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Dear Editor,
I was wanting to ask for your opinion on a citation I have crafted for a 5 page document that are all part of the one marriage settlement. On the back of one of these pages, it shows:
Mr John Cowlen
and } Marriage Settlement
Miss Elizabeth Chave
Dated 22nd Day of September 1797
The 1st page starts: This Indenture of Four Parts made...
The 2nd page starts: Title Interest Also Trust...
The 3rd page starts: Agreement And for the considerations…
The 4th page starts: Writing or Writings with or without power….
The 5th page starts: Same Respectively according to the true interest….
I have read EE “The Basics: Manuscripts & Online Images” and I also received these as images of the original record from the Archive; they are not published and only available at or from the archive.
So, this is what I have come up with:
"Mr John Cowlen and Miss Elizabeth Chave: Marriage Settlement," 22 September 1797; Indenture of Four Parts, Title Interest, Agreement and Writings; Reference number: 4920M/F1, Tiverton Deed, 1797; Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter.
F.Y.I. This is the URL to the record in the Archive's online catalogue. https://devon-cat.swheritage.org.uk/records/4920M/F1
Should I be using the Title that the archive uses? i.e. Marriage Settlement: Cowler [Cowlen] and Chave, Tiverton, 22undated September 1797 (I am unsure why they say 22undated September 1797 as the document clearly has the date written on it).
I have also sometimes seen a reference to MS when people are citing manuscript items.
Anyway, I would appreciate any thoughts, when you have time to answer.
All the best,
Robyn
Robyn, I'm making one major,…
Robyn, I'm making one major, major alteration in your draft citation—the substitution of parentheses for a semi-colon <g>:
"Mr John Cowlen and Miss Elizabeth Chave: Marriage Settlement," 22 September 1797 (Indenture of Four Parts, Title Interest, Agreement and Writings); Reference number: 4920M/F1, Tiverton Deed, 1797; Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter.
The phrase "Indenture of Four Parts ..." is a description of the marriage settlement. It's not a different unit in the organizational heircharchy, units that are separated by semicolons. If the description did not have internal commas of its own, you could have just used a comma here; but given the complexity of the description, the use of parentheses makes for clearer punctuation.
I like that alteration very…
I like that alteration very much!
It looks nicer (and tidier) and I think it describes/clarifies what I have. Thank you (again).