How to Prove Carignan-Salières Service With or Without a Muster Roll
How to Prove Carignan-Salières Service — With or Without a Muster Roll
The Problem Every French-Canadian Researcher Faces
You have traced your ancestry to a man who married a Fille du Roi in the early 1670s. Multiple online trees and genealogical databases list him as a former soldier of the Carignan-Salières Regiment. You click through to the primary sources, expecting to find a regimental roster, a company list, or a marriage record that explicitly says "soldat de la compagnie de…"
It isn't there.
No complete muster roll of the Carignan-Salières Regiment survives from 1665 — the year the regiment arrived. But a critical document does survive from 1668: the Rolle des Soldats du Regiment de Carignan Salière qui se sont faits habitans de Canada, a nine-page handwritten list of approximately 400 soldiers who chose to remain in the colony as inhabitants of New France. It was located in the Library and Archives Canada collection (Colonies D²ᶜ 47) and lists soldiers by company — providing the closest thing we have to a complete roster of the men who stayed.
Even so, a name on the muster roll is not, by itself, a complete identification. The roll lists soldiers by surname or nom de guerre — often without given names. Connecting a roll entry to a specific man documented across decades of baptisms, marriages, census records, and burials requires exactly the kind of circumstantial methodology this post describes. For hundreds of Carignan soldiers whose names appear on the roll but whose personal records are incomplete, the identification still rests on what genealogists call a preponderance of evidence: building a case from multiple independent source types until the convergence becomes too strong to dismiss.
This blog post walks through exactly how that process works — using Pierre Morin dit Champagne (~1650–1706) as the case example. Pierre married Fille du Roi Catherine Lemesle in 1672. The 1668 muster roll lists him by name under the Naurois company, and three independent genealogical authorities — the PRDH, the SFRSC, and Jack Verney — independently confirm the identification. But none of Pierre's personal documents call him a soldier. The muster roll required the very methodology described here to connect its entry to the man documented across 34 years of parish and notarial records.
Here is how that evidence was built — and then confirmed.
The Five-Step Framework
Even when the muster roll names a soldier, it does not prove everything. The roll lists approximately 400 men by company — many by nom de guerre alone, some by surname without given names. Connecting a name on the roll to a specific individual documented across decades of colonial records requires the convergence of independent evidence lines. No single line is sufficient. But when three or more point in the same direction — and none contradicts the identification — the case meets the threshold used by professional genealogical databases for early Québec founding ancestors.
The framework below is not unique to Pierre Morin. It can be applied to any ancestor you suspect was a Carignan-Salières soldier — whether his name appears on the 1668 muster roll, on an unconfirmed list, or on no list at all.
Step 1. Test the Timeline
Start with the simplest question: does the man's life timeline fit the Carignan-Salières profile?
The regiment arrived in 1665. Soldiers were typically aged 15–25. Demobilization occurred between 1667 and 1668. Soldiers who stayed were encouraged to settle and marry, with most marrying within two to five years of demobilization — roughly 1669 to 1673. The Filles du Roi program ran from 1663 to 1673, providing brides specifically for this demographic.
For Pierre Morin: born around 1650, making him approximately 15–18 at the regiment's arrival — an ideal recruit age. Married in June 1672, four years after demobilization. Does not appear in the 1667 census as a head of household, consistent with active military service. Married a Fille du Roi. Every element of the timeline matches the classic profile with no anomalies.
Check your ancestor's estimated birth year against the 1665 arrival. If he was born between roughly 1640 and 1650, he falls within the typical recruit range. A marriage date between 1669 and 1675 to a Fille du Roi is a strong positive indicator. Absence from the 1667 census — when soldiers were not yet counted as individual settlers — supports the identification.
Step 2. Trace the Geographic Origin
The Carignan-Salières Regiment drew heavily from western France — Poitou, Aunis, Saintonge, and parts of Normandy. Recruitment networks in these regions actively targeted rural young men for royal military service. If your ancestor came from one of these regions, the geographic match significantly strengthens the case.
