Introduction
1786: Appointed by Justices of the Peace
1850: Elected Parish Officers
1851: Elected County Councils Introduced
1854: New Positions Added
1877: Parish Officers Appointed by County Councils
1903: Revised List of Parish Officers
Notes

Introduction

    One of the basic functions of a civil parish in New Brunswick was to be a district for the appointment of local civil officials. This page provides a brief overview of what positions there were and how people were appointed or elected to those positions. So far the page covers 1786 to 1903. Please note that, except for one link to the Saint David Parish site, this page does not provide lists of names of people who actually held parish offices. I do not know for certain where one could find such lists, but I suspect that if any exist they would be kept among the county council / sessions records at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.

1786: Appointed by Justices of the Peace

    The various parish officer positions were established by the New Brunswick legislature in 1786 when it passed the Parish Officers Act ⁽¹⁾ and the Highways Act.⁽²⁾ These two acts required the Justices of the General Sessions of the Peace in each county to annually appoint the following officials for each parish:⁽³⁾
 

3 Overseers of the Poor 1 Clerk of the Parish 2 Constables 2 Fence Viewers 1 Clerk of the Market Pound Keepers Cullers and Surveyors of Fish Surveyors of Lumber, and of Cord Wood

1 Sealer of Leather Guagers of Casks Hogreeves 3 Assessors Surveyors and Weighers of Hay Inspectors and Examiners of any staple commodity for market or exportation 3 Commissioners to Layout and Regulate Highways 3 to 6 Surveyors of Highways

There is an interesting example of a list of officers for Saint David Parish, Charlotte County in 1805 on Tom Moffatt's Saint David Parish GenWeb site.

1850: Elected Parish Officers

    In 1850 the law was changed so that the ratepayers of each parish could, if they wished, elect their parish officers annually. However, if they failed to elect officers, then the Justices of the Peace were to appoint the officers as before. A slightly revised list of officers was also established:⁽⁴⁾
 

3 Overseers of the Poor 3 Commissioners of Roads 1 Town or Parish Clerk 2 or more Pound Keepers 2 or more Hog Reeves 1 or more Surveyors of Dams 1 or more Sealers of Leather 3 Assessors of Rates 3 or more Surveyors of Roads

2 or more Constables 1 or more Collectors of Rates 2 or more Fence Viewers 1 Clerk of the Market 2 or more Boom Masters 1 or more Inspectors of Butter 1 or more Surveyors of Grindstones 1 or more Field Drivers

1851: Elected County Councils Introduced

    A major change to local government was made in 1851 when the Assembly passed an act to allow any county to be incorporated if its ratepayers voted to do so.⁽⁵⁾ An incorporated county had a County Council composed of two councillors elected from each parish. The Act gave the councils many of the duties of local government formerly held by the Justices of the Peace, including the power to appoint parish officers each year if the parish ratepayers failed to do so.

1854: New Positions Added

    Several new positions were added to the list of parish officers in 1854. These were:⁽⁶⁾
 

Weighers of Hay and Straw Weighers of Coal Measurers of Salt Measurers of Wood or Bark Inspectors of Barrels Timber Drivers

1877:  Parish Officers Appointed by County Councils

    In 1877 an act was passed to incorporate all the remaining unincorporated counties and to consolidate the laws regulating county municipalities.⁽⁷⁾ As before, each parish was to elect two members to the County Council, although some of the larger parishes were allowed to elect more. Under the new act, there were no elections for parish officers; instead, the County Council was to annually appoint officers for each parish. Another revised list of officers was also provided:
 

3 Overseers of the Poor 2 or more Constables 3 Commissioners of Roads 1 or more Collectors of Rates 1 Parish Clerk 2 or more Fence viewers 2 or more Pound Keepers 1 Clerk of the Market 2 or more Hog Reeves 2 or more Boom Masters 1 or more Surveyors of Dams 1 or more Surveyors of Grindstones

3 Assessors of Rates 3 or more Surveyors of Roads 1 or more Field Drivers 1 or more Timber Drivers 1 or more Weighers of Hay and Straw 1 or more Measurers of Salt 1 or more Measurers of Wood or Bark 1 or more Inspectors of Barrels 1 or more Weighers of Coal 1 to 3 Bye Road Commissioners Firewards and Wharfingers

