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Le Notaire | The Notary 

The notarial profession is the profession of law in civil-law countries (as opposed to common-law). In 1621, Samuel de Champlain introduced a system of notarized documentation in New France, making the notarial profession the oldest one in Canada. The notaire, or notary, was a private lawyer and public officer, appointed by the public authority, responsible for drafting acts between two parties and certifying their authenticity. In most cases, he followed the Coutume de Paris, a set of laws governing Paris and the surrounding region from the 16th to 18th centuries, which was also applied to French overseas colonies. The Coutume included laws governing family and inheritance, property, and debt.

In New France, the notary was among the few people who knew how to write and, as a consequence, he exercised a great influence over his fellow residents. Whether for a loan, the purchase or sale of land or a house, an employment contract, a lease, any commercial exchange, a marriage contract, a will, or the inventory of property, the people of New France were obligated to have frequent interactions with him.

That said, in the early days of the colony, there were very few notaries to be found, especially in rural areas. Residents who wished to officialize any agreements drew up their own documents, and asked other officials (such as missionaries or militia officers) to act as notaries. In order to remediate this situation, the Intendant created the function of "itinerant" or travelling notary. Several of the colony's notaries were assigned multiple regions on each side of the St-Lawrence, which they were obliged to visit. Contrary to the town notary, who typically wore a black scarf, wig and French shoes, the travelling notary wore a wide-brimmed hat to protect himself from the sun and rain.

The practice of notarial law became regulated, most notably in 1678, 1717 and 1733. In 1678, the Conseil Souverain implemented official prices for a notary’s services. As of 1717, notaries were obligated to keep, in chronological order, all the records they drew up. Once a notary retired or died, those records were passed on to a court office (a “greffe”) of the same jurisdiction.

Over time, the profession of notary became more standardized, and starting in the 1850s, notaries had to have some type of preliminary education before being admitted to the profession—which wasn’t the case for their predecessors. Men who knew how to write and had an ''honourable'' reputation were allowed to practice the profession. By the end of the 19th century, exams were introduced as a requirement.

Under the French regime, there were 3 types of notaries:

• Notaire royale, or royal notary (same as above)

• Notaire apostolique, or apostolic notary (in the service of the clergy)

• Notaire seigneurial, or a notary whose territory was limited to that of a particular seigneurie. 

Today, almost all notarial acts dating from the beginning of the colony still exist. To consult the Archives of Québec notaries, visit Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Sources:

• LAFORTUNE, Hélène et al. Parchemin s’explique...; guide de dépouillement des actes notariés du Québec ancien (Montréal, Archiv-Histo; Archives nationales du Québec; Chambre des notaires du Québec, 1989). 284 p.

• Pomerleau, Jeanne, Métiers ambulants d'autrefois (Montréal, Québec: Guérin, 1990), 15-20.