Familiar Record Practices: Irrelevant Capitals, Punctuation, Look-Alike Letters

Irrelevant Capitals

There was a tendency to capitalize words for no apparent reason, and

capitalized words might be found anywhere within a sentence. There seems

to have been a tendency to capitalize nouns, but it was not consistent. Some

writers simply capitalized certain letters whenever they began a word with them,

 and there is some variation from scribe to scribe.

Punctuation

There are two main types of exceptions to this kind of punctuation in early records: 

1.  In some writing you will find an occasional comma,
2.  In other writing you will find no punctuation at all.

One practice followed by some scribes was to use dots (•) to indicate pauses.

1. A dot  on the line indicated a brief pause. 
2. A dot above the level of the writing indicated a full stop,  
3. A dot between the words indicated a phrase separation.

These dots, when used, took the place of all other punctuation.

Look-Alike Letters

Another problem, only partially observable in the sample documents shown

capital letters / and / are very difficult to distinguish, as are also U and V.

(In the original Roman alphabet there was only one letter for each of these

pairs.) L and S and even T and F are also easily confused.

However, much depends on the scribe, and there are frequently other capital letters

which are confusing. Study the handwriting very carefully in order to make a distinction

whenever there is a problem.

Initials in names are the chief villains and are especially troublesome in census returns

(and these are in the nineteenth century) and other lists of names.

Small, or lower case, letters also cause many misunderstandings. Curlicues

on the letter d above the line and on y and g below the line can be

troublesome as they often run into other letters, even on other lines of

writing. But they are not much trouble when you recognize them for what

they are.

Another troublesome character is the long 5' (^). To the inexperienced observer this

may appear as either an / or a p or even as a double or double p depending on how

it was used. It was seldom used at the beginnings or endings of words but was almost

always used as the first letter of the double J and frequently in other instances. This

usage persisted into the middle 1800s.

Familiar Record Practices: Problems and Terminology: Name Abbreviations

Another common form of abbreviation was the contraction. A word like

parish might be contracted to p'ish, or present might be contracted to p'sent.

In these examples an apostrophe (') is used, but at other times contractions

were also made by putting a curved line like a tilde ('—) above the contracted

word like this: psent.

You will also find occasions where a word with

a double consonant was written with only one consonant and a line drawn

over it to show that it should be doubled. For example, common might be

written as comon. This was especially used in connection with the letters

m and n, and the line was sometimes curved (cordon).

In actual practice any word might be abbreviated in several different

ways depending on the scribe. In many instances the abbreviation for two

different words might even be the same, but most can be recognized within

the context of the writing.

 Name Abbreviations:

Ordinarily names were abbreviated in the same way as other words; however,

there are a few exceptions to this rule also. Here are just a few popular

name abbreviations:

Aaron - Aar"

Abraham - Abra1"

Andrew - Andr", And"

Arthur - Arf, Arthr

Barbara - Barb'1

Benjamin - Benj'1, Benj", Benj:

Charles - Cha", Char8

Christopher - X1', Xopher, Xofer

Daniel - Dan'

David - Dav'1

Ebenezer - Eben"'

Franklin - Franki", Prank", Frank:

Frederick - Fred"*, Fredr1'

George -Geo:, G°

Gilbert - Gilb1, Gil--*

Hannah - Hanah

James-Ja8, Jas:

Jeremiah - Jer'1, Jerem", Jer:

Jonathan - Jonath", Jon11, Jon:

John-Jno:, Jno

Joseph-Jos, Jos:

Leonard - Leon3

Margaret - Marg1

Nathan - Nath"

Nathaniel - Nath1, Nathan'

Patrick - Patr11

Richard-Rich'1, Rich:

Robert-Rob1, Rob:

Samuel - Sam', Sam:

Stephen - Steph"

Thomas - Tho", Tho:,-1^!^-

Vincent - Vine1, Vine"*

Virginia - Virg^ Virg:

Wilford-Wilfi,Wilf:

William - Will"1, W", Will:

Zachariah - Zacha, Zachar'1, Zach:

Many other names were also frequently abbreviated (and many of those shown were abbreviated in different ways), but most can be recognized quite easily. Nearly every given name of any length and often even surnames will be found abbreviated at one time or another. If you have trouble identifying an abbreviated name you may find it written out some other place in the same record, though this is not always the case.

Familiar Record Practices: Problems and Terminology: Handwriting.

