I joined Ancestry.com last year after watching the season.
That’s where I first saw draft cards, registration and
enlistment papers belonging to some of my ancestors--and what their signatures
looked like. Sometimes the signature is an X.
When I first saw that X signifying a relative’s name, I
felt incredibly sad to know that he couldn’t read the Bible or the newspaper,
that he couldn’t write his name. If I
couldn’t read, I’d feel helpless, at the mercy of others.
My grandfather couldn’t read. I remember mom saying he
was too mean to learn how. She was the oldest of 10 kids; the first born
usually gets all the discipline. I
don’t know that I ever witnessed any helplessness in Grandpa but he sure was at
the mercy of others when it came to reading. He made his kids read the Bible to
him, scripture after scripture, over and over again, and he listened to preachers on the radio. He
was born in 1900 and when he was five years old, his father was murdered.
I have two cousins (twins) who can barely read. Their
mom was pregnant with them when their father had emergency surgery and died.
Who knows what they experienced inside the womb when she was told her husband
was dead? She never re-married. Being
close to these two guys, I see how being unable to read or read well has
affected their lives. They don’t use X for their signatures, but they struggle.
X marks the signature of many people--even today. I find that sad.
