suffice this to certify that I am willing
to the marriage between Hickman Kersey
and my daughter Sally and so you may
grant them liscence given under my
hand and seal the day and date above
mentioned
Test Heartwell Heath Hannah X Davis(sp?) (her mark)
James Davies
When you compare the handwriting of the (signature?) of James Davis on this page to the handwriting of James B Davis who wrote a note to the Justice of the Peace or Court in Cass County, Illinois in 1837 granting his permission for his son Elijah Davis to marry, the handwriting is not of the same person. That is readily apparent. However, I do not believe James Davis signed this document. I also do not think that means that my ancestor James B Davis is not the son of Charles Davis and Hannah (Gaines)Davis based on the failure of the two handwriting samples to be from the same individual. A great deal of evidence indicates, my ancestor, James B Davis was the son of Charles Davis. The Sally Davis note was likely written by either the Justice of the Peace, county official, or friend or future relation of the family including one of the Kersey family and the James Davis signature is not necessarily a "signature" but a note of witnesses. All the evidence collected indicates James B Davis is the son of Charles and Hannah Davis of Jessamine County, Kentucky. I believe at least one of the handwriting samples in the two notes used for the handwriting comparison is not James B Davis signature but written in by someone else, Clerk, family friend, etc.
Donna Stark wrote:
Thank you for sending me the site. The word before Hartwell is Test: which means witness.
Davies is the spelling for the name. I have worked with these old records for over 25 years and can almost read them as fast as our writing today.
My 
visitor to my site.