🇫🇷 Marie Crevet & Robert Caron: The Pioneer and the Indentured Tradesman

This document details the lives and families of Marie Crevet, one of the earliest female settlers known as a Fille à Marier, and her first husband, Robert Caron, key figures in the foundation of Nouvelle-France.

I. Marie Crevet (1621–1695)

Field Details Source
Name Variants Marie Crevel, Marie Crenel, Marie Herment
Parents Pierre Crevet and Marie Le Mercier (married Jul 18, 1613, Bénouville, France). [2]
Birth Circa 1621, in Bénouville (near Caen, diocese of Bayeux), Normandy, France. (Note: Some sources suggest c. 1615 or 1617.) [1]
Arrival in N.F. Arrived as one of the earliest Filles à Marier (marriageable girls) at the age of 15, likely sponsored by Robert Giffard. [3], [4]
Death/Burial Died: November 22, 1695 (approx. 80 years old, though record states c. 92). Buried: Nov 23, 1695, Baie-Saint-Paul. [21]

II. Robert Caron (c.1613–1656)

Field Details Source
Parents René-Édouard Caron. Mother's name unknown. [7]
Birth Circa 1613, possibly in La Rochelle, France. [7]
Arrival in N.F. Arrived on June 11, 1636, aboard Sieur Courpon’s ship. [8]
Profession Indentured tradesman for Robert Giffard, Seigneur of Beauport. [4]
Death/Burial Died: July 8, 1656, at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Quebec City. [11]

III. Marriage, Land, and Widowhood

First Marriage: Robert Caron (1637)

Event Details Source
Marriage Date October 25, 1637. [5]
Location Notre-Dame-de-Recouvrance Church, Quebec City. (Note: Records were reconstructed after the 1640 fire.) [5], [6]
Witnesses Jasmin Bourguignon, Noël Langlois, and Robert Giffard. [5]

Land and Settlement

Robert Caron was an active settler and landholder in the Beaupré region:

Widowhood (1656–1666)

Following Robert Caron's death in 1656, Marie moved to Château-Richer and managed her finances for ten years, as evidenced by multiple notarial records:

Second Marriage: Noël Langlois (1666)

Event Details Source
Marriage Contract Signed: July 7, 1666, before Notary Claude Auber. [16]
Marriage Date July 27, 1666, at La-Visitation-de-Notre-Dame, Château-Richer. [16]
Spouse Noël Langlois (c. 61 years old), widower of Françoise Garnier/Grenier, and a witness at Marie's first wedding.
Children Marie and Noël had no children together. Marie's daughter, Aimée Caron, later married Noël Langlois Jr., the son of Marie's second husband. [17]

IV. Census Records

Census Year Location Details of the Family Unit Source
1666 Beaupré, Canada Marie Crevel (45), widow of Robert Caron, living with children: Robert (18), Joseph (14), Pierre (12), Eymée (10). [18]
1667 Coasts of Beauport, N.-D.-des-Anges Noël Langlois (60), Marie Crevel (50), and children from Noël's first marriage (Jean, Noël), plus Marie's daughter Aimée Caron (11). They had 8 livestock and 60 arpents in cultivation. [19]
1681 Seigneury of Beauport Noël Larglois (78), Marie Crevet (71) (noted as widow of Robert Caron). [20]

V. Children and Legacy

Children of Marie Crevet and Robert Caron (7 Children)

Name Birth/Baptism Death/Burial Notes
Marie Caron c. 1638, Quebec City June 9, 1660
Jean-Baptiste Caron Jul 10, 1641, Quebec City Dec 28, 1706, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
Robert Caron Feb 10, 1647, Quebec City Apr 29, 1714, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
Catherine Caron Nov 23, 1649, Quebec City Jun 14, 1725, Baie-Saint-Paul
Joseph Caron Mar 19, 1652, Quebec City May 6, 1711, Cap-Saint-Ignace
Pierre Caron Jul 11, 1654, Quebec City c. 1720
Aimée Caron c. 1656, Quebec City Oct 4, 1685 Married Noël Langlois-dit-Traversy, her stepfather's son.

Children of Noël Langlois and Françoise Garnier/Grenier (10 Children)

Marie Crevet became the stepmother to Noël Langlois's large family from his first marriage, including several individuals who married into prominent families:

Legacy

The seven Caron children left a substantial legacy, resulting in more than forty descendants. The daughters married into families with widespread names such as Lessard, Paré, Bolduc, Bernier, and Simard. The four Caron sons (Jean-Baptiste, Robert, Joseph, and Pierre) had twelve sons who married, continuing the Caron name primarily in the Beaupré and Cap-Saint-Ignace regions. [22]

Credits and Licensing

Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.

All materials licensed: CC BY-ND 4.0 by eirenicon llc.

VI. Sources and Notes

  1. Some sources indicate she was born around 1615 or 1617. ↩︎
  2. “Filles à Marier,” page 96. ↩︎
  3. “Filles à Marier,” page 96. ↩︎
  4. Speculation based on the relationship between Robert Caron and Robert Giffard. ↩︎
  5. Marriage of Robert Caron and Marie Crevet, FamilySearch (reconstruction). Note: Notre-Dame-de-Recouvrance burned in 1640 and records were reconstructed from memory. ↩︎
  6. See note about reconstruction of records after the 1640 fire. ↩︎
  7. Some sources suggest his mother might have been Marguerite Gagnon or Catherine Fortin, but this is unconfirmed. ↩︎
  8. “La Relation des Jésuites” describes their arrival on June 11, 1636. ↩︎
  9. According to records from the L’Association des Familles Caron. ↩︎
  10. Based on land records and transactions. ↩︎
  11. Burial record for Robert Caron, FamilySearch. ↩︎
  12. Notarial act by Guillaume Audouart, Vol I pg 65. ↩︎
  13. Notarial act by Claude Auber, Vol I pg 118. ↩︎
  14. Notarial act by Claude Auber, Vol I pg 119. ↩︎
  15. Notarial act by Guillaume Audouart, Vol I pg 101-102 (missing). ↩︎
  16. Marriage of Noël Langlois and Marie Crevet, FamilySearch. ↩︎
  17. As noted in several family records. ↩︎
  18. Wikisource: 1666-1667 Census according to Benjamin Sulte, Tome 4, chap. 4. ↩︎
  19. Wikisource: 1666-1667 Census according to Benjamin Sulte, Tome 4, chap. 4. ↩︎
  20. Wikisource: 1681 Census according to Benjamin Sulte, Tome 5, chap. 4. ↩︎
  21. Burial of Marie Crevet, FamilySearch. ↩︎
  22. Translated from the L’Association des Familles Caron. ↩︎