Charlotte Boucher de La Perrière (1737-1820), wife of (Germain) François Vassal de Monviel since 1758, became a widow in April 1760; her husband died in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. One child resulted from her first marriage: François-Xavier (1759-1843). She got remarried in 1765 to Pierre René Boucher de La Bruère (1740-1794), who also gave her, among others, a son named René Boucher de La Bruère (1770-1855).

Charlotte Boucher de La Perrière was the great-great-grandmother of Montarville Boucher de La Bruère (1867-1943), the exceptional benefactor of the Musée Pierre-Boucher.

With respect to the artist, William Von Moll Berczy, who signed his works William Berczy, he was born in 1744 in Wallerstein, Bavaria (Germany). The son of a diplomat, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, then at the University of Jena, which is located today in the State of Thuringia in Germany. Berczy first earned his living as a merchant and painter in several cities in various European countries. He then settled with his wife in Florence, Italy; he was said to be a miniaturist painter.

The couple then moved to London, and Berczy made connections with people interested in colonizing North America. He even took care of recruiting settlers. After arriving in America on conceded territory near New York, several pitfalls awaited them. Eventually, Berczy, along with others, decided to settle in Upper Canada instead, near York (Toronto). Heavily indebted, Berczy struggled to receive compensation from the German Company. Despite his setbacks in colonization, he left behind an important legacy on the topography of the two Canadas and major architectural works. As a painter, although his artistic works are of unequal value, including several portraits, his paintings allowed him to be recognized as one of the important painters in 19th-century Canadian art. Berczy died in New York in 1813.

Donation from Montarville Boucher de La Bruère through Msgr. Albert Tessier
Musée Pierre-Boucher Collection
1977 31 P