Literacy

[bonnie dundee]

My Great grandfather came from a family of linen weavers. He was born around 1839.
I note that, unusually, he was able to write - he signed BMD certificates - where his wife made her Mark.
Does anyone know how that could have come about?

[aghadowey]

You've posted in IRELAND RESOURCES which isn't for queries. Just click on 'report to moderator' to ask for the topic to be moved to IRELAND GENERAL board 

Education often depended on religion and area. Even in rural areas there would have been numerous small country schools where basic skills (reading, writing and arithmetic) were taught. From 1831 onwards the National School system made education more accessable to many.
https://www.askaboutireland.ie/learning-zone/primary-students/5th-+-6th-class/history/my-school-history/national-schools-in-the-1/

If you can provide more details we might be able to find if there was a school in the area he grew up during that time period.

[Jebber]

Many people could write well enough to sign their name, if nothing else. Also it sometimes depended on what the Registrar asked of them, even someone who could write would make their mark if asked to do so.

I have an ancestor who signed on her first marriage, but made a X on her second marriage and she was a teacher.

[bonnie dundee]

Sorry about mis-posting.
Interesting replies.
I can't pin down a location in Ireland as my research has only come up with 'born Ireland'
Thank you

[QueenoftheWest]

Many people could write well enough to sign their name, if nothing else. Also it sometimes depended on what the Registrar asked of them, even someone who could write would make their mark if asked to do so.

I have an ancestor who signed on her first marriage, but made a X on her second marriage and she was a teacher.

I was literally thinking about this the other day! I wondered why my Irish great-grandmother, who came from a family of journalists and writers, flicked between signing her name and making her mark. Was it a time-saving exercise? Why else would the Registrar ask for a mark rather than a signature?

Queenie 

[bonnie dundee]

Everyday's a school day, Queen.
Curious that even educated people chose to use their mark sometimes.
My gt.grandfather used his signature on all the BMDs that I have seen.

[bonnie dundee]

Thanks for the link Aghadowey.
Great stuff there.

[Sinann]

I don't think it was a choice so much as doing as you were told by a person in authority.

Although when I said that to my sister last week to explain why our grandmother signed in one registry district and made her mark in the next she didn't think out grandmother was the type to bow down to the authority of the registrar.

I guess you had to be there on the day to know for sure.

[Wexflyer]

Having encountered this myself a few times with family members who were certainly literate, may I proffer a possible alternative explanation: lazy registrars.

Lazy registrars for whom it was easier and less time consuming to simply enter an X in the register without asking for a signature.