Here's a lighthearted quick post! In 1621, in the Extramaduran town of Azuaga, Spain, someone — perhaps a playful child? — drew on the baptismal records with loose, economical lines a bust, two hands, two plants, and several birds. Four hundred and two years later, while searching the digitized records for siblings of my 9th-great-grandfather Juan de la Parra Cano (1625-1699), I found these drawings. It was a welcome break in the monotonous pages!
I love finding drawings and doodles amidst old records. In 1734, the notary of San Gil, Colombia drew a couple of cyclones of ink on the front page of his book.
I also love signatures before 1900 that include paraphs, broad swooshes of ink that form little patterns. They were intended to prevent forgery but some of them can get very intricate and geometrical. Here's some examples from Guane, Colombia in 1686:
In 1806, a child practiced writing in the notarial book of Zapatoca, Colombia. One page probably repeats the names of the child's parents, María Josefa Quintero and Antonio Roman de la Prada. Other pages repeat Latin about God, or Spanish sentences about dukes and nobility.
I've observed plenty other doodles in genealogical sources — if I find the images, I'll drop them in here!
Questions? Comments? Please email me at ruedafingerhut (at) gmail.com.
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