René-Édouard Caron

René-Édouard Caron (21 October 1800 – 13 December 1876) was a Canadian politician, judge, and the second Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.[1]

René-Édouard Caron Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, Montmorency
In office July 1832 – February 1836
2nd Mayor of Quebec City
In office 31 March 1834 – 9 April 1836
In office 15 August 1840 – 9 February 1846
Preceded by	Elzéar Bédard
Succeeded by	George Okill Stuart, Jr.
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, Upper Town of Quebec
In office 1834 – 7 March 1836
Member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
In office 9 June 1841 – 16 March 1857
2nd Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec
In office 11 February 1873 – 13 December 1876
Monarch	Victoria
Governor General	The Earl of Dufferin
Premier	Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau Gédéon Ouimet Charles Boucher de Boucherville
Preceded by	Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau
Succeeded by	Luc LeTellier de Saint-Just
Personal details
Born	(1800-10-21)21 October 1800 Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Lower Canada
Died	13 December 1876(1876-12-13) (aged 76) Spencer Wood, Sillery
Resting place	Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont, Sainte-Foy
Spouse(s)	Marie-Vénérande-Joséphine de Blois ​ ( m. 1828; Caron's death  1876)

He was born in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Lower Canada, the son of Augustin Caron, a well-to-do farmer and Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for Lower Canada, and Élizabeth Lessard. He studied Latin at the college of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, which prepared him for admittance to the Petit Séminaire de Québec, in 1813.[1] After later studying law in André-Rémi Hamel's office, Caron was called to the Quebec Bar in 1826.[2][1] In 1828, he married Marie-Vénérande-Joséphine de Blois, the daughter of Joseph de Blois and Marie-Vénérande Ranvoyzé.[1][3]

In 1833, he was elected as a municipal representative for the Palais district of Quebec City. In 1834, he was elected mayor by the city councillors and served until 1836. He was mayor again from 1840 to 1846. He was mayor when cholera broke out in 1834 and when a fire nearly destroyed the city in 1845.

In 1834, he was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for the riding of Upper Town of Quebec. In 1841, he was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada. He was the Speaker from 1843 to 1847 and again from 1848 to 1853. From 1844 to 1853, he was also in a law partnership with Louis de Gonzague Baillairgé. In 1853, he was appointed Judge of the Court of Appeal, and in 1855 of the Court of the Queen's Bench. In 1859, he took part in the codification of the civil laws. He remained a judge until 1873 when he was appointed the second Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec. He served until his death in December 1876. He was buried at Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont in Sainte-Foy.[4]

Family

He married Marie-Vénérande-Joséphine de Blois, daughter of Joseph de Blois and Marie-Vénérande Ranvoyzé, of Quebec, on 16 September 1828, at Notre-Dame de Québec.[1][3] She died on 25 March 1880, and was buried at cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont, alongside her husband.[5] The couple's son Adolphe-Philippe later became a member of the Canadian House of Commons and cabinet minister. Their daughter Corine married Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, who became Chief Justice of Canada and Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec. Their daughter Marie-Joséphine married Jean-Thomas Taschereau, later a judge in the Supreme Court of Canada, and was the mother of Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, a premier of Quebec.

Descendants

• Augustin Caron (1778–1862), m. Élizabeth Lessard (1774–1823)
  • René-Édouard Caron (1800–1876), m. Marie-Vénérande-Joséphine de Blois (1829–1886)
    • Adolphe-Philippe Caron (1843–1908), m. Marie-Clotilde-Alice Baby (1833–1924)
    • Marie-Elmire Corinne Caron, m. Sir Charles Fitzpatrick (1853–1942)
    • Marie-Joséphine Caron (1839–1915), m. Jean-Thomas Taschereau (1814–1893)
      • Joseph-Édouard Taschereau (1863–1891), m. Marie-Clara-Amelie Dionne (1865–1948)
      • Louise-Josephine Taschereau (1866–1959)
      • Louis-Alexandre Taschereau (1867–1952), m. Marie-Emma-Adine Dionne (1871–1952)

References

1. Bonenfant, J.-C. (1972). "Caron, René-Édouard". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. X (1871–1880) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
2. Lindsay, Lionel (1908). "René-Edouard Caron" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
3. "Marriage act 3812105". GenealogieQuebec.com. Longueuil, Québec: Drouin Institute. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
4. "Biography of René-Édouard Caron". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
5. Morgan, Henry James, ed. (1903). Types of Canadian women and of women who are or have been connected with Canada. 1. Toronto: W. Briggs. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-372-18067-5. OCLC 957327597. OL 7115470M. Retrieved 5 March 2019 – via Internet Archive.

External links

• Works by or about René-Édouard Caron at Internet Archive
• "Biography of René-Édouard Caron". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
•  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "René-Edouard Caron". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.