Use these resources to help you decipher your ancestors' genealogical documents.
Web Sites
• American Society of Professional Graphologists
• Cyndi’s List: Handwriting
• Fraktur Chart
• Guidelines for Reading Old Documents
• Handwriting How-to
• Old-Style Handwriting: The Thorny Old Ye
• The Palmer Method in New York City Schools
• The Penman Archives
• ScottishHandwriting.com Online Tutorials
Books
• Handwriting in America: A Cultural History by Tamara Plakins Thornton (Yale University Press)
• Handwriting of the 20th Century by Rosemary Sassoon (Routledge)
• Handwriting of American Records for a Period of 300 Years by E. Kay Kirkham, (Everton Publishers)
• Reading Early American Handwriting by Kip Sperry (Genealogical Publishing Co.)
• Reading Old Handwriting by Eve McLaughlin (Federation of Family History Societies)
•
The Record Interpreter: A Collection of Abbreviations, Latin Words and Names Used in Historical Manuscripts and Records by C. Trice Martin (out of print,
but free through Google Books)
• Understanding Colonial Handwriting by Harriet Stryker-Rodda (Genealogical Publishing Co.)
From the January 2009 Family Tree Magazine