One of my favorite genealogical finds is the signature of an ancestor. Imagine my excitement when I saw four at the same time!
My 2nd great-grandfather’s probate record contained signatures of all three of his children and that of his daughter-in-law:
Jacob Koebe Mueller (1844-1910) was the father of Otto Victor Mueller (1868-1912), Alfred Jacob Mueller (1879-1941), and Alma E. Mueller (1882-1967).
I hadn’t thought of that before. What a cool collection signatures would be!
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Oh my gosh, I love seeing that old handwriting!
Years ago when I was learning how to read French records, another genealogist advised me to look for signatures. If an ancestor could write his or her name, it showed the family was affluent enough to educate their children. It said something about the family too when a woman could write her name. I remember seeing my 5th great-grandfather’s signature for the first time – it gave me goose bumps!
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