I was basing this more so on the printed versions, since I have not seen the name except on line in various representations that look like the old English or Germanic form of the written versions I knew that if I asked this forum I would obtain a better answer than my feeble attempts to prove my wife's family, Ross, was possibly the Rolfe's at jamestowne. Thank you, John Adams -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of J. Douglas Deal Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2006 6:30 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Rolfe or Rosse Mr. Adams: I thought you were basing this proposition on a possible misreading of the "ss" in Rosse when written in longhand (or printed?). The answer to that suggestion is no, the use of the so-called "long s" does not produce something that is easily mistaken for "lf". Two long s together look something like two f (ff) when handwritten and almost exactly like "ff" when printed in roman letters. If the long s is followed by the "regular" s in longhand, the two together look something like "fs". In neither case does one mistake the two s together for "lf". It would be easiest to see what I'm saying if I could write and send this message in longhand. I'm sure there are websites on paleography that would be useful in this regard. Douglas Deal Professor of History and Chair of History Department State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY 13126 [log in to unmask] (315)-312-5632 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