Byron,

I don't know about others, but in one case I have the "mark" was
consistent.

Johannes SCHNEPP, Sr. (John SNAPP, Sr., in America) was from
Alsace-Lorraine (now Bas-Rhin, France).  In Alsace-Lorraine, he
signed a paper indicating he had received his share of the estate
from his mother.  The "mark" was a shepherd's crook through an
"S" in an oversize "H".  This same mark was used by him when he
signed the manifest of the ship "Samuel" in 1733, and again on
his will in 1762.

So, at least in this case, the "mark" was consistent.

George

At  8/22/2011  09:31 AM  Monday, byron bowman wrote:
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>        How consistently did individuals, who were unable to write, use the  
>same mark when signing documents?
>
>        Below are two instances where a man named Peter Beller signed a  
>document using a mark, and I would love to have input from the List  
>Members to help me judge the likelihood that the signers were  
>different men.
>        
>        The first instance is the signature on the 1728 Lancaster Co. PA  
>Naturalization Petition. To sign, this Peter Beller made his mark, a  
>“B” and a recorder wrote in the rest of the name on the petition,  
>incorporating the Mark as the initial letter of “Beller” as can be  
>seen in this image of the original signature.
>          .
>
>        The instance second is the signature on a 1756 Halifax County VA bill- of-sale. The court record indicates that to sign, he made his mark, a  
>“P B”, and the clerk copied the mark as can be seen in this image. In  
>other cases where marks were used, the same clerk reproduced the  
>unique marks, so I think that Peter Beller’s mark was like the “PB”  
>shown in the image.
>        
>        
>        Eager to hear from anyone who has faced a similar decision,
>Byron Bowman To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at
>http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html
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My Germanna Database at Rootsweb:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=germanna

My Germanna Website at Rootsweb:
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~george/index.html

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