivières in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, as ...

, married to his daughter Appoline, also was active in politics, elected to 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 ...

. Another daughter, Cécile, was briefly married to Michael O'Sullivan, but died young. O'Sullivan was also a member of the legislative Assembly.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople 1746 births 1830 deaths {{Canada-business-bio-stub