Individual Details
Paul Vachon
(1630 - 24 Jun 1703)
The Vachons
Paul VACHON (c1630-1703) Marguerite Langlois (1639-1697)
Paul Vachon, son of Vincent Vachon and Sapience Vateau, was born around 1630 in La Copechagnière, in the parish of the department of Vendée, in the district of Roche-sur-Yon, in the diocese of Luçon. It was as a mason that Paul Vachon came to Canada. Even though, we have not been able to locate the hiring contract for him, it is to be believed that he came to New France around 1650.
On Wednesday, October 22, 1653, he married, in Quebec city, Marguerite Langlois, daughter of Noël Langlois and Françoise Grenier. He must have already been living in Beauport at that time. However, his work as a mason, kept him for some time in Quebec city, where, along with Mathurin Roy, he was asked to complete the masonry of the chapel of the sick within the Hôtel-Dieu of Québec city. (hospital)
In that same year, in front of the notary Audouart, on September 29, 1654, he drew a masonry contract with Martin Grouvel. He committed himself to build `a gable and a double chimney along with the foundation of a house and all kinds of masonry work high or low for eight francs per a certain height.` All had to be completed before the end of the month of July 1655. For the first time, within our archives, he signed at the bottom of a notarized act. He was, however, soon to leave the masonry trowel and take up the goose feather as a notary, because on October 23, 1655, he signed his first act as notary of Notre-Dame-des-Anges. (Our Lady of the Angels). Thus, for the next forty years, he exercised the function as royal and lordly notary for the Seigniory of Notre-Dame-des-Anges, Beauport, Orléans Island and Beaupré. Consequently, his registry contains thousands of acts who put him in contact with just about every resident of these places and made him one of the most important individual within his time and these regions.
Despite his activities, which took him just about everywhere around Beauport, the coast of Beaupré and Orléans Island, he always kept his residence within Fargy Borough. He had obtained land, through a concession dated June 4, 1655, which was doubled through a second one on December 29, 1664. (JDCS l. P. 564) He would acquire another piece of land, this time on Orléans Island, on August 12 1660. This land of four arpent wide along the St-Lawrence river, located in St-Pierre on the Orléans Island, stretched to a depth reaching a property line in the middle of the island. He would lease it for farming to Thomas Le Sieur, until it was sold to Denis Roberge, Rageot contract, on November 14, 1678.
As to his land in Beauport, farmers also made the most of it for him. In the 1666 census, we find Michel Aubin, 22 years old, there. Between 1667 and 1681, the arpents developed went from 20 to 35. (suite, HCF t-V p. 81) We find 13 horned cows, and for the purpose of protection, two riffles and one hand gun.
His work as a notary gave him the opportunity to take part in special undertakings. On the order from Jean Talon, dated the first of October 1665, he found himself under the obligation to hand over two documents from his firm to notary Romain Becquet of Quebec city, from whom he obtained a voucher on January 21, 1666. (gr. Vachon)
In his capacity as lordly notary for Notre-Dame-des-Anges and Beauport, Paul Vachon, did not have the right to practice outside of these two territories. Consequently, in 1666, he ordered proceedings in Quebec city, drafting a request for this power. On February 28, 1668, at the Quebec city Provost, all the acts which Vachon had signed, outside of Beauport and Notre-Dame-des-Anges, were declared nul and he was ordered to appear in front of the Provost. (RP 1668, vol. 21r)
The notary Becquet contested Vachon`s right to practice. The latter admitted working outside his district for Mgr. de Laval, the Jesuit priests, the Ursulines and the Hospitalières (nursing nuns). (RP 1668, vol. 27 r) The judgment was rendered on March 20, 1668 and Notary Vachon was forbidden, under the penalty of a 500 pounds fine, to draft any acts outside of his territory. He was further condemned to a 6 pounds fine and asked to report his minutes to the office of the clerk of the Provost. (RP 1668, vol. 132v.)
All the acts which he has signed outside of his jurisdiction were declared nul. But they soon realized that the decision did not make any sense as it also carried the punishment to all those, who in good faith, had passed an act in front of Vachon, exercising outside his jurisdiction. On July 9, 1668, the sentence of March 20th was revoked. Paul Vachon took back his minutes in order not to cause any wrong to those mentioned within those contracts. (RP 1668, vol. 85r.)
