Dear Sandi, I will miss the puzzlers. What a "great source" they have been. I hope you will be able to start up again. I often miss out on the chance to guess because I am often behind the time line, but I always read them and guess to myself. One question, Is the story true that many signed with an X because it was a Christian symbol of the cross? Della Good morning as we move towards Thanksgiving and the end of yet another month. I won't be posting on Thanksgiving Day of course and want to wish you all a wonderful relaxing day where you and yours can be truly thankful for family, friends, and freedom. And, for those of you who are football fanatics ... may your favorite team win! As announced last Monday, today ends the posting of my weekly "puzzlers" for a time. Thanks for all who ventured guesses on the final puzzler which I'll discuss next. Hopefully, after the new year, I can start these up again and thanks for all your guesses over the past many months! My puzzler for this past week was: If a person in the earlier times signed with an (X) did this mean that the individual could write, could not write or either. Our first response would be "they can't write!" Well, not necessarily. Sometimes people signed with an (X) for several reasons, one of which you might not have thought of. First of course, would be a physical handicap that kept them from signing; Health - too weak, a deathbed will (always requiring witnesses), even blindness. But there was another obscure reason that goes back to "olden times". Remembering back in your history classes; what was always required to accompany a royal proclamation or order from the king or ruling authority? It wasn't legal until the SEAL was placed on the document. Anyone could have falsely signed a document, but if the seal was on it, it was considered legit. Now in early America and in Kentucky, few people had their own rings to place a seal on a document to make it authentic. But ....... they used what they had. The signature wasn't as important as the seal so to mimic a seal, they put an (X) on the line. This was rare but did happen. I found one of our family who was a direct descendant of an English family of some note and I KNEW the individual could write; I'd seen his signature - beautiful handwriting and it was his writing, not a clerk's. But on a transfer of land it was signed with an (X) "his mark". He wanted it to be official. So, though normally when we see an (X) instead of a signature; it does mean they couldn't write. But not always!!!! Have a great day and I'll be back tomorrow with a post on Monroe Co tidbits of news from the past. Sandi SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html GGP: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/ ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 15:25:11 -0600 From: Sandi Gorin <sgorin@glasgow-ky.com> Subject: [SCKY] BARREN CO BOARD PROBLEMS To: SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY@rootsweb.com Cc: KYBARREN@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.20061120152511.00b100d0@mail.glasgow-ky.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" There is a problem with the Barren Co board - we can't post to it. I have notified the rootsweb help desk and they are working on it but the cause has been so vague, it's still not working. So - if you make a post and you get a page not found - they're trying! Sandi SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html GGP: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/ ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:34:28 -0600 From: Sandi Gorin <sgorin@glasgow-ky.com> Subject: [SCKY] BARREN CO - G.A.R. CLOSES ITS WORK To: SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY@rootsweb.com Cc: KYBARREN@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <200611201635940.SM03900@your-81f40af718> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The (Lexington KY) Morning Heral, 25 May 1899: "G.A.R. Encampment at Glasgow Ends With a Parade. Glasgow, Ky., May 24. - The second and last day of what is said by the delegates and visitors to be the most successful meeting ever held by the State G.A.R. veterans in Kentucky, has brought thousands of people to Glasgow. "At nine o'clock yesterday morning all the delegates had arrived. At noon Joseph H. DOWNING, of Louisville, was elected Department Commander on the first ballot, and the other officers and delegates were eleced after spirited contests. Mrs. Hannah DONALDSON was elected President of the Woman's Relief Corps. Mrs. E. H. BURCH was elected President of the Ladies' G.A.R. "Lancaser was selected for the next encampment after a spirited contest with Covington. "Last night a camp fire meeting was held in the Court House, with Herman MORRIS as chairman of the meeting. Addresses of welcome were made by the Hon. H. C. GORIN and Judge D. R. CARR with a response by ex-Commander HAMMOND. There were reminiscenses by Capt. John A MURRAY and Captain F. G. BAILEY, ex-Confederate soldiers. A banquet was given immediately after the camp fire to the visitors by the ex-Confederate soldiers, headed by John A. MURRAY. Never in old Glasgow has so enjoyable a meeting been held. Every vestige of a "division line" was forever eradicated, and tears of joy came to the eyes of the veterans on both sides, and they hugged each other when the expressions of good will became so manifest. After the delegates had been banqueted the doors were open and a thousand more visitors were feasted. "This morning a short meeting was held, and the parade took place, bringing to a close the biggest meeting ever held in Glasgow." I think the war was officially ended in Glasgow! Sandi SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html GGP: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/ ------------------------------ To contact the SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY list administrator, send an email to SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY-admin@rootsweb.com. To post a message to the SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY mailing list, send an email to SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY@rootsweb.com. __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY-request@rootsweb.com with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. End of SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY Digest, Vol 1, Issue 54 *****************************************************