Marriage document T. Willis State of Georgia, USA 1811

[sbny357]

Definitely a marriage bond. Some additional thoughts:
1) Thomas’s surname is spelled everywhere it appears as Willes, not Willis.
2) after the couple’s names, it reads “of S[ai]d County”, not “of T. County”
3) the abbreviation after the signers’ names is “L.S.” [Locus Sigilli], which is Latin for “the place of the seal”. It indicates where their seals were to be placed.
4) the standard wording for this document is “now if there be no lawful cause....”. Perhaps that is the intended wording here but the first two words ran together.

Steve

[John-76]

Definitely a marriage bond. Some additional thoughts:
1) Thomas’s surname is spelled everywhere it appears as Willes, not Willis.
2) after the couple’s names, it reads “of S[ai]d County”, not “of T. County”
3) the abbreviation after the signers’ names is “L.S.” [Locus Sigilli], which is Latin for “the place of the seal”. It indicates where their seals were to be placed.
4) the standard wording for this document is “now if there be no lawful cause....”. Perhaps that is the intended wording here but the first two words ran together.

Steve

Wow Steve!  That's a great insight into the document.  I've noted the corrections and reviewed the definition of a marriage bond and it all fits quite well.  I hadn't noticed the spelling of the grooms name, but you are right, it is spelled Willes.  I wonder if the Willis spelling was a change from Willes after they came to this country from the England/Wales area?  I can't find any information about him earlier so I'll just keep looking.  Thanks very much for your input!


John

[arthurk]

I hadn't noticed the spelling of the grooms name, but you are right, it is spelled Willes.  I wonder if the Willis spelling was a change from Willes after they came to this country from the England/Wales area?

Note that Thomas made a mark rather than signing his name, so probably didn't have much idea what the correct spelling was. Willes may well be the clerk's best guess based on what he heard.

In fact I don't think I've ever seen the spelling Willes in England, but there are the reasonably common surnames Willis and Wills. In theory Willes could be a variant of, and pronounced like, either of these.

Remember that many families didn't fix the spelling of their surname until much later in the 19th century when literacy became more widespread and people had to spell their own names more often.

[John-76]

I hadn't noticed the spelling of the grooms name, but you are right, it is spelled Willes.  I wonder if the Willis spelling was a change from Willes after they came to this country from the England/Wales area?

Note that Thomas made a mark rather than signing his name, so probably didn't have much idea what the correct spelling was. Willes may well be the clerk's best guess based on what he heard.


In fact I don't think I've ever seen the spelling Willes in England, but there are the reasonably common surnames Willis and Wills. In theory Willes could be a variant of, and pronounced like, either of these.

Remember that many families didn't fix the spelling of their surname until much later in the 19th century when literacy became more widespread and people had to spell their own names more often.

Thanks so much for this information.  I had not taken in to account the fact that literacy was very low at that time.  Your insight makes a lot of sense.  I'll proceed with that knowledge from here on. Thanks!