Upon the request from the Civil and Criminal Lieutenant, he handed over a series of documents relating to his brother-in-law, Jean Pelletier`s land (gr. Vachon 2-05-1675). In the dispute between Jean Migneault and Jean Pelletier, he acted as the attorney for the latter. After many transactions, Jean Pelletier had inherited many arpents widths of land in the Seigniory of Beauport and Jean Migneault dit Chastillon contested a part of these lands given to Pelletier, claiming that they belonged to him. He won his case (JDCS. 1, p. 1001) but Vachon contested (JDCS, t. 11, p.32) and was denied and invited to produce a new civil inquest.
To deal with this matter, he made a visit, along with Jean Guion Dubuisson, land surveyor, to the properties of Jean MigNaud dit Chastillon and Jean Pelletier and he produced a report on October 12, 1675. He declared having gone, in the company of the surveyor Dubuisson, of Jean Creste, of Léonard Leblanc, of Lady de Courville in the absence of her husband, with the intention of inviting Jean MigNaud to this surveying. Along the way, they met Jean MigNaud and his wife who were on their way to Quebec city. He invited them to join them but they refused not being able to delay their trip to Quebec city. However, they declared that they would endorse the report. After the surveying, they realized that the situation was far more complicated then first believed, furthermore as there had been a dispute between MigNaud and Sieur de Courville, (JDCS, 1, p. 600-601) and it had been settled outside of the court in March 1670. It seems that the whole situation eventually settled amicably.
It was towards the end of the same year, 1675, that Paul Vachon undertook the inventory of his goods. In those days, in many of the acts that he drafted, he referred to himself as Royal Notary. However, in reality, he was a lordly notary. The Royal Notaries received their tile from the Intendant (Administrator of the province), whereas the lords named the lordly notaries. Paul Vachon was thus reprimanded for using the title Royal Notary and it was taken from him. He had to content himself with the title of Lordly notary.
On December 17, 1677, (gr. Becquet), he had a draft done naming as a heir, his son Paul, whom we know was the first Canadian to become a priest. Accompagnied by his wife, notary Vachon, made a donation of a life annuity of 75 pounds per year to Paul. Along with his brothers-in-laws and sisters-in-laws, he lodged a protest against another brother-in-law, Jean Langlois dit St-Jean, who was having a house built on the land of his father, Noël Langlois, when the succession had not yet taken place. (gr. Filion 13-07-1682). We see him give a receipt to Charles Allaire-Dallaire for the cost of the inventory which he had done for him. (Vachon 25-08-1683). The following year, as attorney for Jacques Doublet, he sold to Jean-Baptiste Lefèbvre, Sieur du Chasteau, the land and the house that Doublet had owned in Fargy Borough, located between the widow Chevalier`s land and Jean Creste`s land. The sale price was 166 French pounds. (Tournois refers to money which was made in Tours) (Filion 4-04-1684)
A last act, involving him, was drafted by the Notary Auber on Wednesday March 21, 1687. It was regarding the receipt from his son Vincent Vachon dit Laminée for the 200 French pounds which had been promised to him at his marriage with Louise Cadieux, daughter of Charles Cadieux and Marie-Madeleine Macard.
Paul Vachon, after some forty years of service as a notary, retired in 1693, after drafting 1500 acts. His wife Marguerite Langlois died on September 24, 1697. He survived her by six years, ending his days under very difficult conditions. He saw his family die one by one of the 1702-1703 small pox epidemic. Within six months he lost four children, one daughter-in-law and six grand-children. He himself became infected and died a few hours after his daughter Marguerite, Jean-Robert Dupras`s wife, on June 24, 1703. His burial certificate in Beauport reads as follow:
On June 25, 1703, by me, the undersigned priest of Beauport, in the cemetery of the afore-mentioned town, was interned Paul Vachon, notary of the afore-mentioned town, who died the preceeding day in the catholic faith and after having received the last rites. Present: Mathieu Tesier, resident of Beauport who declared not able to sign, as well as many others. Bouillard.
Translated from the book - Les ancêtres Beauportois 1634 - 1760 by Michel Langlois.
From his descendants we find Bishop Alexandre Vachon of Ottawa and Archbishop Louis-Albert Vachon of Québec.
Paul VACHON (c1630-1703) Marguerite Langlois (1639-1697)
Paul Vachon, son of Vincent Vachon and Sapience Vateau, was born around 1630 in La Copechagnière, in the parish of the department of Vendée, in the district of Roche-sur-Yon, in the diocese of Luçon. It was as a mason that Paul Vachon came to Canada. Even though, we have not been able to locate the hiring contract for him, it is to be believed that he came to New France around 1650.
