General Notes

[blended.FTW]
A resident of Saints-Anges at Lachine, was at first a precentor and
schoolmaster, at a salary of 50 livres a year. He apparently
gave up these poorly paid activities towards the end of 1686,
at the time when he begain to recieve notarial acts by virtue
of a commission granted him by the seigneurs of Montreal. On 23
May 1690 he was appointed deputy to the fiscal attorney in the
bailiff's court in Montreal, an office he that he held until
the middle of 1693. Meanwhile, on 15 Mar 1693, he had obtained
letters confirming his appointment as royal notary in the
government of Montreal; but judging by his minute book,
possibly incomplete, his clientele did not increase in
consequence. Since 14 Jun 1688 he had been a married man, and
he had a family to support. On 5 October 1695, therefore, he
had to rent a 60 acre settler's farm at Lachine.
An opportunity presented itself in 1701; the intendant
invited him to replace the old notary Severin AMEAU, at
Trois-Rivieres, for a few months at least. Pottier decided to
establish himself there. In this small town he was able to hold
the offices of clerk of court, jailer, and norary at one and
the same time; in addition, on 17 Oct 1702 he became royal
sargeant at law (process server.) with jurisdiction for the
whole of New France. Pottier who had a fairly large family on
his hands, was perhaps little better off; in any case, on 1 May
1711 Intendanre Begon added to his titles that includes that of
sworn surveyor.
Notaries are said to be peaceable people;Pottier had
rather agressiveness of the process-server jailer. He got into
trouble a few times: on 5 May 1693 Pierre Remy, the parish
priest of Lachine, brought and action suite against him fro
insults and threats to use force; worse still in 1707, Pottier
used physcial violence against a woman named Carpentier from
Champlain and was sentenced to pay damages and legal costs. The
amusing thing was that Pottier had been attacked by Etienne
Pexard in 1704 and had been so roughly handled that La Tpusch
had been ablidged to pay him compensation and damages to the
extent of 200 livres.
Pottier dies in 1711 at Trois Rivieres. His widow
Etinnette Beauvais, who is said to have been restored to health
in 1704 through the intercession of Brother Didace Pelletier,
lived until 1753.