Two signatures for comparison

[martin hooper]

Hello

Two signatures this time for comparison, forty years apart. Martha Perrin married a Thomas Hancock on 4 Jun 1787 in North Nibley, Gloucestershire. Her signature in the register in the top one.

A Thomas Hancock died in 1827 - his wife applied for a Letter of Administration. Her signature is the lower one.

We can only compare on the word Martha - even though the two examples of writing are 40 years apart they seem to be quite different to me. Which suggests that the marriage of Martha Perrin is to a different Thomas Hancock.

Any thoughts?

Martin

[ShaunJ]

Hmmm. My first reaction was that they are not by the same person: the capital M is quite different and the second signature has much more of a forward slant.

However, having said that, the formation of the letters "a" and "r" are quite similar.

Another thought: might the later one be a transcription?

[martin hooper]

ShaunJ

It's definitely not a transcription - there are two other signatures in different handwriting.

Can a person's handwriting change that much from aged early 20s to early 60s?

My problem is that I can't find any other marriage between a Thomas Hancock and a Martha. And the date of the marriage fits conveniently with the birth of the first child just over a year later.

Thanks

Martin

[Stovepipe]

I think there's a good chance they're by the same person. The "artha" and also the "n" in the surnames look very alike (apart from the slant which, I think, could easily change in 40 years). The form of the "M" is a cause for doubt, certainly, but I know from personal experience some people are not consistent in the form they use.