Elizabeth: "John Doe" as a term for an unknown or unspecified person seems to have died out in modern British usage but still appears to be a term used in the USA (I knew that watching all those episodes of LA Law would pay off eventually!). One of the many ways in which modern US English can be more faithful to the original than is modern British English Best wishes Paul Prescott Scotland ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elizabeth Atherton" <elizabeth.atherton@tesco.net> To: <OLD-ENGLISH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 11:26 AM Subject: Re: [OEL] Marriage bonds & John Doe > Funny you should say that - John Doe of no stated profession appears with > Israel Atherton, Gent (my man) in Cheshire - early 18th century. > .. Elizabeth Atherton > > > Listers: > > I can't answer Audrey's or Elizabeth's points, but to deepen the problem I > do have one ancestor pledging along with a fictitious bondsman - that is, > unless there really was a John Doe of no stated profession around in > Worcester in the 17th century. > > Best wishes > > Paul Prescott > > > > ==== OLD-ENGLISH Mailing List ==== > To UNSUBSCRIBE from list mode -- > Send the one word UNSUBSCRIBE to > OLD-ENGLISH-L-request@rootsweb.com > --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.611 / Virus Database: 391 - Release Date: 03-03-2004