Looking To Identify This Signature/Autograph

[nyr134]

I am looking to identify this signature.  It was in a collection belonging to a U.S. Senator who served from 1837 to 1843.  Most of the other materials were from political notables or government officials from that era.  Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Anonymous]

J.P. McCain? 

Admitting that would be a weird "M" and not sure where the little "c" is.

[maeday76 · Accepted solution]

To my modern eyes it reads H.P. Blair. But I suspect this is not quite right. I'll try and check further, but a sneaky voice is telling me the first letter is more likely an I/J and less likely, a T or F. 

Jeremiah Providence Blair 

Israel Pemberton Blair

When the script is that loopy, the names are sometimes even loopier. 

One thing: are the marks between the initials made by the writer or artefacts of the xerox?

[nyr134]

In response to maeday 76:  Thanks so much for your efforts.  The two dots below (and on the left portion of the letters) are in the same ink as the signature, so they are likely denoting initials. (The other dots are just extraneous spots.)  

[nyr134]

You made me realize that the dots denote initials.  It is F.P. Blair (Francis Preston [Sr.])

[maeday76]

Darn it. I was hoping for some crazy 18th century protestant moniker from the most obscure parts of the Bible.

That guy just sounds like an MP for Northern Ireland . 

Thanks for the handwriting refresher. It's one of my favorite things to investigate and I rarely get the chance. 

If you want to completely blow your own mind, look up mid 19th century German script. It looks like the letters you're used to, but they aren't. It's incomprehensible to any lay German alive today.