Parish register abbreviation *COMPLETED*

[LizzieSh]

Hi there,
This is the parish register showing banns in Stepney for 1821.  Can anyone help me with the abbreviation following the name Sarah Doe, please?   (MEOT is Mile End Old Town, part of Stepney).
Many thanks

p.s.  this is my first post, so apologies if the attachment doesn’t work!

[maddys52]

Hello Lizzie, welcome to rootschat!

I'm no expert, but is it "the" - I've seen it written as an "e" over a "y", though without the line between.

Hopefully someone who really knows will be along soon. 

[Maiden Stone]

The top letter looks like e on its' side. Letter below I think is y. Taken together the only word I can think of that they spell is ye as in "Ye Olde Tea Shoppe".
"Sarah Doe    ye same "
"Sarah Doe    the same"     
meaning Sarah's abode was same as William Webb, Mile End Old Town.

[Chilternbirder]

I agree with the others, "the same". Wonkypedia confirms this.

[stanmapstone]

The Old English letter 'thorn' was used as shorthand for 'th' in 'the', 'that', etc. In the seventeenth century, the letter was written in a form barely if at all distinguishable from 'y'.

Stan

[maddys52]

Thanks Stan - thought I had a memory somewhere that "ye" was not really "the", if that makes sense, but just a misinterpretation of the letter form.

[stanmapstone]

"Ye Old ***  Shoppe" is actually "The Old *** Shoppe"

In documents Y^e is the, y^t is that, and y^s is this.


Stan

[LizzieSh]

Many thanks to all who replied.  That answer never occurred to me, but now it makes complete sense.
Lizzie

[Karen McDonald]

"Ye Old ***  Shoppe" is actually "The Old *** Shoppe"

In documents Y^e is the, y^t is that, and y^s is this.


Stan

I didn't know that!
Thank you very much, Stan. 

I love this forum. 

Karen