|
[We have been made aware
that many did not receive Tuesday’s Everton’s Newsline.
Therefore, we are including Tuesday’s article and
news items with today’s issue. We
realize this means today’s Newsline is longer than usual and we thank
you for your patience.]
Acquiring
Fluency in Reading Archaic English Documents
By Nathan W.
Murphy, AG
With anticipation, you begin to read
the 17th-century English will of one of your ancestors — or
do you? This old document contains priceless ancestral information, but
at first glance, appears impossible to read. Genealogists remember
first encounters with these “chicken scratch” scripts and the feelings
of frustration involved in vain attempts to interpret them. Experts
know that acquiring fluency in reading archaic English documents
requires sufficient instruction, study and practice. Proper instruction
includes learning how to decipher old handwriting, understand
antiquated terminology, and how to correctly extend abbreviations.
Over the centuries, the English
have used several different handwriting styles. Scribes composed legal
documents chiefly in what is termed secretary hand from the 15th
to the 17th centuries. Secretary hand merged with italic
hand, which originated in Italy.
By the end of the 17th century, the offspring of this
handwriting marriage called mixed hand (also known as round hand)
developed. Mixed and italic hands are the handwriting styles currently
used in Great Britain,
America,
and Western Europe.1,2,3
To learn secretary hand requires
familiarization with characters that differ from the handwriting we use
in our modern-day alphabet; nevertheless, the alphabet is basically the
same.
- Modernizations of the archaic hand:
“æ”=“e”, “y”=“th,” “ii”=“y”
- Difficult to distinguish characters:
“u,” “v,” and “n;” “c” and “r;” “s” and “f”
- Interchangeable letters: “i” and “j,”
“u” and “v”
- Peculiar ligatures (two letters
written as one character): “th,” “ph,” “st”
- Letters written differently from the
current style:
- “e” has the appearance of a modern “e”
written backwards
- “r” looks like an upside-down cursive
lower-case “r”
- “h” is difficult to describe without a
visual representation
- “s” resembles a cursive “f.”
These are just a few examples of the
many characters that have changed over time. Additionally, many capital
letters share little resemblance with their modern counterparts. For
example, people wrote an upper-case “F” as “ff.” Since each scribe
wrote differently, researchers must learn the nuances of each of the
clerk’s unique characters. Practice writing an alphabet as the scribe
wrote and obstacles will vanish.
Dr. Dave Postles of the University
of Leicester has developed
an excellent free online tutorial course to learn how to read secretary
hand. It is used in the university’s English Local History master’s
program. The Web sitee, Early Modern Palaeography, is available at: <paleo.anglo-norman.org/>. Click on the coin from Henry
VIII’s reign to enter the English palaeography course. If you’re
feeling particularly daring, click on the coin from Edward I’s reign,
to the left, to enter the Latin palaeography tutorial. The English
palaeography Web site contains just about everything a researcher needs
to know in order to read this old handwriting.
Just as the English used by
Shakespeare and in the King James Version Bible varies from modern
English, documents written during that era contain archaic terminology.
The eager genealogist will encounter pillow bears, baxspittles,
fitches, and wisketts in 16th- and 17th-century
manuscripts. In addition to new words, researchers become acquainted
with 20 variant ways to spell one word, as contemporaneous scribes did
not use fixed spellings. Significant aids for understanding the
vocabulary and spelling variations used in these documents include: Oxford English Dictionary, and Barbara J. Evans’ A to Zax. The 20-volume Oxford
English Dictionary is available at most large libraries. It is also
accessible on!
line by subscription or for purchase on CD-ROM for $295. See <www.oed.com>.
One of the most complex problems
arises from the medieval form of shorthand clerks continued to use
during this time. During the middle ages, in the attempt to conserve
expensive ink, writing utensils, and parchment, scribes abbreviated
large portions of the text. Although they did not use this system as
intensely during the era in which we are interested as in the centuries
preceding it, genealogists must become acquainted with the common
abbreviations. The British pound symbol “£” is actually an example of
one type of abbreviation. The horizontal line crossing the capital “L”
signifies that the scribe chopped off the remainder of the word,
“Libra,” the Latin term for pound. Other common abbreviations include:
- a swerving line above the word often
denoting a missing “m” or “n”
- superscript letters written
above the writing line, as in the modern-day 1st
- “s” for solidos (shilling in English),
and “d” for denarius (pence in English), both used in the British
monetary system. Roman numerals also appear frequently as numerical
values.
