The recorded history of sign language in Western societies starts in the 17th century, as a visual language or method of communication, although references to forms of communication using hand gestures date back as far as 5th century BC Greece. Sign language is composed of a system of conventional gestures, mimic, hand signs and finger spelling, plus the use of hand positions to represent the letters of the alphabet. Signs can also represent complete ideas or phrases, not only individual words. In Native American communities prior to 1492, it seems that Plains Indian Sign Language existed as an extensive lingua franca used for trade and possibly ceremonies, story-telling and also daily communication by deaf people. The earliest concrete reference to sign language in Britain is from the wedding of a deaf man named Thomas Tillseye in 1575.
N 38 42. 
W 93 13. 
BYOP