Top Tips For Deciphering Old Handwriting

We are often ask why it it that we have so much success deciphering old handwriting.  Part of that is experience but there are also some good tips to help make this easier.

Check out the National Records of Scotland's website Scottish Handwriting which gives free tuition on Scottish handwriting.  Whether you want to do all the exercises or use it as a reference for the style of old letters, it is an invaluable aid.

During the 16th and 17th centuries in Scotland, most legal documents were written in Latin or Scots so it's important to become familiar with Latin genealogy terms and also to have a good Scots dictionary or visit the Dictionary of the Scots Language online.

If you are looking at a document online or scanned into your computer then it is normally possible to make a negative image of the original.  This can often decipher unclear handwriting.

Get used to the style of the writer. If you are looking at a long document then this is easy but if you are looking at a document such as a birth/marriage/death certificate then try looking for other records that you are interested in from the same location around the same time period.  You will often find a registrar is there for many years and so you have more examples of their handwriting for reading practice.

If you have trouble deciphering a word then write down what you think it is and then search for the word online.  This will often give you good results and also an explanation of any unfamiliar words.  It's also a great way of pinning down streets and place names accurately. 

If you are completely stuck with a word, it helps to try to break it down into individual letters.  If this still proves a problem, look in the document for that letter in other words where you have been able to read a word.

A fresh pair of eyes can help!  Not only if you are tired, though that can be a problem at times but by asking someone else to look.  Everyone has their own way of looking at things and sometimes they can decipher a puzzling word or phrase.

The vocabulary used is often different to the words we use now however if you read a document and find a word that is unfamiliar, it does not mean that you have made a mistake. Transcribe what you see and make an educated guess as to what it might mean in the context of the document. Once again, it is worth checking online for the meaning of words if you are unfamiliar with them.

Along with vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and abbreviations have all changed over the centuries - and more than once!  Sometimes there is no shortcut but to research these!

Find out how we can help you decipher puzzling words or documents by contacting us for a no obligation chat at kintree@ymail.com.

Please click on the links below to find us on 

facebook                    twitter

Ever come across conflicting evidence and wonder what to believe?

Sometimes you can come across conflicting evidence when researching family history.

In Scotland, birth, marriage and death certificates give detailed information not only of the person or people registered in the event but also give details of the parents.

Death certificates are a common source of conflicting evidence.  The person registering the death is likely to be upset and can give the wrong information accidentally.  They may not know some of the details or guess at them.  Dependent on the registrar taking the details, they may have been encouraged to provide an answer so that no gaps were left!

However, even in birth and marriage certificates, details can bee recorded incorrectly.

For birth certificates, it is often only one parent who attended to register the birth and they may not know the details of their partner's family or some forget their marriage date!  

With marriage certificates, there may be problems as one person may have filled in the details for both even though each person needs to sign the forms.  

For any documentation, it may simply be that your ancestors could not read or write and they were reliant on someone else recording the details with no way for them to correct any mistakes.

So how do we deal with these types of problems?

Where we can corroborate the evidence then there is much more likelihood that this will be the correct information.  Sometimes of course, when it has been recorded incorrectly once, then it may be repeated if the information is simply copied.  However, what is far more likely is that it will be recorded incorrectly once and correctly on other occasions.

There may only be two pieces of evidence however so how should you deal with this? If you are recording a birth for example and have conflicting dates with no way to choose between the two, then record anything that is certain.  

John Hunter

Using the example of the renowned physician and anatomist John Hunter who was born in 1728, we find that his birth was recorded in the parish records as being 14 July 1728.  However recorded evidence shows he celebrated and believed his birthday to be 13 February 1728. 

On a family tree therefore we can record the year of his birth and the place as neither of these facts are disputed and are corroborated.

Keep a record of the other information and put a note in your files about the disputed date as you do not know what other information may come to light in the future to help clarify this.

If you are writing a family history book then you can record the date but add in the information about the conflicting evidence on the day and month of birth.  This can be an interesting item to include and most of us enjoy the mystery and to think about what might have happened!

