M. 24 Jan 1698 in Montreal, New France
Wife: Marie Perthuis
D. 20 Apr 1745 in Lachine, New France
New France’s system of rivers and lakes played a part in nearly every habitant’s life, and many made a living off of them. Vital Caron ran ships used in the fur trade, and also sometimes used his ships in the defense of the colony.
Vital was born on August 11, 1673 in La Prairie, a settlement on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River across from Montreal. His parents were Claude Caron and Madeleine Varennes, and he was one of eight children. On January 24, 1698, Vital married Marie Perthuis in Montreal. They had eight children born between 1698 and 1713.
Vital and his family settled in Lachine, which is on the island of Montreal. This was a home base for his fur trading activity, and expeditions often took him far from home. Records show that he traveled to Fort Pontchartrain (Detroit) arriving there on April 3, 1707, a time when it was a remote outpost. Often when Vital was away, wife Marie looked after his business affairs, a common situation for fur trading men.
Vital was captain of the Lachine militia, a rank he held as early as 1711, and at least until December 1723. France supplied some military to its colonies in America, but forces were supplemented with local militias in times of need. A sea captain like Vital played an important role when the colony came under threat, having the resources to navigate soldiers and supplies up and down the St. Lawrence River and beyond.
Vital was captain of the Lachine militia, a rank he held as early as 1711, and at least until December 1723. France supplied some military to its colonies in America, but forces were supplemented with local militias in times of need. A sea captain like Vital played an important role when the colony came under threat, having the resources to navigate soldiers and supplies up and down the St. Lawrence River and beyond.
On the water near Montreal in the 18th century.
On one occasion, Vital may have been involved in taking goods from an abandoned English ship. In October 1711, a fur trader named Margane de Lavaltrie came upon an English shipwreck along the St. Lawrence River. The ship had been part of a fleet of English ships that had sailed from Boston in order to attack New France. Margane said that Vital was the captain of a ship that had gotten to the shipwreck before he did, and that his men had “pillaged the wreckage.” It’s not known if Vital faced any legal action for raiding the enemy ship.
In 1713, Vital was named in a lawsuit regarding the transport of goods between Lachine and Fort Pontchartrain. Two men named Desrouchers and Paul Chavalier were accused of transporting the items without a permit. Vital was a recipient of the goods, but was not charged with a crime.
List of goods seized from Vital on March 6, 1713. (Source: BAnQ)
Vital had a more personal legal matter in 1723 involving one of his daughters, Angélique. The 17-year-old girl had become pregnant out-of-wedlock, and Vital had a young man named Jean-Baptiste Girard charged with rape. The court found him guilty and Girard was ordered “to be forthwith led and conveyed under good and safe guard to the parish church of Lachine, for there the marriage between him and Angélique Caron to be celebrated in the accustomed manner if she and her father and mother consent thereto.” But Girard appealed to the Supreme Council and the ruling was overturned, so the marriage never took place. Angélique gave birth to a baby girl on October 15, 1723, and she was named Marie-Jeanne Girard.
Vital turned up in court records again in 1729, this time being sued for a sum of money by François Amariton, a military captain who had been in charge of an outpost at Green Bay a few years earlier. This case was regarding a debt that Vital and another man apparently owed Amariton from when they were all partners in the fur trade a few years earlier. Also that same year, a charge of assault was brought against Vital and his son Vital also involving fur trading; they were accused of trying to block another man from entering a house to collect pelts he claimed were his. It isn’t known how either of these court cases ended.
After a life spent on the waterways of New France, Vital passed away in Lachine on April 20, 1745. He was buried at the Notre-Dame cemetery in Montreal. Vital was the ancestor of Ricky Gervais and Tyrone Power.
Children:
1. Marie-Anne Caron — B. 17 Dec 1698, Montreal, New France; D. 1 Apr 1754, Chateauguay, New France; M. (1) Jacques Pare (1695-1719), 16 Nov 1717, Lachine, New France; (2) Paul Hotesse (1682-1730), 22 Sep 1728, Montreal, New France; (3) Jacques Forestier (1695-1747), 5 Nov 1736, Montreal, New France
2. Vital Caron — B. 14 May 1700, New France; D. 18 Apr 1747, Fort Detroit, New France; M. Marie-Madeleine Pruneau (1708-?), 20 Jul 1735, Fort Detroit, New France
3. Marie Caron — B. 19 Apr 1702, Montreal, New France; D. 4 Aug 1782, Montmorency, New France; M. Jean-Baptiste Brault (1699-1773), 14 Dec 1721, Lachine, New France
4. Jean-Baptiste Caron — B. 26 Apr 1704, Lachine, New France; D. 5 Nov 1785, Chateauguay, New France; (1) Josephe Tabault (1708-1749), 26 Oct 1733, Montreal, New France; (2) Josephe Duquet (1726-1784), 7 Apr 1750, Chateauguay, New France
5. Angélique Caron — B. 17 Feb 1706, Lachine, New France; M. (1) Pierre Lamothe (~1693-1752), 21 Jan 1740, Montreal, New France; (2) Michel Henry (~1727-?), 6 Jun 1757, Montreal, New France
6. Catherine Caron — B. 25 Dec 1707, Montreal, New France; D. 25 Nov 1799, Lachine, New France; M. Antoine Picard (1700-1779), 8 Jan 1731, Lachine, New France
7. Jeanne Caron — B. 27 Nov 1709, Lachine, New France; D. 13 Aug 1757, Fort Detroit, New France; M. Pierre Meloche (1701-1760), 16 aug 1729, Lachine, New France
8. Madeleine Caron — B. 1713, New France; D. 18 Apr 1769, Lachine, New France; M. Antoine Tabault (1710-?), 10 Jan 1735, Lachine, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
Bibliotheque et Archives nationales Quebec
Analytic Table of the judgments and Deliberations of the Supreme Council from the 11th of January 1717 to the 25th of November 1730
Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Volume III
