Jacques-Timothee Boucher, Sieur de Montbrun, anglicized as Timothy Demonbreun, was a French-Canadian fur trader, a Lieutenant in the American Revolution, and Lieutenant-Governor of the Illinois Territory.
15 Facts About Timothy Demonbreun
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Timothy Demonbreun is known as the "first citizen" of Nashville, Tennessee.
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Timothy Demonbreun had begun traveling to the Middle Tennessee area in the 1760s while in his 30s.
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In 1766, while hunting near the muddy water at the mouth of a small creek entering the Cumberland River in the region called French Lick, Timothy Demonbreun noticed a large number of buffalo and deer using a salt lick.
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Timothy Demonbreun lived in a cave there for several months until he could build a cabin near the river to use as his home base for fur trapping.
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Timothy Demonbreun made frequent trips to the early Nashville settlement to engage in fur trading with local Native Americans.
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Timothy Demonbreun joined the George Rogers Clark expedition and received an appointment as lieutenant governor in command of the Northwest Territory.
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Timothy Demonbreun settled at Fort Kaskaskia in the Illinois Country, where he served as lieutenant governor from 1783 to 1786.
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Timothy Demonbreun traveled extensively, and managed two careers and two families.
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Timothy Demonbreun fulfilled his duties as lieutenant governor of the Illinois Territory and maintained a family in Kaskaskia.
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Timothy Demonbreun had five children by his wife, Therese Archange Gibault, in Illinois.
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When he died in 1826, Timothy Demonbreun divided his substantial fortune among his children.
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Timothy Demonbreun was most likely buried at Nashville City Cemetery but early records no longer exist.
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In 1996 a monument sculpted by Alan LeQuire to honor Timothy Demonbreun was erected near Fort Nashborough, overlooking the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville.
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Timothy Demonbreun Street, named for him, crosses Interstate 40 in downtown Nashville.