Nicolas BARON dit LUPIEN
1674 Prison

NICOLAS BARON AND JEAN DUMANS WERE LOYAL SERVANTS TO ANTOINE DE LA FRENAYE DE BRUCY. ANTOIN WAS A LIEUTENANT TO FRANCOIS-MARIE PERROT. PERROT GOT HIMSELF IN TROUBLE. THEY ALL WERE INCARCERATED.

"THE INQUIRY INTO DEALINGS OF FRANCOIS-MARIE PERROT AND HIS LIEUTENANT CONTINUED FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE YEAR. MEANWHILE, BARON AND DUMANS REMAINED AT THE DISPOSAL OF THE COURT, WHICH MEANT THAT THEY STAYED IN PRISON... ON 23 OCTOBER... BRUCY (WAS FOUND GUILTY) BECAUSE HE GAVE ASYLUM TO DESERTS FROM THE KING'S SERVICE AND TO COUREURS DE BOIS, AND THAT HE CONDUCTED BUSINESS WITH BOTH... PERROT WAS ALLOWED TO RETURN TO FRANCE TO DEFEND HIMSELF, WHERE HE SERVED 'A COMFORTABLE IMPRISONMENT FOR THREE WEEKS IN THE BASTILLE', AFTER WHICH HE WAS SET FREE, AND RENAMED GOVERNOR OF MONTREAL. ENCOURAGED BY HIS APPARENT IMMUNITY, HE RETURNED AND CONTINUED TO TYRANNIZE THE POPULATION. AS FOR BARON AND DUMANS, THE COURT SET THEM FEE WITHOUT FURTHER PENALTY. UNDOUBTEDLY THEY HAD SUFFERED ENOUGH, SO THE COURT TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THAT EVEN IF THEY HAD BEEN DRAGGED INTO THIS BUSINESS, IT WAS INDEED INVOLUNTARY... SO THIS WAS HOW OUR ANCESTOR NICOLAS BARON WAS INTRODUCED TO LIFE ON THE SOIL OF NEW FRANCE, DOUBTLESSLY A VERY DEPRESSING EXPERIENCE FOR HIM. THE OFFICIAL REPORTS RELATING TO THIS ILLEGAL TRADING OF FURS AND EAU-DE-VIE ARE THE FIRST KNOWN DOCUMENTS WHICH MENTION NICOLAS THEREFORE IT IS UNLIKELY THAT HE ARRIVED IN CANADA BEFORE 1672 OR 1673."

THOMAS J. LAFOREST
OUR FRENCH-CANADIAN ANCESTORS : VOLUME VIII, PAGES 10-11



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