On Wednesday, October 22, 1653, he married, in Quebec city, Marguerite Langlois, daughter of Noël Langlois and Françoise Grenier. He must have already been living in Beauport at that time. However, his work as a mason, kept him for some time in Quebec city, where, along with Mathurin Roy, he was asked to complete the masonry of the chapel of the sick within the Hôtel-Dieu of Québec city. (hospital)
In that same year, in front of the notary Audouart, on September 29, 1654, he drew a masonry contract with Martin Grouvel. He committed himself to build `a gable and a double chimney along with the foundation of a house and all kinds of masonry work high or low for eight francs per a certain height.` All had to be completed before the end of the month of July 1655. For the first time, within our archives, he signed at the bottom of a notarized act. He was, however, soon to leave the masonry trowel and take up the goose feather as a notary, because on October 23, 1655, he signed his first act as notary of Notre-Dame-des-Anges. (Our Lady of the Angels). Thus, for the next forty years, he exercised the function as royal and lordly notary for the Seigniory of Notre-Dame-des-Anges, Beauport, Orléans Island and Beaupré. Consequently, his registry contains thousands of acts who put him in contact with just about every resident of these places and made him one of the most important individual within his time and these regions.
Despite his activities, which took him just about everywhere around Beauport, the coast of Beaupré and Orléans Island, he always kept his residence within Fargy Borough. He had obtained land, through a concession dated June 4, 1655, which was doubled through a second one on December 29, 1664. (JDCS l. P. 564) He would acquire another piece of land, this time on Orléans Island, on August 12 1660. This land of four arpent wide along the St-Lawrence river, located in St-Pierre on the Orléans Island, stretched to a depth reaching a property line in the middle of the island. He would lease it for farming to Thomas Le Sieur, until it was sold to Denis Roberge, Rageot contract, on November 14, 1678.
As to his land in Beauport, farmers also made the most of it for him. In the 1666 census, we find Michel Aubin, 22 years old, there. Between 1667 and 1681, the arpents developed went from 20 to 35. (suite, HCF t-V p. 81) We find 13 horned cows, and for the purpose of protection, two riffles and one hand gun.
His work as a notary gave him the opportunity to take part in special undertakings. On the order from Jean Talon, dated the first of October 1665, he found himself under the obligation to hand over two documents from his firm to notary Romain Becquet of Quebec city, from whom he obtained a voucher on January 21, 1666. (gr. Vachon)
In his capacity as lordly notary for Notre-Dame-des-Anges and Beauport, Paul Vachon, did not have the right to practice outside of these two territories. Consequently, in 1666, he ordered proceedings in Quebec city, drafting a request for this power. On February 28, 1668, at the Quebec city Provost, all the acts which Vachon had signed, outside of Beauport and Notre-Dame-des-Anges, were declared nul and he was ordered to appear in front of the Provost. (RP 1668, vol. 21r)
The notary Becquet contested Vachon`s right to practice. The latter admitted working outside his district for Mgr. de Laval, the Jesuit priests, the Ursulines and the Hospitalières (nursing nuns). (RP 1668, vol. 27 r) The judgment was rendered on March 20, 1668 and Notary Vachon was forbidden, under the penalty of a 500 pounds fine, to draft any acts outside of his territory. He was further condemned to a 6 pounds fine and asked to report his minutes to the office of the clerk of the Provost. (RP 1668, vol. 132v.)
All the acts which he has signed outside of his jurisdiction were declared nul. But they soon realized that the decision did not make any sense as it also carried the punishment to all those, who in good faith, had passed an act in front of Vachon, exercising outside his jurisdiction. On July 9, 1668, the sentence of March 20th was revoked. Paul Vachon took back his minutes in order not to cause any wrong to those mentioned within those contracts. (RP 1668, vol. 85r.)
Upon the request from the Civil and Criminal Lieutenant, he handed over a series of documents relating to his brother-in-law, Jean Pelletier`s land (gr. Vachon 2-05-1675). In the dispute between Jean Migneault and Jean Pelletier, he acted as the attorney for the latter. After many transactions, Jean Pelletier had inherited many arpents widths of land in the Seigniory of Beauport and Jean Migneault dit Chastillon contested a part of these lands given to Pelletier, claiming that they belonged to him. He won his case (JDCS. 1, p. 1001) but Vachon contested (JDCS, t. 11, p.32) and was denied and invited to produce a new civil inquest.
To deal with this matter, he made a visit, along with Jean Guion Dubuisson, land surveyor, to the properties of Jean MigNaud dit Chastillon and Jean Pelletier and he produced a report on October 12, 1675. He declared having gone, in the company of the surveyor Dubuisson, of Jean Creste, of Léonard Leblanc, of Lady de Courville in the absence of her husband, with the intention of inviting Jean MigNaud to this surveying. Along the way, they met Jean MigNaud and his wife who were on their way to Quebec city. He invited them to join them but they refused not being able to delay their trip to Quebec city. However, they declared that they would endorse the report. After the surveying, they realized that the situation was far more complicated then first believed, furthermore as there had been a dispute between MigNaud and Sieur de Courville, (JDCS, 1, p. 600-601) and it had been settled outside of the court in March 1670. It seems that the whole situation eventually settled amicably.
