A predecessor of the branding of cattle that we all are familiar with from Western movies, but before that animals were identified by "ear marks" - a clip and a snip in the ear of an animal, whether sheep or cow, identified the owner of the animal.  Ear Marks were registered with the Town Clerk to ensure each was unique.  Families commonly used similar ear marks from father to son and young men were allowed to register their ear mark when they became "of age".

Below is one of the pages from the Ear Mark book of the Town of Oyster Bay.  Among other residents of Oyster Bay it records the ear marks of three John Carmans (two on right side, one on left) and Silas Carman. 

Silas Carman registered his mark in 1739 so the book is at least that old.

A minor collection of cattle mark descriptions can be found by clicking here

I have lost the name of the gentleman who emailed me the photos from the registration book, due to a computer crash that caused me to loose his email.  If you are still out there, write me again please so I can give you the thanks you deserve.