16 June 2014

Four Thomas Brown Signatures


The top three signatures are known to be the same man. The bottom one is from the marriage bond of my wife's great-great-grandparents.

The first two images were obtained from Thomas Brown's War of 1812 pension file--on Fold3.
The second two images were obtained from digital images of Mercer County marriage records on FamilySearch.

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4 March 1850—Attorney appointment in Thomas Brown War of 1812 Pension File on Fold3.

29 November 1850-statement in Thomas Brown War of 1812 Pension File on Fold3.

October of 1830—Thomas Brown signs his marriage bond in Mercer County, Kentucky. This is the same Thomas Brown who receives the War of 1812 pension as this marriage is referenced in the pension file as proof of the widow’s marriage to Thomas Brown.

This is the 1847 signature of a Thomas Brown that appears on the marriage bond for the marriage of John Lake and Charlotte Brown.

Other than the "T" in Thomas in the 1830 signature, these look consistent with each other and the last name is written in a very similar fashion every time. The November 1850 signature may have been written with a troublesome pen or Thomas may have had had a reason to write in a slightly more labored format as that signature does not seem to "flow" as much as the other ones do. The first three signatures are known to be for the same man.

These signatures are out of chronological order and were grouped by who they were "known" to have been written by. Putting them in chronology may make the similarities more apparent.

This does not "prove" that Thomas Brown is the father of Charlotte Brown who marries in 1847, but it does solidify her connection to the Thomas Brown who married in 1830 in Mercer County and received a War of 1812 pension. 

Which means I should be looking into probate, court, and land records in Washington County, Kentucky, where the 1812 pensioner Thomas died in the 1850s.