François Poulin de Francheville
François Poulin de Francheville, Seigneur de Saint-Maurice (7 October 1692 – November 1733) was a Montreal merchant who was granted permission by the King of France to mine the iron ore deposits on his seigneury in 1730.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1730, Francheville founded the Compagnie des Forges de Saint-Maurice,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ameriquefrancaise">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but he died three years later.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The ironworks — Forges du St-Maurice — built near the town of Trois-Rivières (in present-day Quebec), were the only iron industry enterprise in New France. In 1736, the ironworks were taken over by a company that went bankrupt in 1741. The ironworks then became the property of the Crown, and began producing artillery pieces and objects of everyday use, such as pots and stoves.<ref name="ameriquefrancaise"/>
Francheville had bequeathed ownership of his slave, Marie-Joseph Angélique, to his wife; the following year, Angélique was convicted for starting the 1734 fire of Montreal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>