Ben,
I had spoken to Mr. Jaffee by telephone last year. He confirms that
writing appears on the hoist edge of the flag in question. The writing
appears to be "MATTIE". But this is not absolutely certain.
Howard Madaus claimed to have found another flag bearing the name
"MARY BROWN". What flag Madaus saw this on is still a mystery and no
other flags have been discovered to have any female names on them.
These names could indeed indicate the individuals who actually assembled
the flags. Placing their names on the flags to insure payment would
make sense. Still I do not think that that premise is a certainty.
Finding a pay voucher with that name on it would nail things down nicely.
I still think that there is the possibility that the names indicate a
former owner.
As an aside; the flag you sold to Jaffee has since been reidentified as
that of the 24th Virginia.