Côme-Séraphin Cherrier

Who was 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. Cherrier studied at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal, articled in law with his cousin Denis-Benjamin Viger and was called to the bar in 1822. His partners in law included Louis-Michel Viger, Denis-Aristide Laberge, Charles-Elzéar Mondelet, Antoine-Aimé Dorion and Vincislas-Paul-Wilfrid Dorion. Cherrier successfully defended Jocelyn Waller against accusations of having libelled the administration of Lord Dalhousie. He also represented the seigneurs during the process of establishing compensation when seigneurial tenure was abolished. He married Mélanie, the daughter of merchant Joseph Quesnel and widow of merchant Michel Coursol, in 1833. In 1834, Cherrier was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Montreal County and supported the parti patriote. Although Cherrier did not supported armed resistance, he was arrested in December 1837; he was later put under house arrest after he became ill.