Common Clerk / Town Clerk

• Common Clerk / Town Clerk; 1317-1970s

• Common Clerk, Town Clerk, Chief Executive

The first named common clerk was Nicholas Seizevaux in 1317. The name gradually changed over time to town clerk. From 1708 it appears deputies were provided, one of whom, William Giles, restored and catalogued the city archives between 1892-1909. The office became formally full-time in 1886. The name changed in the twentieth century to Chief Executive.
The term "common clerk" was replaced with "town clerk" which was eventually replaced by "chief executive" in the later twentieth century.

Responsible for the city's registers and books and conducted day to day legal and administrative businesss. Professional clerks, sometimes lawyers, they were the foremost official of the city administration, though their formal status varied over time. They or their deputies took minutes and supervised the general running of the Corporation. In the nineteenth and twentieth century they often gained additional responsibilities as nominated officers of specific pieces of legislation, such as "Welfare Officer" in 1948.

The first named common clerk was Nicholas Seizevaux in 1317. The name gradually changed over time to town clerk. From 1708 it appears deputies were provided, one of whom, William Giles, restored and catalogued the city archives between 1892-1909. The office became formally full-time in 1886. The name changed in the twentieth century to Chief Executive.

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa

VCH York, JBM How York Governs Itself, BC 69/1