Very interesting. Upon further examination of my birth certificate, my mother's signature is in a box titled: Signature of Informant
She acted as a witness for the STATE.
on the topic of our current financial situation... a couple of definitions of jubilee:
1. The Jubilee (Hebrew Yovel יובל) year is the year at the end of seven cycles of Sabbatical years (Hebrew Shmita), and according to Biblical regulations had a special impact on the ownership and management of land in the territory of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah; there is some debate whether it was the 49th year (the last year of seven sabbatical cycles, referred to as the Sabbath's Sabbath), or whether it was the following 50th year.
2. The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In the Biblical book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every fifty years, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest.
what happened on April 15th, 1861? I'm not sure if I should be happy or afraid. :)
I did find this little article -
http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/proclamation1.html