Delving back to the 19th century and beyond, I find a lot of this, however:
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| Typical "X" mark of illiterate |
This "mark" most often meant that an ancestor was unable to write. This usually meant unable to read as well, though not always. One other possibility is that the person was no longer able to write due to illness or infirmity. The cross, or X, was the most common way for a person who could not write to sign a document. I found an interesting article on Ancestry titled How Did Your Ancestors Sign Their Names? Click through to read if you are interested in more information.
One ancestor's mark caught my eye. Thomas Hilyard, born July 12th, 1789 in Pennsylvania, was a blacksmith. He and his wife Elizabeth nee Haught produced a family of at least 19 children (possibly two others stillborn). On a side note, I would like to point out that at age 33, Elizabeth gave birth to healthy twin girls, already having nine other children, then less than one year later had another healthy girl.
Back to Thomas Hilyard. When my cousin and I looked over his probate packet in Fairfield County, Ohio, we found he made his mark, but it was not the typical X. We photographed it in addition to photocopying the pages.
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| Signature Mark of Thomas Hilyard born 1789, made in 1851 |
Looking over other documents, I was able to find further examples of Thomas Hilyard's signature mark. In his application for bounty land for his War of 1812 service, it is rather cramped but now I see it:
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| Signature mark of Thomas Hilyard from 1850 |
I hadn't even noticed this unusual mark when I received these papers many years ago. It never hurts to look back over the original documents with a fresh eye to see what you might have missed.
As I wrote this post, I knew I had seen his signature in one other place but couldn't call to mind where. I finally located this example, from much earlier in his life, about 35 years old.
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| Signature mark of Thomas Hilyard from 1824 |
If I am fortunate enough to find more documents for Thomas Hilyard, I will surely know I have the right man by this unique signature mark.
Not get political, but here goes: next time we dis the public schools, it's good to remember that the commitment to public education that took root strongly in America in the 19th century is one of the great legacies of American civilization. That most of us Hilyards-Hilliards can read and write now is a tribute to that proud legacy. We advanced and grew as our nation did. Most gratifying and worth remembering.
ReplyDeleteFamily Tree Maker software offers opportunity to include a profile portrait. I too take great pleasure when finding anything in my subject's own hand … and nearly always place image of a signature - when I find it - in that representational space. As the only visual identity found for my subject.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the alert: I've never found a unique identifier as you have for Hilyard/Hilliard. As a blacksmith, I assume he'd have alerted to the advantages of branding.
"It never hurts to look back over the original documents with a fresh eye." I think I might enjoy survey of collected testaments, in Last Will and Testaments. Those statements of belief are also pretty unique identifiers.