X is for an X-mark signature

Elizabeth Moakson's mark

 This was more common amongst women than men in the 19th century.

We often come across marriage certificates in parish records in England and Australia where the wife's signature was an X, indicating that she could not write her name.  This event was probably the only time a woman had to sign, every other document being the responsibility of the husband.  A will would have been the only other document I can think of, and many women without independent assets and/or education died intestate.

Sometimes the marriage certificate was filled out completely by the vicar or curate - this was the case for the 1836 marriage of Isaac Moxon and Sarah Middleton at St John's, Kirkby Wharfe in Yorkshire.  In this case, the witness - a male signed with an X.  Maybe Isaac and Sarah were too proud to write their own names or mark.

On the other hand, when Isaac's elder son Joshua Middleton Moxon married 30 years later, both he and Louisa Mary Wilkinson could sign their names.  Schooling was more widespread for boys by the late 1840s, even amongst poor families.  Joshua aged 10 and his brother John aged 7 were both shown as scholars in the 1851 census.  Joshua probably needed schooling to avoid working in the mines and to become a stone carving apprentice.

Louisa was also shown as a scholar, living with her Thorpe aunts in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. 

The image above is a snip from Elizabeth Moakson's marriage record (1804) to Thomas Robinson in Yorkshire. It shows that whilst both fathers and the bridegroom could sign their names, Elizabeth (Isaac's sister) could not.

Using an X or another symbol as a  substitute for a name is still legal in many jurisdictions today, including Australia.