Pierre Morin came from Saint-Étienne-de-Brillouet, in the diocese of Luçon, Poitou — the modern department of Vendée. This is the heart of the Carignan recruitment zone. His Poitou origin is confirmed independently in his marriage contract, the PRDH individual record, and even his Hôtel-Dieu admission register forty years later, where his origin was still recorded as "paroisse Saint-Étienne, Poitou."
Check your ancestor's stated origin against known Carignan recruitment regions. The Fichier Origine database (fichierorigine.com) is invaluable for confirming French parishes of origin. If your ancestor came from Poitou, Aunis, Saintonge, Picardy, or the Île-de-France, the geographic match supports a Carignan identification. Origins in Brittany, Gascony, or the far south are less typical and require stronger corroboration.
Step 3. Read the Marriage Contract Carefully — Especially the Witnesses
Many Carignan soldiers are identified as such in their marriage contracts or parish register entries — the notary or priest explicitly wrote "soldat de la compagnie de [Captain]." When this phrase is present, the identification is straightforward. When it is absent, as in Pierre Morin's case, the contract still contains evidence — you just have to look for it differently.
The witnesses tell the story.
Pierre Morin's marriage contract (Act No. 871, notary Gilles Rageot) was witnessed by Denis-Joseph Ruette d'Auteuil — a Seigneur and member of the Sovereign Council of New France. This was the highest judicial body in the colony. A Sovereign Council member does not typically witness the marriage contract of an anonymous laborer. His presence strongly suggests that Pierre Morin held a recognized standing in colonial society — the kind of standing that derived from military service.
Always examine the signatures on marriage contracts — not just the names of the bride and groom. Look for officers, seigneurs, or officials signing "on the part of the groom." Cross-reference witness names against known lists of Carignan officers and other soldiers. If your ancestor's witnesses include men from the same suspected company, that is powerful corroboration. BAnQ's digital collections (numerique.banq.qc.ca) provide free access to most notarial acts from this period.
Step 4. Check the Census Pattern
Two censuses are essential for Carignan research: 1667 and 1681.
In 1667, soldiers who had not yet settled on their own land were generally not counted as individual heads of household. If your ancestor does not appear in the 1667 census, that absence is consistent with active military service — he was still a soldier, not yet a settler.
By 1681, most surviving ex-Carignan soldiers had established households. Look for your ancestor in the 1681 census and note his location. Many Carignan companies settled in clusters — particularly along the Richelieu River, where forts named after captains (Sorel, Chambly, Contrecoeur) became parishes. Other soldiers dispersed to Québec City, Montréal, or Trois-Rivières.
Pierre Morin is absent from the 1667 census. In 1681, he appears in Québec Lower Town with Catherine Lemesle, their children, one gun, five head of cattle, and ten arpents of cleared land. His Québec City settlement is consistent with soldiers from the Naurois Company, which maintained ties to the capital rather than the Richelieu frontier.
Step 5. Cross-Reference Against Authority Databases
Once you have built a circumstantial case from the first four steps, the final step is verification against independent authority sources — beginning with the primary military record itself.
The 1668 Muster Roll (Library and Archives Canada). The Rolle des Soldats du Regiment de Carignan Salière qui se sont faits habitans de Canada en 1668 (Colonies D²ᶜ 47) is the primary military administrative document for soldier-settlers. Nine handwritten pages list approximately 400 soldiers by company. For Pierre Morin, the roll lists him as the first entry under the Naurois company — with "Champagne" appearing as a separate entry immediately after, suggesting two different men rather than one man with his dit name. A separate "Morin" (no given name) appears in the Chambly company on page 1, confirming that the Chambly confirmation record (PRDH #403507, origin Xainctes) identifies a different soldier. The BAC digital collection provides free access to the complete document.
Beyond the muster roll, three genealogical databases provide independent verification:
PRDH-IGD (Université de Montréal). The Programme de recherche en démographie historique maintains the most comprehensive database of early Québec population records. Check the individual record for any military attribution, and search the List of Migrants database for company assignments. For Pierre Morin, the PRDH lists him as soldier #01 in the Compagnie de La Noraye (record #402529).
