The Pretty, Fancy Handwriting of William Wilson, the Clerk of Norfolk County, Virginia

In the days before ballpoint pens, typewriters, and computers the court clerk transcribed wills, estate appraisals, and inventories into the county record books. It must have been tedious work because they used quills and metal nibs dipped in ink wells. An entire page could be ruined by a careless dribble or a spilled bottle.

One county clerk, William Wilson of Norfolk, Virginia, made records with a certain amount of pizzazz and a love of different fonts that would please a modern-day graphic designer. William’s elaborate calligraphy was short-lived, appearing only on seven court recordings in the summer of 1818.¹ This spurt of whimsy is unusual in clerks’ records because their job was to faithfully enter records into court ledgers.

Inventory and appraisement of the Slaves and Personal Estate of Andrew Kidd dec^d taken this 22^nd day of April 1818²

An Appraisement of the Estate of Elizabeth Clarke deces^d [sic] is taken this 14^th day of Janery [sic] 1817. Nathaniel Dyes adm^r3

Inventory and appraisement of the estate of Richard Powell dec^d taken this 8^th day of December 1815 ⁴

Sales of the Estate of James Carney dec^d Taken 22^nd December 1817⁵

Recordings made on 20 July 1818 begin on page 196 in the even hand of a court clerk but change during the same day to elaborate titles above each recording. The flourishes continued onto recordings made on the next court date–17 August 1818. It’s fun to think of what might have spurred a clerk to use such fancy script–had he fallen in love, did he have a young helper who deviated from expected handwriting, did he have a new writing implement he was testing out? Why did it end so abruptly? Did the judge or another official tell him to stop? Oh, to be a fly on the wall two hundred years ago.

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FEATURED IMAGE: Godey’s Lady’s Book (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: privately published, March 1856), 298; GoogleBooks (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Godey_s_Lady_s_Book/cx8jAQAAMAAJ : accessed 16 June 2025).

1. Norfolk County, Virginia, Appraisements, 4:201-207; imaged, “Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62347) > images 444-448.
2. Norfolk Co., Va., Appraisements, 4:201, Andrew Kidd dec’d recorded by Wm Wilson.
3. Norfolk Co., Va., Appraisements, 4:204, Elizabeth Clarke dec’d recorded by Wm Wilson.
4. Norfolk Co., Va., Appraisements, 4:201-2, Richard Powell dec’d recorded by Wm Wilson.
5. Norfolk Co., Va., Appraisements, 4:206, James Carney dec’d recorded by Wm Wilson.