What is John's surname?

[Forfarian]

This is a rare occasion when I wish that SP had digitised the registrar's copy of the book rather than the one sent to Edinburgh.

The informant's signature is obviously not in the same handwriting as the rest of the document, and I'd be interested to know what anyone makes of it?

This is the death certificate of John Forsyth (1850-1932), son of William F and Martha Brit*n, and husband of Isabella Yuill, Margaret Hogg and Janet Hart Deans. He had four, possibly five, daughters that I know of, but none of them appears to have married anyone with a surname remotely resembling that of his grandson.

[Ian Nelson]

I'm seeing through half-shut eyes

Jno  (? Junior )    ... Alex ......
then something indecipherable
cheers, Ian

[wivenhoe]

Possibly?

Jno Clarence.......John Clarence.

[Ian Nelson]

I've expanded it and it looks odd that the Line is so broken compared to the others and separated from the letters such that I suspect the lower parts of the letters are missing ... they look like a collection of e, o and a possibly u, r etc!    An unliikely combination ... however, I tried to make Alexander fit but there's an extra letter.
Good luck with that one, cheers, Ian

[Ian Nelson]

Possibly?

Jno Clarence.......John Clarence.

so much for my Alexander theory then ... I can now see Clarence too
cheers, Ian

[Forfarian]

Yes, Clarence is what I saw too.

Thanks for confirming.

Daughters' husbands were Allison, McLachlan, Mitchell and Rust. Not sure about the fifth one but there's no marriage of a Forsyth* to a Clarence in Scotland, Ireland, England or Wales.

And there are no possible John Clarences in the indexes at SP.

[wivenhoe]

The appearance of the words of the name does not fit with the other words on the document, including....grandson.

Possibly a different pen/nib/ballpoint.......thinner writing point and/or different ink?

Has it been added later?

[Forfarian]

The procedure was that the Registrar recorded in his book of blank certificates everything he was told, and then the informant signed the certificate (or made his/her mark if s/he could not write).

The Registrar then copied everything into a duplicate book of blank certificates, including the name of the informant preceded by the word 'signed' in brackets.

At the end of the year the Registrar then sent one of the two matching books to the Registrar General in Edinburgh, retaining the other in his own keeping. In some cases the book with the original signatures was sent to Edinburgh, and in others it was the duplicate book.

I think that the reason why the signature is obviously different is that this is from the first book, the one actually signed by the informants in their own handwriting. Everything on all three certificates on the page is in the same handwriting except the three informants' signatures.

[Gan Yam]

Just a thought, as John had three wives is it possible that grandson maybe step grandson.  Did he have a son (William)? could grandson John be from a relationship he had but known by his mothers name?