Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Viger, Jacques

by Thomas Blair Browning

VIGER, JACQUES (1787–1858), Canadian antiquary, only surviving child of Jacques Viger by his wife, Amaranthe Prevost, was born in Montreal on 7 May 1787, and educated at the college of St. Raphael. Denis Benjamin Viger [q. v.] was his cousin. Throughout the war (1812–15) he served as captain under Charles Michel de Salaberry [q. v.], and afterwards became lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian militia. For some time he was inspector of roads and bridges in Montreal, and did much to improve the sanitary condition of the city. He was chosen first mayor in 1833.

Forty years of his life were spent in collecting, co-ordinating, verifying, and annotating materials for the history of Canada, including rare pamphlets, manuscripts, maps, plans, medals, coins, portraits, and heraldic arms. His collection is of two divisions: ‘Ma Sabretache,’ of twenty-eight volumes, contains literary matter; the ‘Album’ contains paintings and engravings of French Canadian celebrities. His manuscripts were much consulted by Bibaud, Garneau, L'Abbé Faillon, Martin, La Roche-Heron, Parkman, and other historians. A part of his collection was printed in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Société Historique under the care of L'Abbé Verreau; another part was published by Michel Bibaud in the ‘Bibliothèque Canadienne’ and ‘Enclopédie Canadienne,’ but the great bulk of it still remains in manuscript in the possession of his family at Montreal.

Viger was founder and first president of the Société Historique of Montreal, was recommended for a seat in the special council by Lord Gosford, and enjoyed the honorary title of commander of the Roman order of St. Gregory. He died on 12 Dec. 1858.

On 17 Nov. 1808 he married Marie Marguerite de Chapt Lacorne de St. Luc, daughter of Chevalier de St. Luc.

The chief publications of Viger are:

1. ‘Relation de la Mort de Louis XVI’ (notes), 1812.
2. ‘Observations en amélioration des Lois des Chemins telles qu'en force dans le Bas-Canada en 1835.’
3. ‘Rapports sur les Chemins, Rues, Ruelles et Ponts de la cité et paroisse de Montréal, avec notes,’ 1841.
4. ‘Archéologie Religieuse du Diocèse de Montréal,’ 1850.
5. ‘Souvenirs Historiques sur la Seigneurie de la Prairie,’ 1857.

[Tanguay's Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Canadiennes, vii. 465, 466; Sulte's Histoire des Canadiens Français, viii. 101–3; Bibaud's Panthéon Canadien, p. 308; Lareau's Littérature Canadienne, pp. 150, 240; Morgan's Bibliotheca Canadensis, p. 383; Parkman's Pioneers of France in the New World, ii. 5, 61.]

T. B. B.