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Reading and Understanding Old Documents & Records By Kimberly Powell, About.com
Handwriting Practice Medical Records Alphabet Worksheets Personality Insight Cursive Handwriting
Almost every genealogist or family history researcher struggles once in a while to make sense of an old document or record. Whether it is deciphering the fancy handwriting in a sixteenth century will, or understanding the meaning of obsolete terms in a census record or death certificate, old documents present a number of interesting challenges for genealogists.
Handwriting Considering how prevalent transcription errors are in census indexes and other databases, even modern handwriting can be difficult to read and cause difficulty for genealogists. As you go back in time, the difficulties only increase because added to reading someone's bad handwriting, you'll also have to deal with archaic spellings, unusual scripts and other handwriting oddities. You don't have to be an expert in paleography to read old documents, but some experience with reading old handwriting is a must when dealing with old documents.
Tips for Deciphering Old Handwriting
Deciphering Old Handwriting Filed In: Handwriting WorksheetsPick the font, enter text, and create handwriting worksheets!edHelper.com
Scottish Surnames Handwriting Fonts Medical Records My Handwriting Personality Insight
One of the major challenges facing genealogists is learning to read and understand the older language forms and handwriting styles commonly found in the documents and records detailing the lives of our ancestors. Learning to decipher the old handwriting techniques and characters of earlier times is a skill that needs time, practice and a lot of patience. As we look at old documents we often find ourselves with questions concerning the formation of specific characters, the meaning of particular abbreviations, or the spelling of certain words.
The best way to get good at reading old handwriting is to do it a lot. Get together some of those document copies you have sitting in file cabinets or boxes and plan to spend some time transcribing them in their entirety. The following tips will help you as you get started:
Genealogy Records Research Understanding Old DocumentsCommonly Confused Letters in Old HandwritingTop 10 Overlooked Genealogy Records
Names in Old Documents How Was Your Last Name Spelled?Common Nicknames & the Real Names They RepresentWhat Does Your Last Name Mean?
Related Articles
Another site on Paleography is:
http://genealogy.about.com/od/paleography/Paleography_Deciphering_Old_Handwriting.htm
Dates and Calendars As your research extends further back into time, you may find youself encountering some unusual dates. Dates may be listed, for example, in relationship to another event, rather than by the calendar. One common example of this practice is regnal years, where the year is recorded by the number of years since the accession of the reigning monarch (i.e. 2006 is the 53rd year of Elizabeth II). Then there is the Julian Calendar with its period of double dating, the French Revolutionary Calendar with its unusually named months, the Quaker system of dating, and the Church Calendar, where dates may be recorded based on the Saint days. It is important to familiarize yourself with the calendar and dating systems in use for the place and time of your research, so that you can correctly interpret the dates.
Getting the Date Right! How to Read & Convert Dates in Old Documents and Records
Archaic & Technical Terms Genealogists researching in old documents encounter terms from a number of specialist areas, from legal and Latin words, to obsolete names for medical diseases. Old words you encounter may not always mean what you think. A spinster, for example, may refer to an unmarried lady, but could also refer to a woman who worked as a spinner of yarn. Genealogists should always have a few good historical and technical dictionaries at their disposal, to sort out the jargon, decipher the foreign language, and otherwise interpret the true meaning of the words found in old documents.
What is that Word? Dictionaries & Glossaries for Genealogists
What is That Word? Using Dictionaries & Glossaries in Family History Research Genealogy has its own language, similar to other disciplines such as law, medicine or real estate. When tracing your family tree it is common to encounter records filled with archaic, obsolete or legal terms, acronyms, and abbreviations that you aren't familiar with. This can make genealogy seem a lot like learning a foreign language to an overwhelmed "newbie." Misinterpreting these terms or applying present-day definitions to documents created in an earlier century can lead your research in the wrong direction. Taking the time to look up the appropriate meaning of a word or interpretation of an abbreviation is an important part of your family history search.
Archaic Words & Phrases
When reading old documents, you'll often find words which are no longer in use, or whose meanings have changed. When you find your ancestor's occupation listed as a pettifogger or his cause of death noted as dropsy, will you know what it means? These words can generally be found defined in specialized dictionaries or glossaries.
Online Specialized Dictionaries for Genealogists
Historical Dictionaries
Documents from the past often mean words from the past. Noah Webster created his first dictionary in 1806, and such historical dictionaries are often filled with terms which have disappeared or whose usage has changed. Look for old editions or historical reprints or standard dictionaries for the meanings and usage of such words. In some cases, modern dictionaries and glossaries have been published which cover these historical terms. One such example is Colonial American English, a Glossary: Words and Phrases Found in Colonial Writing, Now Archaic, Obscure, Obsolete or Whose Meanings Have Changed by Richard M. Lederer, Jr. (Essex, Conn.: Verbatim Book, 1985).
