François-Pierre Cherrier (September 3, 1717 – July 21, 1793) was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

-born merchant and notary

Civil law notary

Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...

 in Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

.

He was born in Savigné-l’Évêque in Sarthe

Sarthe

Sarthe is a French department, named after the Sarthe River.- History :The department was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790, pursuant to the law of December 22, 1789, starting from a part of the province of Maine which was divided into two departments, Sarthe to the east and...

, the son of François Cherrier and Périnne Isambart, and came to Saint-Antoine-de-Longueuil in New France

New France

New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

, where his uncle was parish priest, in 1736. Cherrier opened a store there and became notary for the seigneury

Seigneurial system of New France

The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...

 in 1738. He married Marie Dubuc in 1743. In 1750, Cherrier was named royal notary for the parish of Longueuil. After the conquest by the British

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

, Cherrier's commission as a notary was renewed but his finances suffered as the result of the conversion of the currency. In 1765, he moved to Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 in the hope of better prospects but returned to Longueuil

Longueuil, Quebec

Longueuil is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly across from Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census totaled 229,330, making it the third largest city in...

 two years later. In 1770, he moved to Saint-Denis where his son François was parish priest. Cherrier continued to practise as a notary there until 1789 and died in Saint-Denis at the age of 75.

His sons Benjamin-Hyacinthe-Martin

Benjamin-Hyacinthe-Martin Cherrier

Benjamin-Hyacinthe-Martin Cherrier was a surveyor and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born Benjamin-Hyacinthe Cherrier at Longueuil in 1757, the son of François-Pierre Cherrier, and studied at the Collège Saint-Raphaël. He settled at Saint-Denis on the Richelieu River, where he set up his...

 and Séraphin

Séraphin Cherrier

Séraphin Cherrier was a merchant and political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Richelieu in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1815 to 1820....

 and his grandson Côme-Séraphin

Côme-Séraphin Cherrier

Côme-Séraphin Cherrier was a lawyer and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Repentigny in 1798, the son of a farmer and merchant. After his mother died in 1801, he was raised by the family of his uncle Denis Viger. Another uncle was Joseph Papineau...

 served in the assembly. His daughter Périne-Charles married Denis Viger

Denis Viger

Denis Viger was a carpenter, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Montreal in 1741, the son of a shoemaker. He worked as a carpenter and also carved wooden objects for the church at Saint-Denis. In 1772, he married Périne-Charles, the daughter of François-Pierre...

 and was the mother of Denis-Benjamin Viger

Denis-Benjamin Viger

Denis-Benjamin Viger was a 19th century Lower Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, and Patriote movement member.Viger was part of the militia in the early 19th century and then a captain in the War of 1812...

; his daughter Rosalie married Joseph Papineau

Joseph Papineau

Joseph Papineau was a notary, seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada.Joseph Papineau was the father of Louis-Joseph Papineau who had the great distinction of being a fiery player in the history of the French dominated British colony called Lower Canada...

 and was the mother of Louis-Joseph Papineau

Louis-Joseph Papineau

Louis-Joseph Papineau , born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...

.