Estimator
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L’Estimateur | The Estimator
The surveyor and his tools ("Les outils du géomètre : la planchette", 1842 drawing by an unknown artist, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MD-43 (4)-FOL).
The occupation of estimateur, or estimator, could have two meanings:
The estimator was a property surveyor elected by a village community. They were involved in a multitude of cases, particularly those related to neighbourhood conflicts. This was usually the case in rural communities.
Alternatively, the estimator was simply a person responsible for estimating the value or the price of certain things. For example, the value of a person's assets (inventory) after their death. This wasn’t necessarily the person’s primary occupation, but more of a task to be accomplished at the request of an authority.
Known persons who had this occupation: Pierre Cailla, Charles Delino, Pierre Disy dit Monplaisir, Edward Glackmeyer, Jean Gobin, Jean Lozeau, Narcisse Mercure, Guillaume Pépin.
Sources:
“Estimateur”, Portail lexique du Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales, https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/estimateur.
“Estimateur”, Dictionnaire de l’Académie française, 9e édition, https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A9E2727.