Historical Dictionaries Online
Specialized Slang
Even within a single language, words and usage may vary by locality. Slang dictionaries and dictionaries with a regional approach, such as Wilfred Blevins, Dictionary of the American West (New York: Facts on File, 1993) are an excellent source for the meanings of words used in a specific region or in an uncommon way.
Foreign Language
The necessity of reading and interpreting a foreign language is the stumbling block for most genealogists venturing into a new region of research. While it is always helpful to know the language, you can actually get by with knowledge of some important key words and phrases. Use a good foreign language dictionary, or check out one of these genealogy word lists which provide English meanings for many of the most important foreign words found in genealogical documents.
Bilingual Dictionaries & Translation
Deciphering Digital Copies Digitized versions of old documents are very prevalent online and on CD-ROM, but these scanned images -- especially the ones made from microfilm -- can often be very difficult to read. Some images come with their own special viewing software, which allows you to zoom, lighten, darken, change the contrast, or otherwise manipulate the image to make it easier to read. For digital images which don't have such software, you can enhance them yourself by using a graphics software program. This won't eliminate all problems, but can make a difficult-to-read document a bit more legible.
Related Articles
http://genealogy.about.com/od/basics/a/old_handwriting.htm
http://genealogy.about.com/od/basics/a/old_handwriting.htm
Reading and Understanding Old Documents & Records By Kimberly Powell, About.com
Handwriting Practice Medical Records Alphabet Worksheets Personality Insight Cursive Handwriting
Almost every genealogist or family history researcher struggles once in a while to make sense of an old document or record. Whether it is deciphering the fancy handwriting in a sixteenth century will, or understanding the meaning of obsolete terms in a census record or death certificate, old documents present a number of interesting challenges for genealogists.
Handwriting Considering how prevalent transcription errors are in census indexes and other databases, even modern handwriting can be difficult to read and cause difficulty for genealogists. As you go back in time, the difficulties only increase because added to reading someone's bad handwriting, you'll also have to deal with archaic spellings, unusual scripts and other handwriting oddities. You don't have to be an expert in paleography to read old documents, but some experience with reading old handwriting is a must when dealing with old documents.
Tips for Deciphering Old Handwriting
Deciphering Old Handwriting Filed In: Handwriting WorksheetsPick the font, enter text, and create handwriting worksheets!edHelper.com
Scottish Surnames Handwriting Fonts Medical Records My Handwriting Personality Insight
One of the major challenges facing genealogists is learning to read and understand the older language forms and handwriting styles commonly found in the documents and records detailing the lives of our ancestors. Learning to decipher the old handwriting techniques and characters of earlier times is a skill that needs time, practice and a lot of patience. As we look at old documents we often find ourselves with questions concerning the formation of specific characters, the meaning of particular abbreviations, or the spelling of certain words.
The best way to get good at reading old handwriting is to do it a lot. Get together some of those document copies you have sitting in file cabinets or boxes and plan to spend some time transcribing them in their entirety. The following tips will help you as you get started:
- Don't assume. Read slowly and practice patience making sure that the words make sense as you go.
- Use a good quality magnifying glass
- Use letters from words in the document that you can read to piece together the letters in the words you are having trouble with. One trick is to start by looking for dates, which are usually present in genealogical documents. Then use the letters in the month, day of the week, etc. to help determine the writer's style.
- As you figure out individual letters, you may want to consider creating an alphabet chart with examples of each letter style.
- Keep in mind as you go that words were often misspelled in older documents - especially personal names and place names. You will often even find them spelled differently in different parts of the document. You can use other documents, atlases, etc. as sources to verify the correct spellings.
- Transcribe the document exactly as it is written - misspellings and all. This will help to keep you from making assumptions that might trip you up in your research at a later date. Hopefully, as you go back through your records and documents, you will find new clues that were originally overlooked because the text was too hard to read. Happy hunting!
Genealogy Records Research Understanding Old DocumentsCommonly Confused Letters in Old HandwritingTop 10 Overlooked Genealogy Records
Names in Old Documents How Was Your Last Name Spelled?Common Nicknames & the Real Names They RepresentWhat Does Your Last Name Mean?
Related Articles
- Reading & Understanding Old Documents - Handwriting, Terms, Spelling, D...
