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

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