RootsChat.Com
Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: andrewdwilliams on Monday 24 October 16 15:40 BST (UK)
-
Hello all!
There's a surname on a marriage bond that I can't quite decipher. It appears twice: once, where it has been written by the clerk, and a second time in a sort of signature.
The first name is clearly Thomas. The surname could be Jefsor, Tefsor, Tetsor, Tetser, Jepsor, or any number of other possibilities. I would appreciate it if some others could have a look and make a guess. He is likely to have lived in the Culworth area of Northamptonshire, and was alive in 1795.
Thanks.
-
Looks like Jessop to me, using the long 's' which was frequently combined with a short 's' for 'ss'. However at that time spelling wasn't standardised which means you could find the name spelled in all sorts of different ways.
Regards
GS
-
I would say Jessop too (I thought it before I read your post Greensleeves, but you were quicker at typing than me!)
-
Great minds, etc, Liz ;D
-
Ah, yes. Brain fade. I think I was thrown off by the longer s and regular s being used together in the middle of the word. I thought it was typical for the regular s to only be used at the end of words. I'll have a search and see if I can turn anything up.
Thanks both of you.
-
I appear to have found a match in Thomas Jessop, born in Culworth on 2 October 1751. I love it when a query like this gets resolved so easily. Thanks all.
-
There weren't any hard and fast rules regarding spelling in those days. It wasn't until a lot later that spelling became more 'fixed', up until which time it was not possible to mis-spell anything - you could spell it however you liked. Which of course just adds to our problems when trying to track down people in our FTs.
Glad you've found a potential match, and glad to have been of assistance,
Regards
GS