1) One who oversees or supervises, as in a will.
1530 And also that ... my kynsmen be helpars and ouersears with hir, Heptonstall. Also a title given to the officers of a township or parish who were responsible for the poor and the highways. More generally it was used of a person who surveyed work carried out on an important project. Before Apperley Bridge was rebuilt in 1602 the mason Thomas Wallimsley came to an agreement with the overseers who of their own costs were held responsible for the provision of all the tymber stone and lyme needful. When Huddersfield Bridge was destroyed in 1647-8 Sir John Ramsden appointed overseers to consult with two workmen and agree with them for building the said bridge.