Boston Old North Church

[Edward W Martin]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, Laura Dickerson <lauradi at ...> 
wrote:
>
>     I've posted a scanned .jpg of the contract to the 
bellhistorians 
> Yahoo group page (in the photos section).  This is the URL, but I 
don't 
> know if it will work if you're not logged in.
> http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/bellhistorians/photos/view/9769?b=1
> Laura Dickerson
>
Thanks  Laura for posting that. It certainly brought back memories 
(unfortunately not enough of them ) When your picture is blown up it 
doesn't really help me either. But, this is what I recall:

I would agree that the first name is Dyer (the writer started off too 
close to the edge of the paper and after his quite substantial `D' 
had to jam in the `yer'.)
Paul Revere signs with such confidence for a 15 year-old, 
unfortunately his last two descending flourishes interfere with the 
beginning of the surname of the third name. I interpreted what you 
see as `St' as `Fl' primarily because of the apparent flow of those  
flourishes otherwise there are two inexplicable marks either side of 
what might be the `S' as well as the cross in the apparent 't'
  I think I finally decided upon `Flagg' when I  discovered the later 
close relationship between P.R. and the jeweller named Josiah Flagg.
The flourish of `g' in `agg' crosses what indeed might be `Ballard'  
which might also have been a young lad's second attempt 
at `Bartholomew' (I can't find the ref, but believe that I discovered 
Josiah Flagg had a younger brother Bartholomew). 
To me the next name is totally indecipherable - I don't see 
your `Jonathon'
Thank goodness  for Jon Brown jun. and for Joseph Snelling. Jon Brown 
would be hard to trace for certain, but maybe Snelling 
In later 
life, I believe that  Revere made & sold some silverware to a Joseph 
Snelling but I don't know anything of what he did for a living.

Thanks again Laura, I can only stand by what I interpreted so long 
ago when my eyesight was very much sharper than it is today.

Cheers
Eddie Martin