Reading old handwriting

The technical term for reading old handwriting is palaeography.

In order to transcribe handwritten records accurately, the family historian needs to develop some skill in this area.

Useful websites

• Tips for reading old handwriting Help & Advice Centre, Ancestry
• 11 Tips For Reading Old Handwriting findmypast blog.
• Useful Tips for Reading Handwritten Documents NSW Government State Archives and Records website
• Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 – 1800 A practical online tutorial The National Archives, Kew.
• Reading English Handwritten Records from FamilySearch Learning Center. Covers "Secretary Hand" used in the 1500s and 1600s. The videos may also be viewed using Chrome as a browser, in addition to the browsers specified.

Handwriting Helps: English, a FamilySearch indexing Help page

• Copperplate Victorian Hand Writing Causeway Museum Service, now an archived webpage.
• A Guide to Reading Old Handwriting in relation to Postal History by allanoliver1937@msn.com. A download which you may need to locate in your downloads folder.
• Deciphering Old Handwriting by Sabina J. Murray
• Brigham Young University Script Tutorials Guidance in deciphering old handwriting styles. Languages covered include English, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
• Scottish Handwriting Website offering assistance in understanding historical documents written in Scotland in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. There is a weekly poser taken from an old manuscript which helps test your skills and which gives the site a fresh feel. (answers given!)
• Examples of different handwriting styles Google Search