For more information on how we can help you sort through conflicting evidence, please get in touch for a no obligation chat.

kintree@ymail.com

Click on the links below to find us on 

facebook                    twitter

++++Ten Tops Tips +++Ten Tops Tips+++Ten Tops Tips +++Ten Tops Tips+++Ten Tops Tips +++Ten Tops Tips+++Ten Tops Tips +

Ten Tops Tips For Family History Research

1. Family Information 

Most families have access to some birth, marriage and death certificates so it is always a good place to start by asking relatives what information they have.  Families can also be a wealth of information on where people lived, their jobs and interests. These can all be keys to filling in your family's story. This is something that Kin Tree professional researchers will always encourage people to do.

2. What Do You Want To Find Out

Think about what you want to find out. Are you interested in birth, marriage or deaths, surname origins, places, occupations... Plan out how you will do this. You may find out that your interests widen as you find out information.  That's great but remember to add these new interests into your plans.  Kin Tree often find that people come to us for their family tree details but then ask us to research why a family might move or to give them more information on an occupation, a work place or the living conditions of the family.

3. One Branch At A Time

Image courtesy of franky242/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Its not so good to try to do different parts of the family all at once.  It can be hard to not get confused with names, dates and places otherwise.  Whether doing research for one tree or like Kin Tree for a variety of families, its important to have files for each family and their branches.  Keep a note of where you get information.  It makes it much easier to go back and check if you need further information or to clarify anything. 

4. Keep Records Of Searches

Image courtesy of Keattikorn/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Keep a note of what you are doing. Recently, for example, one of Kin Tree's researchers was at a Scotland's People Centre and came across a birth where the mother's maiden name was not the one expected.  Although our researcher was fairly sure it was a mistake, she took the time to check out these new details for this mother - birth certificate, census records and a marriage - to check if this was a different person.  No details of anyone with the unexpected maiden name were found but our researcher noted down the research carried out.  This prevents duplication.  It is easy to forget what might have been done when you look back some time later.

5. Family Stories

Family stories can be a great source of clues to the past but sometimes they are not accurate. Our researchers were asked to find the death certificate of someone who was originally from Scotland but who had died in the USA.  He was supposed to have died helping to build one of New York's iconic buildings. The family had hit a brick wall and called us in to help.  We checked USA records on the person but could find nothing for a death.  We decided to check the Scottish records and found his death in Scotland some 10 years after the building was finished.  

6. Archives

Many archives hold great information unavailable elsewhere.  Often though these are not online.  Archives will be indexed in different ways so if you don't find the information you are looking for, try to think of a different way of looking and you may be surprised at the results! Kin Tree have experience of accessing a wide range of archives so please get in touch if you need some help.

7. Write Down Your Thoughts

Have a notebook to jot down your thoughts as you go along.  This is great for when something pops into your head at a time when you are busy but you might forget later. It's especially useful when you are searching records and it makes you think of a follow up which might also be relevant to another branch of the family tree.  

8. Be Sensitive

Sometimes you will find out unexpected information which you may find fascinating however others may feel sensitive about what you have found.  Kin Tree would suggest that you talk to people about the information before putting it all down in a book.  Kin Tree would always pass on this information but never put it down in black and white without permission.

9. Looking To The Future

If you are attending a family event, record who was there along with the date and place.  Was there anything out of the ordinary - perhaps a wedding in a location with a significance to the couple etc? What might be known to you will not be known to future generations when your family history book is passed on.

10. Expert Help

Professional genealogists such as those at Kin Tree have a wealth of knowledge which can be very useful. Do you need help when you hit a brick wall or can't access an archive yourself? Would trawling through records cost too much? Kin Tree can help save you time and money as our expertise means we know what is possible and practical and are used to costing out research. We have studied not only genealogy but also history so we can provide a rounded service to give you an extensive picture of your family's story.

If you have any questions or enquiries, please contact us! 

You can contact us by email:  kintree@ymail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kin.tree

twitter: www.twitter.com/kin_tree  @kin_tree

Next Article:  First Cousin Once removed? Second Cousin? Find Out The Difference!