Daily Ancestormanu propria
Manu propria is Latin for with one's own hand, written beside a signature to show the person signed it personally.
Manu propria means by one's own hand. The BYU list of common phrases gives (signed) in his, her or my own hand.
It tells you the signature is the person's own, so it can show that an ancestor could write. When someone could not write, the record may say signum fecit, he or she made a mark, instead.
As seen in a recordSignature on a Latin baptism certificate, Austria, 1800s
Joannes Pruckmayr, parochus, manu propria
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "manu propria." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/manu-propria. Last checked 2026-10-12.