Changing signatures

[QueenoftheWest]

I'm currently doing a research project on the Pyke family and I am trying to piece them all together through wills and marriage bonds.

After struggling to find the connection between the various members of the family, I feel like I have finally figured it out.

However, there is a little inconsistency between the signature of one of my ancestors, Henry Pyke. On the will of his cousin in 1692 he spells Pyke with a 'y', but in his will in 1700, he spells it with an 'i'.

The thing is, I'm 99% this must be his signature, as there aren't actually any other candidates and the 'Henry' part is almost identical, but there is a niggling concern about why someone would change the way their surname looks 8 years later. He was almost 70 when he died; I don't know whether he could have had some ailment which affected his hands.

I would be grateful for opinions on whether this is definitely the same man.

Queenie 

[Zefiro]

How old was he in 1700?
For me these are the same man. Old age or some ailment could have affected as well his ability to write, as him remembering how to write his name.

[QueenoftheWest]

How old was he in 1700?
For me these are the same man. Old age or some ailment could have affected as well his ability to write, as him remembering how to write his name.

Born 1631, so almost 70.

Thanks for your input; I just didn't want to get ahead of myself and assume this must be the same man.

Queenie 

[Mike in Cumbria]

I'm sure that's the same hand

[QueenoftheWest]

I'm sure that's the same hand

Thanks for your input. I'm starting to feel more confident that I am on the right track!

Queenie 

[Dizzy Escape]

I'm sure this is the same hand. Age alone has affected it.

[QueenoftheWest]

I'm sure this is the same hand. Age alone has affected it.

Thank you for your response. On re-reading this, I realised I had added the incorrect date for the first signature - it should have been 1672 not 1692. This is a gap of 28 years between signatures, so your suggestion that age has affected his handwriting is entirely plausible.

Queenie 

[Treetotal]

I think they were written by the same hand, I think writing can become a little spidery with age and the hands, less steady. Also, the writer could have had arthritic hands.
Carol

[Lisa in California]

In addition to getting older: he could have injured his dominant hand and signed the 1700 document with the other hand.

When I was young, I injured my left hand and for a couple of months had to write with my right.  Being a lefty helped me adapt fairly well.  My signature was fairly good, possibly because (I would think) one’s signature is something that comes automatically (in our generation).

His vision might have also been a bit impaired due to advancing age.  My mum had trouble seeing where to sign her name and her signature was definitely shaky, but she was also quite a bit older than your Mr. Pyke.

Could he have been stressed during the will process which might have also altered his writing.

Perhaps others spelled his name over the years with an i and he wanted his signature to match any other possible legal documents.  Were his children known by Pyke or Pike? 

I understand your hesitancy; I am the same way.