Thomas Coffin (July 5, 1762 – July 18, 1841) was a businessman,

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 ...

and political figure in

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

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1762, the son of John Coffin, and came to the town of Quebec with his family in 1775. He became a merchant 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 ...

. In 1786, he married Marguerite, the daughter of

Louis-Joseph Godefroy de Tonnancour Louis-Joseph may refer to: *Louis Joseph Bahin (1813-1857), American painter in the Antebellum South * Louis-Joseph de Montcalm (1712-1759), French military commander * Prince Louis-Joseph of France (1781-1789), son of Louis XVI of France * Louis- ...

, and settled at the seigneury of Pointe-du-Lac. Coffin served as the sheriff for Trois-Rivières district from 1790 to 1791. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Saint-Maurice in 1792; he was reelected in 1796, 1800 and 1808. He was named a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1794. In 1795, a large portion of his properties were sold to cover an unpaid debt. In 1798, with John Craigie, he established an ironworks at

Batiscan Batiscan (or Batisquan) was a chief of the Algonquin people in the area of Trois-Rivières, Quebec around 1610 to 1629. He met the explorer Samuel de Champlain upon his return to Quebec in 1610 and held a feast for him. In 1611, Champlain met Bati ...

. Coffin was elected to the legislative assembly for

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 ...

in 1810. In 1817, he was named to the Legislative Council and served until 1838. Coffin also served as colonel for the local militia and commissioner of police for

. He died in Trois-Rivières in 1841. His brother

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate A ...

was a provincial surveyor and also served in the legislative assembly.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coffin, Thomas 1762 births 1841 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Politicians from Boston Canadian justices of the peace