>>Hi again. >> > >At 12:48 PM 2/19/99 -0800, James H Granger wrote: >>Sandy, >>You had better listen to Barbara. She is correct. Think about it--why >>would anyone "abbreviate" a four-letter word to three letters and a period?? >>:=) >>Jim Granger >>- About the abbreviation of John or Jonathan as Jno......this was discussed a while back on another list. I did not understand either, till someone mentioned that in early days, writing was done with a quill, paper and ink were very costly. Also, try to write with a quill. So any way they could cut corners, save on writing, save on ink and paper - they used it. Thus many, many words were abbreviated. Also explains the way some of the letters were written. Wm was William, etc. Now as to there being a universal abbreviation.....it was more left up to the person doing the writing. Therefore, we now wonder if Jno was John or something else. And the answer, it depends. While maybe many used it for John, it could also be Jonathon. Jas - you would think Jason, but I found where it was Jasper. So don't think there is only one correct answer. And talking about paper being costly.....they would write in the margins. Also, they would sometimes take a written letter, turn it around and write in between the previous written lines. Saved paper. Also makes it really interesting to now try to read some of these letters. Mary [email protected]