Robert Caron: Founding Ancestor of the Caron Family

Robert Caron was a Quebec pioneer. He arrived in New France in the 1630s, becoming the first Caron to settle in the colony and one of its early pioneers. He’s one of my many French Canadian ancestors. If you also descend from Robert, follow along as I explore his life in New France and his French Canadian legacy.

Early Life

Little is known about Caron’s origins. Some identify René-Édouard Caron as his father and Marguerite Gagnon as his mother, but the evidence remains uncertain. No one knows his exact birth date, either. He was born between 1603 and 1613, perhaps in Benouville, Normandy, France.

Marriage and Family

Caron married Marie Crevet on October 25, 1637, in Notre-Dame-de-Recouvrance de Québec. Crevet was a fille à marier, a group of women who arrived in New France between 1633 and 1663 to marry and help populate the colony.

They had seven children: Marie Caron, Jean Baptiste Caron, Robert Caron, Catherine Caron, Joseph Caron, Pierre Caron and Aymée Caron, all of whom were born in New France.

Early Arrival in Quebec

Caron arrived in Quebec on June 11, 1636, aboard Sieur Courpon’s ship. Several families arrived with Caron, including Estienne Racine and Claude Poulain‘s. These men and their families were among the first settlers in Côte de Beaupré. Pierre LeGardeur de Repentigny, seigneur of part of the Côte de Beaupré, granted Caron a land concession in Côte de Beaupré, and he settled near Montmorency Falls.

Life in New France

After arriving in New France, Robert Caron initially settled in Quebec City, where his first child, daughter Marie, was born in 1639. When their second child, son Jean Baptiste, was born in 1641, they had settled in Côteau Sainte-Geneviève. Caron worked as a farmer, clearing and cultivating the land he acquired. In 1642, he sold his land in Beaupré to Guillaume Couillard for 150 livres in cash. 

Beginning in 1643, Caron cleared land on his Côteau Sainte-Geneviève property. In 1649, the Company of One Hundred Associates granted him official title to his 40-arpent concession and, in 1651, Governor D’Ailleboust granted him an additional 20 arpents.

In 1654, Caron sold his property at Côteau Sainte-Geneviève and moved back to Côte de Beaupré. He purchased land located about one mile from the present-day Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.

Sudden Death

Caron died at the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec hospital on July 8, 1656, at about 44 years old. Before his death, he received the Catholic sacraments, and the parish buried him the same day. His burial record does not provide a cause of death or details about what led to his hospitalization.

Robert Caron’s Legacy

Robert Caron’s seven children gave him more than 40 descendants. Through marriage, his children joined other notable French Canadian families, including the Lessard, Paré, Bolduc, Bernier and Simard families.

Of Caron’s four sons, Jean-Baptiste, Robert, Joseph and Pierre, 12 of their sons would marry and continue the family name in the Beaupré and Cap-Saint-Ignace regions.

Robert Caron Jr. would marry Zacharie Cloutier‘s granddaughter, Marguerite Cloutier, and their son, Augustin Caron, married Marie Madeleine Gaulin. Augustin and Madeleine had two sons, Michel and Ignace, whose descendants became part of the Boucher and Bélair families.

Descendants of Robert Caron can be found in both Canada and the United States.

My Connection to Robert Caron

I have one connection to Robert Caron through my maternal grandmother.

1. Robert Caron (Abt. 1614-1656) and Marie Crevet (Abt. 1615-1695)
2. Jean Baptiste Caron (1641-1706) and Marguerite Gaignon (1645-1705)
3. Marguerite Caron (1668-1759) and Noël Paré (1660-1702)
4. Ursule Paré (1689-1759) and François Simard (1678-1732)
5. Marie Madeleine Simard (1713 – abt. 1750) and Pierre Tremblay (1708 – 1763) 
6. Marie Therese Tremblay (1734 – 1800) and Joseph Seguin dit Laderoute (1717 – 1795)
7. Mary Teresa Seguin dit Laderoute (1752 – 1823) and Jean Baptiste Chauvin (1740 – abt. 1804)
8. Marie Josephte Chauvin (1777) and Antoine Lesperance (1773 – abt. 1860)
9. Elisabeth Lesperance (1800 – 1880) and Joseph Renaud (1800) 
10. Jean Baptiste Renaud (1828) and Zoé Hersilie Jubenville (1828 – 1870)
11. Antoine Solomon Renaud (1853 – 1926) and Catherine Barron (1854 – 1939) 
12. Mary Zoé Renaud (1878 – 1935) and Abraham Joseph Higgins (1875 – 1950) 
13. Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983) and Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998)
14. Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents

Are you interested in the earliest settlers of New France? Check out New France’s Founding Families and Their Fascinating Stories.