Anyone can learn to read 16th-
and 17th-century English handwriting. Although in many ways
the language and handwriting differ drastically from modern-day
English, these obstacles can be overcome, and hidden ancestors found.
(1) Oxford English Dictionary. Online Edition, “secretary” and
“italic.” Internet, available by subscription at <www.oed.com>. Accessed March 23, 2004.
(2) Postles, Dave. “The Development of Hands,” Early Modern Palaeography.Available at <paleo.anglo-norman.org/hands.html>. Accessed March 23, 2004.
(3) Hector, Leonard Charles. The Handwriting of English Documents. Dorking: Kohler and
Coombes, 1980.
Nathan W. Murphy is
an Accredited Genealogist specializing in Mid-south and Gulf- south United States
research. He expects to graduate with a B.A. in
Family History from Brigham Young University in August 2004. Other areas of research interest include England, Wales, Quebec, Scandinavia, Latin America and Italy. He is a professional in reading Tudor Stuart handwriting
and acted as head student researcher in BYU Professor Paul Pixton’s 17th
Century Cheshire Wills Project. Nathan provides research services and can be
contacted at nwm8@....
TUESDAY’S 13 APRIL 2004 ARTICLE
Using U.S.
Records to Determine Place of Origin in Germany
By Caren Winters
This article is in response to
many questions I have received regarding German genealogical research.
One of the main troubles with starting research
is knowing where to begin. A person may have heard their ancestor
emigrated from Germany
or even know the kingdom in that country, but this may not be enough
information to begin researching German records. The place of origin
for your ancestor should be specific. This will help you know exactly
where to research in German records. I credit the following methodology
to Larry O. Jensen, author of “German Heritage Clues to Determining the
Place of Origin of Your Immigrant Ancestors.” He
helped me understand the importance of this research process.
Begin with records in the United
States to help you determine the place
of origin of your ancestor. Start with the materials in your
possession. You may have a family Bible which includes family births,
marriages, or deaths, church or vital records, passports, ship
passenger papers, your ancestor’s emigration papers, occupation
documents or military discharge papers. Any of these may give clues to
establish where your ancestor lived in Germany.
If you do not have any of these papers, seek out other living
descendents in your family and ask for their help.
Review state, county, or local
histories where your ancestor settled in the United
States. Histories often identify
well-known individuals, religious and community leaders, or those who
first settled a specific area. The information on these people may
include where they were from and their place of origin. Even if your
ancestor is not listed in the histories, German emigrants who came to
an area often followed family and friends who emigrated earlier. The
place of origin of Germans found in the locality where your ancestors
settled may provide clues for your ancestor’s place of origin.
One of the first records your
ancestor filled out upon their arrival in America
may have been a declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United
States. A petition for naturalization
and final naturalization papers was submitted thereafter. The most
detailed and accurate record of the three is the declaration of
intention. This has the greatest possibility of revealing a place of
birth. Counties cared for naturalization records until the early 1900s
when the U.S.
federal government took over the process.
Vital and church records of the
place your ancestor settled may also reveal origin. Betrothals, banns,
or marriage records may be found if your ancestor married after coming
to the United States.
Children of your ancestor who emigrated when still less than the age of
twelve may be found in confirmation records. These records may show
their place of christening in Germany.
Death sources often revealing a place of birth include death, burial,
and cemetery records or obituaries. Remember to check all
jurisdictional levels for these records.
U.S.
census records after 1850 or U.S.
port records may list a birth place for your ancestor. Military records
of the United States
may also offer this information. The military may have been appealing
to an immigrant because service offered land grants and also made
gaining citizenship less difficult. Examine any records you may find
for hints to determine where your ancestor came from in Germany.
Once you have determined the
place of origin for your immigrant ancestor from Germany,
research in that country will be more focused. Not only will you have
possibly found more specifics on your ancestor’s birth place, but you
should now have a greater understanding of their life in the United
States.
Caren Winters will
graduate with a BA in Family History/Genealogy in August 2004. Her
specialties include German and United States Midwestern research. Caren
has
been married for more than a year to Shane Winters. To contact Caren
you may send an email to newsline@....
