The letters "L.S." on a recorded document designate where the seal would
have appeared on the original one.  They are an abbreviated form of "locus
sigilli", which in Latin means "the place of the seal."  An original
document would have been stamped with a wax seal indicating that a person's
signature was authentic.  One can usually infer from the letters "L.S." that
a document is a copy, not an original, although by the late eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries the use of wax seals was less and less common.

I hope that this is helpful.

Dan Knight
Edinburg, TX  

-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Diana Bennett
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 5:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VA-HIST] An unusual title

Recently I was checking the tax rolls of the 1830's in King & Queen Co. VA.
After my ancestor's name was "S.G." What does that mean?

Another in Orange Co when signing a deed were the letters L S. ??

Diana Bennett

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