Curators
The matters that came to the attention of the schepenen (magistrates) in Delft are archived in three groups:
- Criminele rechtspraak - administration of justice in criminal matters
- Civiele rechtspraak - administration of justice in civil matters
- Vrjwillige rechtspraak - administration of justice in undisputed matters
Undisputed matters included real estate transactions, mortgages, IOUs, security guarantees, and granting of powers of attorney.
Another concern was insolvent estates when people died with more debts than assets. To settle the competing claims in an orderly manner, the magistrates appointed curators and gave them the authority to make decisions about selling assets and distributing the proceeds.
Unfortunately, only two of the registers of these curators remain.
- 5e Register. Van de Curateelen (cover, left; click to enlarge) - February 1675 - December 1719
- 7e Register Van de Curateelen - 1741-1783, which has some extracts from the 6th register.
The register is organized in order of appointment of curators. They are listed here in chronological order, so at some point, the schepenen began appointing men who weren't notaries.
The list of names gives a sense of the frequency of insolvent estates among a population of around twenty thousand.
List of names with page numbers.
A name was crossed out when the person no longer was available for appointment.
The four registers before this are lost, so we don't know how many names were carried over from the previous register.
The names below come from the pages above. Adrijaen (Adriaan) Leeuwenhoeck is the last name on the longer first page, which puts him in the second column below.
They were almost all notaries. About twice this many notaries were active in Delft during these years. Procurers were men or women involved in a legal matter in behalf of someone who had granted a power of attorney to them.
After the instrument of appointment come the record of the estates put under their control. Leeuwenhoek has two pages, sharing the second with his cousin Lambrecht's son Adriaan Leeuwenhoek, whose page had filled.
Around the time that Leeuwenhoek was working on the estate of Jan Vermeer, the mayors and magistrates dealt with the position of curator in two documents.
11 July 1675
De Heeren van de geregte der stad Delf hebben goetgevonden ende verstaan dat voortaan niemand tot Curator ofte requester van eenige desolate ofte insolvente boedels sal worden gecommitteerd ten zij hij alvorens gesteld sal hebben sufficante cautie voor zijn gehele administratie ende is hetselvige de geadmitteerde curateurs aengesegt tot hare narigtinge, huijden den XI Julij 1675.
2 February 1676
de Heeren Schout ende Schepen der stad Delft completelijck vergadert hebben om reden haar Achtb. daartoe moverende, goetgevonden ende geresolveert, dat van nu voortaan geen curateurs over eenige desolate boedels zullen worden aangesteld dan alleen op ordinaire vergaderinge ende ten tijde van vacantie in een vergadering daartoe specialijck geconvoceert ende noijt dan ten minsten met vijf presente Heeren ende ten regarde van Curateurs van Importantie, dat deselve soo veel doenlijk sijt Complete Collegie, zullen worden vergeven.
Gedaen den 2e Feb 1676.