Genealogy News &
Events
Red River
Genealogical Society Workshop in Fargo,
North Dakota
The Red River Genealogical
Society will hold a family genealogy workshop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
April 17 at Red River Valley Genealogical Society Library, in the Manchester
Building, 112
N. University Drive, Fargo, N.D.
Topics discussed will include
“Getting Started in Family Genealogy,” “Census Records Research,”
“Civil War and Military Research,” and “Colonial and Early U.S.
Records.” Individual assistance is available for Scandinavian, German,
Irish, Scottish, African-American and other lineage.
Library resources include North
Dakota naturalization records, obituaries and community
histories.
Cost for the event is $15 per
person. For more information, call 701.239.4129.
Chapman Family Asscoiation
The Chapman Family Association
will hold its fourth annual convention and reunion May 8 at the Hilton
Kansas City Airport,
8801N.W. 112th St. For details,
visit the Web site at <my.tbaytel.net/dmhender/OGSweb/index.html>.
Obtaining Immigration
Information Post-1906
In 2002, the U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service was placed under the Bureau of Citizenship
and Immigration Services (BCIS), and it maintains the naturalization
certificate files, known as C-Files. These are all U.S.
naturalizations conducted after Sept. 27, 1906, from all states and territories
and from all courts federal, state, and local. The files are available
for family historians under the Freedom of Information/Privacy Act and
are indexed by the BCIS.
To inquire about an ancestor’s
record, send a letter to the Freedom of Information Act Officer at the
field office where the documents are housed or to the field office
nearest your home. Include the name, date of birth, and place of birth
of the ancestor. If you do not know the exact date of birth and place
of birth, make an approximation and add additional information that
will distinguish your ancestor from all the other people with the same
name. The Freedom of Information Act Officer will respond within ten
working days with a letter that tells you the status of your request
and a list of possible fees.
For further information on
naturalizations, go to the BCIS Web site: www.uscis.gov/
graphics/aboutus/history/ NatzRec/NATREC.htm.
Early Registration
Extended For NGS Conference
The National Genealogical Society
Conference is one of the biggest and best genealogy conferences all
year. If you have not yet registered for the 2004 NGS Conference in the
States, to be held 19-22 May, in Sacramento,
this is your opportunity to take advantage of an extended early-bird
registration deadline. NGS will accept the early-bird rate until 19 April 2004, a savings to
you of $35.00. You can register online at: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.
While at the conference, look
for Family History Network at booth #443!
Free Genealogy Workshops
at Darlington, WI
Public Library
Darlington's
Johnson Public Library is offering a series of three workshops on
genealogy from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday evenings beginning
April 20. The members of the Lafayette County Genealogy Society
conducting the free workshops will focus on the basic of how to search
for your Lafayette County
ancestry.
Class size is limited to less
than 20. People interested in the classes may sign up at the Johnson
Public Library during its open hours: 10
a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays, 1:30
to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 1:30
to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays.
Registration for the class will be accepted by calling (608) 776-4171.
Local History Workshop
This Saturday in Morristown, NJ
Techniques for researching local
history, historic sites and genealogy materials will be offered Saturday, April
17, in a program organized by the Morris County Heritage Commission. "Lost and Found:
Sources for Local History and Genealogy" will be presented from 9:00
a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Morris County Cultural Center, 300 Mendham
Road, Morris Township. Registration and Breakfast will take place at 8:30 a.m.
Speakers include:
Chad Leinaweaver, Library
Director of the New Jersey Historical Society will discuss the manuscript collection
and its Morris county materials.
Archivist Lawrence Greene will present an
overview of the materials available to researches at the Morristown Morris Township
Library's local history and genealogy room.
Dale Patterson, Ph.D. is the
archivist at Drew University
and will give attendees an introduction to the archives of the Methodist
Church. Learning
how to search and plot a deed, a hands on workshop will be presented by
the Morris county heritage commission.
The $5.00 registration fee
includes continental breakfast and information packet.
Contact Peg Shultz, Heritage
Commission History Program Coordinator, (973) 829-8117 or heritage@....
---------------------------------------------------------
If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, or
concerns, or if you have an upcoming event or news item you’d like us
to post, please send it to newsline@....
|
by Date 
- 
