Is there a way to find out if there was someone who was a judge or a military official in Canada named Coallier or Novion (Navion) during the time frame of 1844-1865 who may have sentenced someone to death? Or perhaps the Coallier or Navion person was the "henchman"? I just heard a family story from a distant relative that our g.g.grandfather with the surname Coallier was a judge or in a judging capacity, whether civil or military, and was required to either sentence someone to death or he did the actual duty of carrying out the sentence as the hired hangman or however it was done in those days. Where or how would I attempt to verify a story like that? Are there any legal papers somewhere that might contain that information, even if it were true? I thought Canada didn't have a death penalty, ever, military or civil or otherwise. Any tips on where to start looking for that type of legal documentation? Were there any military war games going on at that time where a soldier might get the death penalty? This all sounds very implausible to me, but I said I would make a good faith effort to find out where legal documentation like this is kept and research any death penalties in Canada during that time frame. Thanks in advance.