"Your obedient servant" and its variations were not only used to close letters by at least the early seventeenth century (and probably much earlier), this form was the most common greeting and "good-bye" used among the genteel (and genteel wannabes)in spoken conversation of the eighteenth century. It appears to have been used somewhat less often in conversation by women than by men. Cathy Hellier Dept. of Historical Research The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation -----Original Message----- From: Randy Cabell [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2001 2:28 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Your obedient servant...... I just received an E-Mail from a young Virginian, and he signed it instead of "Yours truly", or "Sincerely", but "Your obedient Servant." I have letters to and from my Grandfather back in the late 1800's and they all end with that. It has a real nice 19th century ring to it, and since people accuse me of living in the past, I am considering switching my letter closings to that. But I thought it best to canvass VA-HIST for a bit of history on the rather stilted greetings and closings we still use today. "Dear" and "My Dear" are used whether we are writing our mother, or the dishwasher repairman. And "Yours truly" and particularly "Sincerely" likewise, in a letter, imply a heck of a lot more intimacy than I have with most people. I am about as far from anybody's "obedient servant" as one can get but did this phrase in 19thC Virginia serve much as "Yours truly" and "Sincerely" do today? Randy Cabell To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html