It was towards the end of the same year, 1675, that Paul Vachon undertook the inventory of his goods. In those days, in many of the acts that he drafted, he referred to himself as Royal Notary. However, in reality, he was a lordly notary. The Royal Notaries received their tile from the Intendant (Administrator of the province), whereas the lords named the lordly notaries. Paul Vachon was thus reprimanded for using the title Royal Notary and it was taken from him. He had to content himself with the title of Lordly notary.
On December 17, 1677, (gr. Becquet), he had a draft done naming as a heir, his son Paul, whom we know was the first Canadian to become a priest. Accompagnied by his wife, notary Vachon, made a donation of a life annuity of 75 pounds per year to Paul. Along with his brothers-in-laws and sisters-in-laws, he lodged a protest against another brother-in-law, Jean Langlois dit St-Jean, who was having a house built on the land of his father, Noël Langlois, when the succession had not yet taken place. (gr. Filion 13-07-1682). We see him give a receipt to Charles Allaire-Dallaire for the cost of the inventory which he had done for him. (Vachon 25-08-1683). The following year, as attorney for Jacques Doublet, he sold to Jean-Baptiste Lefèbvre, Sieur du Chasteau, the land and the house that Doublet had owned in Fargy Borough, located between the widow Chevalier`s land and Jean Creste`s land. The sale price was 166 French pounds. (Tournois refers to money which was made in Tours) (Filion 4-04-1684)
A last act, involving him, was drafted by the Notary Auber on Wednesday March 21, 1687. It was regarding the receipt from his son Vincent Vachon dit Laminée for the 200 French pounds which had been promised to him at his marriage with Louise Cadieux, daughter of Charles Cadieux and Marie-Madeleine Macard.
Paul Vachon, after some forty years of service as a notary, retired in 1693, after drafting 1500 acts. His wife Marguerite Langlois died on September 24, 1697. He survived her by six years, ending his days under very difficult conditions. He saw his family die one by one of the 1702-1703 small pox epidemic. Within six months he lost four children, one daughter-in-law and six grand-children. He himself became infected and died a few hours after his daughter Marguerite, Jean-Robert Dupras`s wife, on June 24, 1703. His burial certificate in Beauport reads as follow:
On June 25, 1703, by me, the undersigned priest of Beauport, in the cemetery of the afore-mentioned town, was interned Paul Vachon, notary of the afore-mentioned town, who died the preceeding day in the catholic faith and after having received the last rites. Present: Mathieu Tesier, resident of Beauport who declared not able to sign, as well as many others. Bouillard.
Translated from the book - Les ancêtres Beauportois 1634 - 1760 by Michel Langlois.
From his descendants we find Bishop Alexandre Vachon of Ottawa and Archbishop Louis-Albert Vachon of Québec.
Events
| Birth | 1630 | Copechagnière, Vendée, Luçon, Poitou, France |  | ||
| Marriage | 22 Oct 1653 | Québec, Québec, Canada - Marguerite Langlois | | ||
| Death | 24 Jun 1703 | Small-pox - Beauport, Québec, Canada | | ||
| Occupation | mason & notary | |
Families
| Spouse | Marguerite Langlois (1639 - 1697) |
| Father | Vincent Vachon (1602 - 1653) |
| Mother | Sapience Rabeau (1598 - 1653) |
Endnotes
1. Diane Lebrun , "Ancestors of Calixte Perreault," pp. 1-137; Unpublished family tree, 2025-02-04, Al Perreault, Calgary, AB, Canada.
2. Diane Lebrun , "Ancestors of Calixte Perreault," pp. 1-137; Unpublished family tree, 2025-02-04, Al Perreault, Calgary, AB, Canada.
3. René Jetté, Professor, historian, demographer and Quebec genealogist., Genealogical Dictionary of Quebec Families Dating to 1730 (Montréal, Quebec, Canada: University of Montreal Press, 1983), .
4. Diane Lebrun , "Ancestors of Calixte Perreault," pp. 1-137; Unpublished family tree, 2025-02-04, Al Perreault, Calgary, AB, Canada.
5. Diane Lebrun , "Ancestors of Calixte Perreault," pp. 1-137; Unpublished family tree, 2025-02-04, Al Perreault, Calgary, AB, Canada.