From: mb@nospam.net   
      
   On 03/11/2023 19:38, Colin Bignell wrote:   
   >   
   > The question is, who wrote the name? Was it the person named, or a   
   > parish clerk who wrote down what they thought they heard? A lot of my   
   > ancestors made their mark* on marriage certificates, so obviously, in   
   > their cases it was the latter, which could lead to variations.   
      
      
      
   I remember when I started on family history, someone suggested that many   
   people were illiterate or even if the could read and / or write, they   
   might not be very proficient.  Also they had respect for 'their betters'   
   so if a clerk or other official wrote down their name different to what   
   they expected then they would not argue.   
      
   Someone also pointed out that a wife might be literate but her husband   
   'signed' with a cross in the register then she might not want to   
   embarrass by writing her name fully so also entered a cross.   
      
   One set of great great grandparents married in Quebec.  He was from   
   Yorkshire and she was Irish so presumably had accents.  The (presumably)   
   French speaking official completely mangled all the names.  Could be   
   just be him misunderstanding the accents or just the usual Frog   
   bloody-mindedness.  :-)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)