1704The Selectmen’s Records referred to the “Over Seers of the Poor.”Government and Public Service, City Departments, City Government

At a Selectmen’s Meeting on February 19, 1704/5, Captain Joseph Allen was identified as one of the “over seears for the poore for this year 1704.” (Selectmen’s Records, p. 25)
Gloucester Selectmen’s Records, 1699-1721, 1721. https://archive.org/details/001SelectmensRecords16991721001/mode/2up