- 6 Ways to Keep Your Documents Organized in Word
- How to proofread text and layout
- Definition of Self-Taught Reader - What is a Self-Taught Reader?
Another site on Paleography is:
http://genealogy.about.com/od/paleography/Paleography_Deciphering_Old_Handwriting.htm
Dates and Calendars As your research extends further back into time, you may find youself encountering some unusual dates. Dates may be listed, for example, in relationship to another event, rather than by the calendar. One common example of this practice is regnal years, where the year is recorded by the number of years since the accession of the reigning monarch (i.e. 2006 is the 53rd year of Elizabeth II). Then there is the Julian Calendar with its period of double dating, the French Revolutionary Calendar with its unusually named months, the Quaker system of dating, and the Church Calendar, where dates may be recorded based on the Saint days. It is important to familiarize yourself with the calendar and dating systems in use for the place and time of your research, so that you can correctly interpret the dates.
Getting the Date Right! How to Read & Convert Dates in Old Documents and Records
Archaic & Technical Terms Genealogists researching in old documents encounter terms from a number of specialist areas, from legal and Latin words, to obsolete names for medical diseases. Old words you encounter may not always mean what you think. A spinster, for example, may refer to an unmarried lady, but could also refer to a woman who worked as a spinner of yarn. Genealogists should always have a few good historical and technical dictionaries at their disposal, to sort out the jargon, decipher the foreign language, and otherwise interpret the true meaning of the words found in old documents.
What is that Word? Dictionaries & Glossaries for Genealogists
What is That Word? Using Dictionaries & Glossaries in Family History Research Genealogy has its own language, similar to other disciplines such as law, medicine or real estate. When tracing your family tree it is common to encounter records filled with archaic, obsolete or legal terms, acronyms, and abbreviations that you aren't familiar with. This can make genealogy seem a lot like learning a foreign language to an overwhelmed "newbie." Misinterpreting these terms or applying present-day definitions to documents created in an earlier century can lead your research in the wrong direction. Taking the time to look up the appropriate meaning of a word or interpretation of an abbreviation is an important part of your family history search.
Archaic Words & Phrases
When reading old documents, you'll often find words which are no longer in use, or whose meanings have changed. When you find your ancestor's occupation listed as a pettifogger or his cause of death noted as dropsy, will you know what it means? These words can generally be found defined in specialized dictionaries or glossaries.
Online Specialized Dictionaries for Genealogists
Historical Dictionaries
Documents from the past often mean words from the past. Noah Webster created his first dictionary in 1806, and such historical dictionaries are often filled with terms which have disappeared or whose usage has changed. Look for old editions or historical reprints or standard dictionaries for the meanings and usage of such words. In some cases, modern dictionaries and glossaries have been published which cover these historical terms. One such example is Colonial American English, a Glossary: Words and Phrases Found in Colonial Writing, Now Archaic, Obscure, Obsolete or Whose Meanings Have Changed by Richard M. Lederer, Jr. (Essex, Conn.: Verbatim Book, 1985).
Historical Dictionaries Online
Specialized Slang
Even within a single language, words and usage may vary by locality. Slang dictionaries and dictionaries with a regional approach, such as Wilfred Blevins, Dictionary of the American West (New York: Facts on File, 1993) are an excellent source for the meanings of words used in a specific region or in an uncommon way.
Foreign Language
The necessity of reading and interpreting a foreign language is the stumbling block for most genealogists venturing into a new region of research. While it is always helpful to know the language, you can actually get by with knowledge of some important key words and phrases. Use a good foreign language dictionary, or check out one of these genealogy word lists which provide English meanings for many of the most important foreign words found in genealogical documents.
Bilingual Dictionaries & Translation
Deciphering Digital Copies Digitized versions of old documents are very prevalent online and on CD-ROM, but these scanned images -- especially the ones made from microfilm -- can often be very difficult to read. Some images come with their own special viewing software, which allows you to zoom, lighten, darken, change the contrast, or otherwise manipulate the image to make it easier to read. For digital images which don't have such software, you can enhance them yourself by using a graphics software program. This won't eliminate all problems, but can make a difficult-to-read document a bit more legible.
Related Articles
- Deciphering Old Handwriting - How to Read Old Handwriting & Script
- Getting the Date Right - How to Read & Convert Dates in Old Documents a...
- Getting the Date Right - How to Read & Convert Dates in Old Documents a...
- Introduction to Genealogy - Lesson 1E: Recording Dates
- Organizing Your Vital Papers
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