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Reading Old Records

Men with babies, VPL #19039, no date, Philip Timms.
Men with babies, VPL #19039, no date, Philip Timms.

You have found a record for your ancestor. Now the tricky bit ... reading and interpreting what it says! It can sometimes be a challenge to decipher fancy or sloppy handwriting. You may also wonder what that term or abbreviation means? If you're having difficulty, perhaps some of the sources on this page will help you solve the mystery.

Useful Websites

There are a number of tricks for reading old handwriting, enough that you could take an entire college course on the topic. This article provides information on some of the unusual things you're likely to encounter reading historical documents.

A list of helpful online dictionaries and glossaries for genealogical research.

This article explores the possible pitfalls that come from older handwriting styles, spelling and punctuation, and the changing boundaries of counties.

Provides a range of online tutorials on Latin and palaeography to help you read documents from the medieval period and beyond.

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