52 Ancestors #14: Mammes Poissot, Royal Notary at Strasbourg

Tucked away in the manuscript archives of the Badische Landesbibliothek (Baden State Library) in Karlsruhe, Germany, is a folio titled Karlsruhe 517.  It contains an assortment of French records relating to the town of Strasbourg during the 18th century.  Number 49 consists of the following catalogue entry:

49.  Nomination à la place de greffier en la Marechaussée d'Alsace: Mammetz Poissot (Poisot) 1714 (Abschrift)

Both the name, date and place are consistent with information appearing in the Natchitoches church records pertaining to Remy Poissot dit Bourguignon, a Dijon native whose marriage in 1737 to the widowed Anne Marie Philippe states that he is "son of Mammes Poisot, royal notary at Stratsbourg".  A greffier, or clerk, often did perform the duties of a notary, and as all of the documents in the folio in Karlsruhe pertain to Strasbourg, document number 49 is quite possibly Mammes Poissot's initial appointment there.  The maréchaussée system was overseen by the marshals of France and served in the function of magistrates to maintain order.  A summary of the functions of the maréchaussée can be found in The Institutions of France Under the Absolute Monarchy, 1598-1789, Volume 2 by Roland Mousnier, pages 105-109.