8 votes

[SOLVED] Need help trying to read an old signature

12 comments

  1. [3]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    (edited )
    Link
    Bill Erwin This might be the guy? This is his public LinkedIn so I don't think it's doxing but I can yank it if needed after @goose sees it (I did just google "Tarrant County clerk William Erwin"...

    Bill Erwin

    Tarrant County
    Public Servant
    Apr 1985 - Jan 2014 28 yrs 10 mos
    Promoted from Office Clerk to Supervisor of Official Public Records at age 20, after taking several courses on my own time. Testified in court as "Custodian of Records" when requested by D.A. department.

    This might be the guy?

    This is his public LinkedIn so I don't think it's doxing but I can yank it if needed after @goose sees it

    (I did just google "Tarrant County clerk William Erwin" fwiw. This is ironically one of my job skills because parents do be complaining on Facebook about their students' situations and then emailing the President. )

    11 votes
    1. [2]
      goose
      Link Parent
      If you ever find yourself in or around Atlanta, I owe you a beer. Didn't occur to me to consider the common nickname of William. Thank you!

      If you ever find yourself in or around Atlanta, I owe you a beer. Didn't occur to me to consider the common nickname of William. Thank you!

      7 votes
      1. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        Happy to be helpful, I got lucky and he came up with a search for William even with his nickname..I don't make it down south often but if I do I'll remember! (But maybe a cider, hops and I aren't...

        Happy to be helpful, I got lucky and he came up with a search for William even with his nickname..I don't make it down south often but if I do I'll remember! (But maybe a cider, hops and I aren't friends)

        2 votes
  2. [8]
    goose
    Link
    I'm hoping someone can help me try and figure out whose historical signature this is. I recently had to recover a copy of my parents marriage certificate for a legal process I'm going through....

    I'm hoping someone can help me try and figure out whose historical signature this is.

    I recently had to recover a copy of my parents marriage certificate for a legal process I'm going through. I've been able to transcribe almost the whole thing, except whoever's signature this is.

    The first name looks like "William" to me, last name starts with an "E", maybe "Er"?

    For context, the marriage certificate originated in Tarrant County, Texas, August of 1985. I've done a fair amount of Googling, but have been unable to find any indication of who it might be. After a full day of searching, I'm hopeful someone here might have an idea or trick that could help.

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      TheRtRevKaiser
      Link Parent
      Apologies if you've already tried this, but have you contacted the County Clerk's office in Tarrant County? They might be able to tell you who the signature is from or who the deputy county clerks...

      Apologies if you've already tried this, but have you contacted the County Clerk's office in Tarrant County? They might be able to tell you who the signature is from or who the deputy county clerks were at the time. There's a public record search and I just poked around at marriage licenses from August of 1985 and the scans are all piss-poor but it's possible they could check the actual document.

      3 votes
      1. fxgn
        Link Parent
        Yep, I did the same thing, they suck. But I'm assuming OP has the certificate on hand, since the provided scan is from their own printer.

        There's a public record search and I just poked around at marriage licenses from August of 1985 and the scans are all piss-poor but it's possible they could check the actual document.

        Yep, I did the same thing, they suck. But I'm assuming OP has the certificate on hand, since the provided scan is from their own printer.

    2. [2]
      fxgn
      Link Parent
      Is there a higher quality picture of it or is this what we're working with?

      Is there a higher quality picture of it or is this what we're working with?

      1 vote
      1. goose
        Link Parent
        That's from the 600 DPI scan I took of it, highest resolution my scanner goes to, unfortunately.

        That's from the 600 DPI scan I took of it, highest resolution my scanner goes to, unfortunately.

    3. [3]
      archevel
      Link Parent
      Looks like William Erwin to my eyes.

      Looks like William Erwin to my eyes.

      1 vote
      1. patience_limited
        Link Parent
        I'd agree, based on a number of years of reading doctors' handwriting.

        I'd agree, based on a number of years of reading doctors' handwriting.

        1 vote
      2. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        Ervin is also possible. With someone who signs a lot of things they might flatten tall letters or reduce the end to a squiggle so it's possible some other letters are in the rest of it, but...

        Ervin is also possible. With someone who signs a lot of things they might flatten tall letters or reduce the end to a squiggle so it's possible some other letters are in the rest of it, but nothing jumped out at me on a list of surnames starting with Er

        1 vote
  3. hamstergeddon
    Link
    I can only dream of my nightmarishly sloppy scribble of a signature causing this much mystery in the future :)

    I can only dream of my nightmarishly sloppy scribble of a signature causing this much mystery in the future :)

    2 votes