Nicolas BARON-LUPIEN

  General Notes:

The name "Lupien" is from his father's baptismal name in France [{1}v.1,p.400]. Arrived in Canada 1672 and settled at Point-aux-Trembles, Montreal [OFCA].He is first mentioned in Montreal Jan 19 1676 and was AE 32 at 1681 census and Marie-Marthe was 20 [{4}quoting AGA]


From Laforest.

Nicolas Baron dit Lupien had the misfortune to serve Francois-Marie Perrot, governor of Montreal from 1670. He was a schemer.

In 1672, Perrot arranged to have the large island ceded to himself, to which he gave his name (situated where the OUtaouais and the Saint Lawrence Rivers meet). There he established a trading post, to intercept the coureurs de bois for his own profit, to the detriment of the fur merchants of Montreal.

The historian Camille Bertrand wrote:

Governor Perrot took advantage of his office to promote his personal interestes and to trade in furs, outside of the regulations and ordinaces. In spite of multiple prohibitions laid on the coureurs de bois concerning the exchange of intoxicating beverages for furs, a great number still continued this illicit but profitable activity. As a consequence, frightful disasters repeatedly occurred among the savage nations. Perrot always had several coureurs de bois in his service. On the least pretense he would grant new trading permits to his cronies, in spite of all the prohibitions brought by the Sovereign Counicl and the King's Council of State.

Frontenac acted on complaints against his subordinate. He jailed Perrot, and his two loyal servants, Nicolas Baron and Jean Dumans. The two servants were kept in jail while the investigation proceded. Eventually Perrot was fined, set free, and renamed Governor of Montreal. The two servants were set free.

Baron tried to start his life again. On 16 Dec 1675, he paired up with Vincent Chamaillard and they entered into a business partnership for perhaps a year. Then on 16 Sept 1676, he leased a parcel of land from Rene Remy, former adminstrator of the Jesuits at Beauport. Having settled down to a life of farming, he asked the notary Benigne Basset, who had handled all his affairs until then, to draw up a marriage contract.

At the same time Nicolas also plied his trade as a butcher. He was 27 years old and lived at Pointe-aux-Trembles when he married on 16 Nov 1677. The marriage record says he was the son of Loupien Baron and of Jeanne Tiersan, from Villenauxe diocese of Troyes in Champagne, France. The bride was Marie-Marthe Chauvin, baptized at Montreal on 17 Jan 1662, and the eldest daughter of Pierre Chauvin and of Marthe Autreuil.

BEtween 1676 and 1688, the archival documents are nto very informatiove concerning the activities of Nicolas Baron. The baptismal records of his first two sons, Nicolas and Pierre, are listed in the registries of Montreal. It was here that the family was recorded in the census 1681; the fatehr was said to be 32 years old and his wife admitted to having counted 20 springs. At this time the couple had a single son. They also owned a gun, nine head of cattle and had six arpents of land under cultivation. On 23 October of the same year, our ancestor moved his family from the homsetead at Boucherville to work for Rene Remy. Between 1686 adn 1695, Marie-Charlotte, GAbriel, Jacques and Jean-Baptiste were baptized in teh parish of Saint-Enfant-Jesus at Pointe-aux-Trembles. Various transactions concerning Nciolas Baron were entered in the records of Antoine Adhemar, princiapply a sale of oxen, a purchase, a farm lease from Urbain Baudreau dit Graveone, and a transacation with teh surgeon Andrew Rapin, among others.

By 1698, Baron was established at Longue-Pointe. A record of notary Louis Chambalon, dated 6 March, mentions that for a period of three years our pioneer worked a farm in a seigneurie belonging to Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye. His domain included a house and barn, a wind mill, some workable lands, a yard and garden, etc. La Chesnaye was, at that time, one of hte richest and most influential merchants of the colony. He bought several seigneuries and never spared his efforts nor his money to make them productive, even if he did not make an immediate profit from them. He hired industrious colonists of proven worth, like Nicolas Baron, to work his holdings.

Unfortunately, Nicolas did not live long enough to add to his patron's wealth; he worked but a few months at the most. During hte same year, more precisely on 17 Nov 1698, the Sovereign Council rendered an appellate judgement in a case brought to them by Rene Goullet, Baron's predecessor on La Chesnaye's land. Gouillet was appealing a decision by the lwoer court in Montreal, rendered teh preceding 14 April, which had gone against him. In this judgement, the former farmer was ordered to furnish fodder to Nicolas Baron so that the latter could complete the wintering of his cattle until they could be put out to pasture; the appellant must also give hay for seed for the current year, in accordance with the lease which he had signed 9 July 1689.

Gouillet had his wife defend the case. She faced the bailff, Michel Le Pailleur, who repreesnted Marie-Marthe Chauvin, who had become teh farmer of recrod for the La Chesnaye land. CAtherine must hae defended her husband's interest better.. because teh Council set aside the lower court judement. The plaintiff, Marie-Marthe was ordered to pay the expesen of both the original case and the appeal.

But what had become of Nicolas Baron during all this litigation? The offiical report said that Marie-Marthe had become a widow and thus was required to step in and take charge of everytihng. The judgement must have discouraged the widow from pursuing the deal with LaChesnaye; on 29 Oct 1699 she withdrew from her lease. the next day the land was rented to someone esle, and on the same day, Marie-Marthe gave the inventory of her late husband's property to merchant Charles de Couagne.

The Baron family lived a few more years at Longue-Pointe. Nicolas, the eldest son, took care of his mother's intersts. On 1 Jul 1705, Marie-Marthe Chauvin signed over her community property, and three days later she exchanged her homestead at Longu-Pointe for one belonging to Rene Etienne dit Durivage, from Maskinonge. This is when the Baron faily arrived in the Maruicie. Then she remarried.

Nicolas married Marie CHAUVIN, daughter of Pierre CHAUVIN DIT LE GRAND PIERRE and Marthe AUTREUIL, on 16 Nov 1677 in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Montreal, Quebec. (Marie CHAUVIN was christened on 17 Jan 1662 in Montreal, Quebec and died on 11 Feb 1728 in Maskinonge, Quebec.)

  Marriage Notes:

Unclear if that date is 1676 or 1677.