In the course of your genealogy research, you may find yourself going to look at some very old records. It can be exciting to actually touch and see pieces of your family history that are so old. However, it can also be frustrating if the documents are not so easy to read and you look at them wondering whether you will be able to get any useful information from looking at them.
There are entire books that have been written about how to read ancient documents, such as Kip Sperry’s “Reading Early American Handwriting”. If you do not have time to read an entire book, or if you are just looking for a few quick ideas that you can try to use to decipher the documents before you go and read an entire book on deciphering old records, take note. There are a few basic principles of reading ancient documents that can help you to get started.
First, try to figure out some of the words that have you stumped by comparing them to other words that you have been able to read. Look for similar letters in words on the same page or on other pages. This may trigger an Aha! moment. Also, pay attention to context. If you are able to decipher a few words near the word that you are unsure of, you may be able to make an educated guess as to what the word is by simply asking yourself what word or words could make sense in the place where the confusing word is. It is helpful to skim through the document first and write down any words that you definitely recognize. After you skim through it, then you can read it word for word and see if you recognize any other words.
The unfortunate reality is that the clerks, scribes, and other record keepers that created the records that you are viewing did not create them for you. They may have taken great pride in producing a beautiful document written in an elegant (yet illegible) script. They may have used words or abbreviations that were in common usage at the time of the writing of the document but are no longer used today. Oh, and did I mention that there were no dictionaries in America until 1806? When it comes to ancient documents, some words may be spelled phonetically or “incorrectly”. Knowing this ahead of time can help you to recognize words without getting hung up on whether they are spelled correctly. With a little effort (okay, some times a lot of effort), you will probably be able to make sense of the ancient documents that you are working with.