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Le Marguillier | The Churchwarden

The marguillier, or churchwarden, was the person in charge of the material interests of the village religious community; he was the intendant steward of the parish.

Each year, three churchwardens were elected to administer the temporal goods of the parish. The eldest of the churchwardens was responsible for the deniers (the monies) and had to present the accounts at the end of the year. He would later become one of the former churchwardens who could be summoned to meetings for extraordinary matters, such as the expansion of a church. In New France, however, the parish priest often presided over the election assembly and administered the accounts himself. A churchwarden was chosen for different areas of the parish and, in addition to the moral qualities required, the parish priests chose those who demonstrated proper management of their own families and material affairs.

He could also be called marglier, marillier, matriculier or marreglier.

Source: Jacques Mathieu, La Nouvelle-France: les Français en Amérique du Nord, XVIe-XVIIIe siècle (Québec, Québec: Presses Université Laval, 2001), 216.