Marie-Amable Foretier
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Marie-Amable Foretier (1778-1854) was a philanthropist in
Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...
(now
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
). She was the daughter of Thérèse Legrand and Pierre Foretier, and the eleventh child of their family of fourteen. The family was well-off, with a large house, including a well-stocked library. Her father was a businessman and a landowner in the
seigneurial system Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, ...
. Her mother had brought the family home into the marriage, ceded by her parents. At age 30, Foretier married
Denis-Benjamin Viger Denis-Benjamin Viger (; August 19, 1774 – February 13, 1861) was a 19th-century politician, lawyer, and newspaper publisher in Lower Canada, who served as joint premier of the Province of Canada for over two years. A leader in the Patri ...
, a lawyer in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
and member of 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 e ...
. The couple only had one child, who died in infancy. The couple became well-off financially. Viger inherited land and houses in Montreal from his parents and invested his earnings from his law practice in land. When Foretier's parents died, she also inherited land, including her father's seigneurie on
ÃŽle Bizard ÃŽle Bizard () is an island near the Island of Montreal in the Hochelaga Archipelago region. It is one of the three populated islands within the city of Montreal, along with the Island of Montreal and Nuns' Island (ÃŽle des Soeurs). The islan ...
, one of the Montreal islands. However, her inheritance was tied up in litigation for many years, because her father had put a clause in his will that attempted to exclude Viger from management of her inheritance.Fernand Ouellet and André Lefort
"Denis-Benjamin Viger"
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. IX (1861-1870), University of Toronto / Université Laval.
Foretier played a significant role in managing their many properties in Montreal, because of her husband's frequent absences from their home. Viger was heavily involved in the politics of Lower Canada for the next forty years, first as a member of the ''
Parti canadien The () or () 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 professionals and small-scale ...
'', then as a member of the more nationalist ''Parti patriote''. His work took him away from their home for long periods, attending Parliament in
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
, and also in delegations to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, representing the interests of Lower Canada. "Foretier, Marie-Amable"
''Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec''.
Throughout her life, Foretier used her financial resources to assist numerous charities, dedicated to improving life for those at the lower socio-economic scale. She was an early member of the ''Association des dames bienveillantes de Saint-Jacques'', which began in 1828, working particularly on the committee which provided educational assistance to poor girls. She was the treasurer of the Association for three years. She was a major supporter of the ''Association des Dames de la Charité'', which provided support to young women, orphans, and aged and infirm persons. In 1833, she was one of the group of women who successfully petitioned the Lower Canada Legislative Assembly for financial grants of up to £500 for the support of widows and orphans in Montreal. From 1836 to 1846, she was the president of the Charitable Institution for Female Penitents, and donated a plot of land on Sherbrooke Street to the Institution. From 1841 until her death, she was president of the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum of Montreal, and a life member of the council of administration of the Montreal Asylum for Aged and Infirm Women. She likely influenced her husband to introduce bills for the incorporation of the two asylums. Foretier died in 1854 from cholera. The historian
Joseph Royal Joseph Royal (7 May 1837 – 23 August 1902) was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician, businessman, and Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories. Early life and career Royal studied at St. Mary's Jesuit college in Montreal. ...
stated that she deserved the title "mother of the poor" of Montreal.
Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (; October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reform ...
, a major political leader and cousin of her husband, wrote: "How inclined she was to believe the best of a person and how ready to do good; how far removed she was from thinking evil possible, and how incapable of speaking ill of anyone at all."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foretier, Marie-Amable 1778 births 1854 deaths 19th-century Canadian women 19th-century Canadian philanthropists Pre-Confederation Quebec people Seigneurial owners