1903 List of Parish Officers

    The appointment procedure for parish officers in the Consolidated Statutes of 1903 was not very different from that of 1877.⁽⁸⁾ The parish officers were still to be appointed annually by the County Council, although there were a variety of rules for special situations such as when a parish contained an incorporated city or town within its boundaries. Another slightly revised list of parishes officers was also provided:
 

3 Overseers of the Poor 2 or more Constables 1 Commissioner of Roads per Highway Division 1 or more Collector of Rates 1 Parish Clerk District Clerks 2 or more Fence viewers 2 or more Pound Keepers 1 Clerk of the Market 2 or more Hog Reeves 2 or more Boom Masters

1 or more Surveyors of Dams 1 or more Surveyors of Grindstones 3 Assessors of Rates 1 or more Field Drivers 1 or more Timber Drivers 1 or more Weighers of Hay and Straw 1 or more Measurers of Salt 1 or more Measurers of Wood or Bark 1 or more Inspectors of Barrels 1 or more Weighers of Coal Firewards and Wharfingers

    As always, each parish had at least two seats on the elected County Council; certain larger parishes had more than two seats. There were also special provisions for incorporated towns to have seats on the County Council.
 

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Notes

1. S.N.B. 26 Geo. III (1786), c. 28. The full title was An Act for the appointment of Town and Parish Officers, in the several Counties in this Province. The short title, Parish Officers Act, was not part of the original and I have simply used it for modern convenience.

2. S.N.B. 26 Geo. III (1786), c. 32. The full title was An Act for laying out, repairing and amending Highways, Roads and Streets, and for appointing Commissioners and Surveyors of Highways within the several towns or parishes in this province. The short title, Highways Act, was not part of the original and I have simply used it for modern convenience.

3. The Commissioners of Highways and Surveyors of Highways were appointed under the Highways Act. The other officers were appointed under the Parish Officers Act. Where no number is given, the Justices were to appoint a sufficient number of officers as they saw fit.

4. S.N.B. 13 Vict. (1850), c. 30. An Act to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to the local government of Counties, Towns and Parishes in this Province. Passed April 26, 1850. Section 1 dealt with the election and appointment of parish officers. The act was quite large and, as the name indicates, consolidated a large mass of existing legislation; by my count, it repealed 115 acts dating as far back as 1786. Section 1 was re-enacted in the Revised Statutes of 1854 as Title VIII (Of the Local Government of Counties, Towns, and Parishes), Chapter 52 (Of Parish and County Officers) without any great changes.

5. S.N.B. 14 Vict. (1851), c. 38. An Act to provide for the establishment of Municipal Authorities in this Province. Passed April 30, 1851 with a suspending clause. Assented by the King-in-Council August 7. Published and declared in New Brunswick September 17. Section 5 specified that each parish would elect two councillors. Section 19 provided that parish officers would be elected at the same time as the councillors, and that the Council could appoint officers when the ratepayers failed to elected them.  The act was re-enacted in the Revised Statutes of 1854 as Title VI (Of Municipalities). Chapter 43, Section 9 confirmed the two councillors per parish rule, and Chapter 43, Section 2 confirmed that parish officers were to be elected at the same time as councillors. The procedure for having a county incorporated was amending several times during the 1850s.

6. The Timber Driver position was listed in Chapter 52 of the Revised Statutes, 1854 along with the regular officers. The other five new positions were added specially by 17 Vict. (1854), c. 12. An Act to authorize the election of certain Town or Parish Officers.

7. S.N.B. 40 Vict. (1877), c. 3. Passed March 16, 1877. An Act relating to Municipalities. Re-enacted, presumably with no changes, as Chapter 99, pp. 757 - 794, in the Consolidated Statutes of the same year.

8. C.S.N.B. 1903. Vol. II. Title XXXII (Municipal Institutions). Chapter 165 (Respecting Municipalities). Sections 65 - 81 (Parish Officers). pp. 2021 - 2026.