Timothée Franchère (c. 1790 – October 5, 1849) was a

Canadien French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

businessman and political figure. He was born around 1790. Franchère was a merchant at Saint-Mathias, Lower Canada. He served in the local militia 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 ...

and became captain in 1821. He was appointed commissioner in charge of construction of the

Chambly Canal The Chambly Canal is a National Historic Site of Canada in the Province of Quebec, running along the Richelieu River past Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Carignan, and Chambly. Building commenced in 1831 and the canal opened in 1843. It served as a maj ...

in 1832 and also served as a school commissioner. He participated in the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

and fled to the United States with

Louis Marchand Louis Marchand (2 February 1669 – 17 February 1732) was a French Baroque organist, harpsichordist, and composer. Born into an organist's family, Marchand was a child prodigy and quickly established himself as one of the best known French vi ...

. He was granted a pardon by the Governor late in 1837. He was reinstated as commissioner for the Chambly Canal in 1840. He was also a director of

La Banque du Peuple La Banque du Peuple was a Canadian bank based in Montreal, active from 1835 to 1895. History The Banque du Peuple was founded in Montreal in 1835 by Jacob De Witt and the Viger family, initially under the name of Viger, DeWitt et Compagnie, operat ...

. Franchère ran unsuccessfully for the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

in Rouville in 1841; he was elected there in an 1843 by-election and reelected in the 1844 general election. He died at Saint-Mathias in 1849. His brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

also served in the assembly.

External links

* Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East 1790s births 1849 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from Montérégie {{Quebec-politician-stub