Reading Old Handwriting and Dates in Early Records

The long s, Latin abbreviations, "inst." and "ult.", and double dates like 1731/2. How to read 18th- and 19th-century documents with confidence.

2 min read

Once your research reaches the 1700s and early 1800s, the records stop being typed forms and become pages of handwriting full of unfamiliar letters, abbreviations and dating conventions. Reading old handwriting is called paleography. It's a skill anyone can learn with practice.

Start with what you know

Before reading word by word, find words you can read with certainty: a name you know, a county, a common phrase like "in the name of God amen" at the start of a will. Then use those letters as a key. If you know how this writer formed the e in "Miller," you can recognize it everywhere else on the page.

Letters that look different

• The long s (ſ) looks like an f without the crossbar. It was used at the start or middle of a word, so "Jeſsee" is Jessee and "Miſsiſsippi" is Mississippi. It went out of use in the early 1800s.
• I and J were often written the same way, especially as capitals. "Iohn" is John.
• U and v could be swapped in older writing.
• "Ye" means "the." The y stands in for an old letter, the thorn, pronounced "th." It was never pronounced "ye."
• Double ff at the start of a name, as in "ffrancis," is just a capital F.

Common abbreviations

Clerks saved time by abbreviating, often with the last letters raised:

Double dates and the 1752 calendar change

Britain and its colonies used the old Julian calendar until 1752, and the legal new year began on March 25, not January 1. Dates from January 1 to March 24 were often written with both years: 10 February 1731/2 means February 1732 by today's reckoning.

In September 1752, the British Empire switched to the Gregorian calendar and skipped 11 days. Wednesday, September 2 was followed by Thursday, September 14. That's why George Washington's birthday is given as both February 11, 1731 and February 22, 1732.

Always record double dates exactly as written. Don't "correct" 1731/2 to one year in your notes, or you'll lose information.

Also watch for Quaker dates, which used numbers instead of month names: "3rd month" was March under the new calendar, but May under the old one.

Practical tips

• Transcribe exactly, including original spelling and abbreviations. Put your guesses in [square brackets].
• Read the whole document first before transcribing. Context solves many puzzles.
• Compare other entries by the same clerk in the same book.
• Enlarge and adjust the image's contrast and brightness. Many faded words reappear.
• Read it aloud. Phonetic spelling often makes sense when you hear it: "Fillip Mellar" is Philip Miller.