I sure would like to see a scan of the document, Nel.  Thanks.  Paul
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Nel Hatcher 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 1:33 PM
  Subject: Re: a question on old handwriting


  Website: Hatcher Families Resource Center
  http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nhatcher
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  Researching: Cook, Hall, Hatcher, Kuhns, Miller, Shepherd, Timberman
  HATCHER DNA Project  http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nhatcher/hatDNA.htm
  "Genealogy Without Documentation is Nothing" - Paul Drake

  Kathleen wrote:
  <<Unless you have proof that William signed this will, I'd suspect that
  the will is a copy and the signature was written by the court clerk.
  Very few original wills from that era were preserved; most of what we
  have is the official copies made by the clerk.>>

  This is, in my opinion, the original. The main text of the will is in one
  handwriting with the name, William Hatcher, very clearly spelled out.

  The witnesses, John Pleasant and Henry Gee, signed their own names under the
  writing "Signed and sealed..." which was written in the same style as the
  main text. We know Wm and John Pleasant were neighbors at one time or
  another and we have marital connections to the Gee family. So no surprises
  with these witnesses.

  Will Hatcher signed his name to the right followed by the words "seald with
  red wax." This signature was distinctly unique compared to the rest of the
  document and I believe someone described it as old Elizabethan.

  H B Gill working only with the signature believed this person was born early
  17C...William was born c1613...so right on the money. The will was signed
  1680.

  And although it is often referred to as Wm's "will", there are those who
  feel this was not really a will but a gift of deed from William to his gson,
  Thomas Burton.......but that's another story.

  Nel Hatcher

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