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From: "Sandra Ferguson" <>
Subject: Re: [OHBELMON] JNO = JONATHAN & John
Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400
References: <E1D19E35-F3B3-4396-95E4-61311FD82DC8@morningfog.com>


I think this has been debated by many, with folks adamant about both
possibilities. Many sources, such as a genealogy list of name
abbreviations, say that Jno is the accepted abbrev. for John, and the
transcribers guild, who do ship passenger transcriptions, say " In all
cases, the word "Jno" is written on the line - it was commonly used as an
abbreviation for John"......so, I doubt if either name - John or Jonathan
can be accepted as always being Jno.......other sources would be needed to
make the decision in each and every case. For example "John Eakin was born
on February 14, 1822, to John Eakin and Lucretia Pearson Eakin in Bedford
County, Tennessee. (He would later sign his name as "Jno," a popular
nineteenth-century abbreviation for John by which he became known.)" It's
also in the online dictionary Jno - John. So, it may be as different as
families are.....people may well have decided that Jno was what THEY chose
to use to abbreviate their name...both Johns & Jonathans alike.




Sandra




For those who might be looking examples to support the presumption
that "Jno" is an abbreviation for "Jonathan":

VIII. Dress and Personal Adornment.

From John Clifton, a weaver who worked out of a house on the upper
end of Third Street, Head purchased "a Hatt for myself," on 6/12/24,
crediting £1-4-0.244 "Bri[t]ches" and two pairs of gloves were bought
from Hannah Turner, and "Bukskin" was delivered by Jno [Jonathan]
Stamper.245 Head's large family was well-shod. His frequent purchases
of shoes were mostly from Joseph Daves, but also from "Jno [Jonathan]
Fisher ye Shoumaker," "Joseph Hooper Shomaker," and others.246 As
everyone in the community needed shoes, they too served as a medium of
exchange, and many debits and credits for them show up in Head's
accounts.247



Regards,
Kathryn

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