- Toussaint Pothier
Toussaint Pothier (
May 16 1771 –October 22 1845 ) was a businessman, seigneur and political figure inLower Canada .He was born Jean-Baptiste Pothier in
Montreal in 1771, the son of Louis-Toussaint Pothier, a merchant and one of the founders of theNorth West Company . He worked for the Michilimackinac Company, a fur trading company, and, later, for its successor, the South West Fur Company. He purchased the seigneuries of Lanaudière and Carufel in 1814 and also owned a large amount of land in the centre of Montreal.Pothier helped capture
Michilimackinac during theWar of 1812 . In 1820, he married Anne-Françoise, daughter ofRalph Henry Bruyeres . He served as a member of theLegislative Council of Lower Canada from 1824 until it was dissolved in 1838. He also served on the first and third Special Councils which administered the province after theLower Canada Rebellion . After the union of Upper and Lower Canada, he retired from politics.In 1839, Pothier was named sheriff for Montreal district, but served only five days. With
Peter McGill , he was involved in the construction of theChamplain and St Lawrence Railroad , the first railway in the province. Around 1841, he suffered a series of financial losses which led to him declaring backruptcy.He died in Montreal in 1845.
His daughter Jessé-Louise later married
George-Paschal Desbarats , the Queen's Printer.External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3610 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
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