Today’s Notary Public Day! Don’t worry if you didn’t know anything about it. We’ll tell you all you need to know about the holiday and how to celebrate it, and most of what we say is true!

On November 7, 1639, Thomas Fugill was appointed as the first Notary of the New World in the American Colony of New Haven. He wore a silver cape and dark sunglasses and called himself The Notarizer.* Oddly enough, this date was actually October 25th on the Julian calendar, which we no longer use. But it’s November 7th by today’s calendar!

Thomas would ride around from town to town crying “Notary here! Get your documents notarized here!” He would affix the official notary seal for a copper nickel, or a sack of hair, whichever the townsfolk had handy. He once notarized a live pig upon which someone had written a contract which was especially notable because nobody actually knew how to read or write.**

Unfortunately, Thomas was a terrible Notary Public. Even though he had beautiful handwriting, he had a corrupt soul and was the first American notary to commit a fraudulent act. In 1645, he made an incorrect record for his own advantage and lost his position and was excommunicated from the church.

Notary Public Day is important because it recognizes all of us out there who perform essential civil functions like witnessing and authenticating signatures on documents with important legal ramifications (and some with unimportant legal ramifications). Each Notary Public has a code to adhere to, a standard to apply, and a mantra: “Don’t be like Thomas Fugill***.”

Want to celebrate Notary Public Day? It’s usually celebrated at the office of your favorite Notary – in this case Florida Notary Professionals. Bring pizzas (two pepperoni, one Hawaiian, two veggie), cake (chocolate), and six cases of White Claw. We’ll play the official Notary Public theme song of Jay-Z’s “I Got 99 Problems (But My Jurat Stamp Ain’t One Of Them)” and you’ll be blessed with another year of perfect notarizations. So, see you around 4?*****

Happy National Notary Public Day!

 

*This sentence is patently false.
** This whole paragraph is a complete fabrication.
*** The mantra is incorrect. The actual mantra is “Notaries, let’s get notarizing.****”
**** This is also false.
***** This is whole paragraph is mostly false but wouldn’t it be nice if it happened? Hint hint.