Subject: Re: Help with signatures From: Steven J. Coker Date: May 29, 1999 James Bohler wrote: > I was told at the first courthouse that I was researching in, by the Probate Judge > that the LS after the signature meant legal signature. He said that the person > had signed his on name and this was not found after the ones where the person had > made his mark and someone else had written the signature for him/her. An abbreviation or acronym can mean whatever the person writing it wants it to mean. Webster gives the following commonly recognized meanings for the abbreviation l.s. or the acronynm LS. left side, letter signed, library science, locus sigilli, and long shot. I'm sure that we could think up many more and any writer could give it any meaning they choose. When in doubt, I suggest trying to find out the background of the writer. If he had a formal or classical education, then it is most likely he studied Latin. If he was trained in the law and in Latin, then it is most likely that he used the abbreviation LS to represent locus sigilli meaning place of the seal. That was a common usage in legal documents. In the context of legal documents, especially from the 1700's, I would doubt that "legal signature" would be the meaning. I doubt it, but maybe that one scribe used that uncommon meaning for those particular records. I rather suspect that the Probate Judge who told you that was wrong or didn't know his Latin. It would seem reasonable that persons who left marks rather than signing would also be less likely to leave a wax seal impression. Persons who possessed seals would be more likely to come from a higher social status and would thus be more likely to be able to read and write. So, I would expect it to be more likely that LS would be shown next to names that were signed. Similarly, I would expect it to be more likely that there would not be an LS by persons leaving their mark. Often the LS is shown on transcribed documents surrounded by a spiral-like circle. The circle also represents the place of the seal. Steve ==== SCROOTS Mailing List ==== Go To: #, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Main |