"The mark of " is a circle

[sallyyorks]

Marriage by Banns , Keighley Parish  , West Riding (Yorkshire)
Joseph Butterfield to Mary Hey 1754
(both from the remote Haworth Moor area near  Stanbury and Oxenhope)

I am wondering if there may be any significance in his mark  being a circle  o instead of the usual cross +  ?

There are disruptive Quakers in the area  and other dissenters .
Or pehaps he just felt like it and was just  a stubborn Yorkshire so and so  .
Regards

edit , woops sorry photo bit big and bit blurry

[Alexander.]

I shouldn't think there's much significance to it. In early registers and records you see a lot of people signing with a mark, by perhaps just one shaky initial, or other shapes. There was nothing to say it had to be an X.

I've attached an example containing some 'interesting' marks.

Alexander

[sallyyorks]

Thankyou , yes , some interesting marks

[behindthefrogs]

Some tradesmen had marks that reflected their trade.  For example a wheelwright using a circle with a cross in the centre representing spokes.  These marks were sometimes used when the person was quite capable of signing his name.

[Geoff-E]

I find that pre 1800, marks tend to be + rather than X.  Occasionally just a -

Perhaps we see so many (and expect) X's simply because that is the symbol used by vicars/registrars transcribing the original records.

[sallyyorks]

Thankyou for your replys everyone ,
Behindthefrogs , I hadnt thought of the mark  being connected to a trade , that is interesting info about a possible  'wheel'connection.
Most of this branch of the family are weavers and then  became power loom weavers/other textile occupations later (typical of the area) .
But a few of them are listed as 'carriers'  so would be moving about  in their line of work . I think this would   have  been  related to the textile industry in some way and the busy pack horse routes  at this time. Keighley/Haworth  and Colne packhorse route for example , very close to where this family are living , infact they live on it , Scar Top / Ponden area .
There were also no churchs in this area at this time (Haworth Moor) and people had to 'traipse' into Haworth or Keighley and probably Colne in Lancs  too to go to church  , so maybe church matters just didnt mean as much to them 
Geoff i  noticed the way the cross changes shape too , on this page of the register the other mark of crosses are shaped as in a crucifix form
Another thing i thought of is ,  im sure i remember  an episode of Who Do You Think You Are ?  (i think it was the June Brown episode) that  mentioned that people of the Jewish faith would sign with a circle or other mark that was not a cross . There were Jewish communitys in Yorkshire but i think they were more in places like York , Leeds , Harrogate / Knaresborough area at this time