Gabriel Franchère

Gabriel Franchère ( 3 November 1786 –12 April 1863) was a French Canadian author and explorer of the Pacific Northwest.

Gabriel Franchère

Franchère was born in Montreal to Gabriel Franchère (4 March 1752 - 16 May 1832) and Marie-Félicité Morin (20 August 1760 - 28 September 1807). He later joined the Pacific Fur Company as a merchant apprentice, arriving at Fort Astoria on the Tonquin.[1] After Astoria was sold to the North West Company, Franchère returned to Montreal overland in 1814. He was employed for a time by John Jacob Astor in Montreal.[1] He wrote Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America,[1] which was published in 1819. This work was translated into English and edited in 1851, and later rereleased as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society in 1969.[2] The untranslated version was one of Washington Irving's sources for his book Astoria.[1]

The mountain Franchère Peak in the Canadian Rockies was named in his honor in 1917.[3]

References
  1. Cogswell, Philip Jr. (1977). Capitol Names: Individuals Woven Into Oregon's History. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society. p. 26.
  2. Franchére, Gabriel (1969). Lamb, William (ed.). Journal of a Voyage on the North West Coast of North America during the Years 1811, 1812, 1813 and 1814: The Publications of the Champlain Society. Toronto: Champlain Society Publications. doi:10.3138/9781442618039. ISBN 978-1-4426-1803-9.
  3. Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada. 1928. p. 54.
1813 sketch of Fort Astoria
Franchère's 1813 sketch of Fort Astoria
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