La Société des Filles du roi et soldats du Carignan (SFRSC). The SFRSC maintains the most authoritative registry of confirmed soldier-settlers. They publish two separate lists: confirmed soldiers and unconfirmed soldiers. Check both. An ancestor who appears on the confirmed list and not on the unconfirmed list represents a settled identification. Pierre Morin appears on the confirmed list (January 2025 edition) and does not appear on the unconfirmed list.
Jack Verney, The Good Regiment. The most thorough academic study of the regiment. Verney's identifications are independent of the PRDH and SFRSC, providing a third verification source. He identifies Pierre Morin dit Champagne and explicitly distinguishes him from Pierre Morin dit Boucher (the Acadian).
Database confirmation
PRDH List of Migrants, record #402529. Pierre Morin appears as entry 01, Occupation: SOLDAT, Company: LA NORAYE. The roster matches the 1668 muster roll almost name for name — Champagne, St Surin, Alexandre, Lafontaine — confirming that the PRDH derived its company assignments from the same primary source.
PRDH-IGD, www.prdh-igd.com
Start with the 1668 muster roll — the BAC digital collection is freely accessible. Then check all three database sources independently. If the muster roll lists your ancestor by name and the PRDH, SFRSC, and Verney agree, the identification rests on the strongest possible foundation. If your ancestor appears only on the SFRSC's unconfirmed list, or on the muster roll without a clear match to personal records, the identification remains provisional — which is still valuable information, but should be stated honestly in your research.
A Note on Company Names: Naurois vs. La Noraye
If you are researching the same company, you will encounter two names — Naurois (or Navrois) and La Noraye (or Lanoraie). These refer to the same unit. Captain Pierre de Naurois commanded the company in 1665. In 1672, he received a seigneurial grant that became the Seigneury of Lanoraie, and over time the geographic name replaced the captain's surname in many records. The PRDH and SFRSC use "La Noraye." Verney and military historians use "Naurois." Both are correct.
When Evidence Contradicts Itself
One challenge worth noting: Pierre Morin's marriage contract identifies his origin as the parish of Saint-Étienne in the diocese of Luçon (Poitou) — but some transcriptions have interpreted this differently, and the contract's handwriting can be read as referencing the diocese of Paris rather than Luçon. The PRDH, Fichier Origine, and all other independent sources consistently confirm Poitou. When a single document reading contradicts multiple independent sources, the weight of evidence favors the majority — but the discrepancy should be acknowledged rather than ignored.
This is how professional genealogy works. You document what each source says, note where they disagree, and explain why you reached the conclusion you did.
Applying This Framework to Your Own Research
The five-step framework summarized:
- Timeline: Does the birth year, marriage date, and Fille du Roi connection match the 1665–1673 Carignan-settlement window?
- Geographic origin: Does the French parish fall within known Carignan recruitment regions (especially western France)?
- Marriage contract witnesses: Do the witnesses include officers, seigneurs, or men associated with a known company?
- Census pattern: Is the ancestor absent from the 1667 census and present in 1681, settled in a location consistent with the suspected company?
- Authority sources: Does the 1668 muster roll list the ancestor by name or nom de guerre? Do the PRDH, SFRSC, and Verney independently confirm the identification? Does the ancestor appear on the confirmed list, the unconfirmed list, or neither?
If three or more lines converge — and no evidence contradicts the identification — the case meets the preponderance standard used for early Québec founding ancestors. For Pierre Morin, this methodology produced the correct answer years before the muster roll was located in the Library and Archives Canada collection. The circumstantial case built from five evidence lines was confirmed, not corrected, by the primary military record. That is what a preponderance of evidence is designed to do — and it is the standard that has been applied, consistently, by the professional genealogical community for decades.
This blog post presents the methodology in general terms. For the complete evidence analysis — including the 1668 muster roll, all archival document images, full citations, and detailed verdicts on each evidence line — see the case study summary and full methodology.
Pierre Morin dit Champagne arrived as a teenage recruit in 1665, married a Fille du Roi, and became the ancestor of up to 980,000 Québécois. Five lines of evidence built the case for his military service — and then the 1668 muster roll confirmed what the evidence already proved.
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