Perhaps you wonder why handwriting is discussed in an American research text. Most American records are recent enough that the handwriting is not too different from your own. Or is it?

Actually there are enough serious problems, especially in the colonial period, that a brief discussion should prove useful.

Handwriting is always a problem. Even in our own time some of us write so that others of us cannot read it except with great difficulty. (Sometimes we can't even read our own handwriting after it gets cold.) But if your ancestors were in America in the 1600s, and even the 1700s, you will find enough carry-over of Middle English in the records that a study of the simpler Middle English alphabets would prove beneficial.

Many records in early America were not written in English at all but in various European languages; however, that is another problem and I will not deal with it here. Your best action when you meet that situation is to seek the help of an expert.

Sometimes when we examine records from past generations we conclude that the most important qualification for a keeper of public records was that he was able to write so that no one else could read it.

However, there is some early handwriting which is carefully written and very readable. In fact, most of the earlier scripts can be read (often quite easily) when we are aware of a few common record practices.

A. Abbreviations

One of the most commonly confused and unappreciated practices in earlier American documents is the practice of abbreviating—a carry-over from the practice of abbreviating in Latin (the official formal record language of early England).

England passed an act in 1733 forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers, but some Latin and the extensive use of abbreviations persisted after that time.

Many writers also used abbreviations just to shorten the amount of writing they had to do; the quill pen was not an instrument of great writing pleasure.

Most abbreviations are recognizable if you are aware that the writer was using them and you are watching for them. There were very few of what might be called "standard" abbreviations, and most words were abbreviated several ways. However, the following are typical:

•  according - accords

• account or accompt - acco1, ace
• administration - admin1011, admon., admon:

• administrator - admin1'

• administratrix - admin*
• aforesaid - afors'1, fors3, afors:, afsd.

• and-&

• and so forth - &c, etc. (et cetera)

• captain - capt°, capt:

• church - chh

• daughter - dau, dau1'

• deceased - dec'1

• ditto - do, d°

• Esquire - Esq:, Esq1', Esq.

• executor - exec'", ex1', ex", exor:

• executrix - exec1, ex", ex11

• Gentleman - Genti", Gent:, Gent.

• honorable - hon1'1 e, hon:

  Let me point out a few important things from the above example.

  Most of the abbreviations are formed by merely shortening the word, sometimes even as we might abbreviate it today, but then putting the last letter (sometimes even two or three letters) of that word above the line.

  This is called superior letter abbreviation. Another form is that of termination— that is, merely cutting short the word to be abbreviated and putting a period or a colon (:) after it, or by drawing a line (——) through it like this: Tho (for Thomas). In very early periods often only the first letter of the word was used.

• improvement - improvem', improv1

• inventory- invent7, inv:

• Junior - Jun1', J^Jun:

• Messieurs - Messrs, Mess1'8

• namely - viz, viz:, viz* (videlicet)

• paid - p'1

• pair - p1'

• per - p--

• personal - person', p'son'

• probate - prob'

• probate register - p. regisf

• received - rec3, recv3

• receipt - rec1

• record – rec'1
• register - reg1', regisf

• said - s9

• Senior-Sen^S1', Sen:

• testament - testam1, testa:

• the - ye, y (This usage is a carry-over from the ancient Anglo-Saxon

• letter, thorn, which looked similar to a V and had a TH

• sound. Other words beginning with the same sound were

• also thus written: y6", y"6, y15, y"1, etc.)

Most of the abbreviations are formed by merely shortening the word, sometimes even as we might abbreviate it today, but then putting the last letter (sometimes even two or three letters) of that word above the line.

This is called superior letter abbreviation.

Another form is that of termination— that is, merely cutting short the word to be abbreviated and putting a period or a colon (:) after it, or by drawing a line (——) through it like this: Tho (for Thomas). In very early periods often only the first letter of the word was used.

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Familiar Record Practices: Problems and Terminology in American Genealogy

In order to be a good genealogist you must be familiar with the basics
of genealogy. Every field of study—whether physics, chemistry, sociology,

medicine, law, art, photography, or genealogy—has its own basic
vocabulary or jargon and its own rules. To succeed in any field of study you must know those rules.


I have a friend who comes from Sweden, so when I encounter a term in
my Swedish research that I do not understand, I call and ask him about it.
Often the term is not familiar to him even though he was born and raised
in that country. This is not a problem of his not understanding Swedish but
rather of his not having the vocabulary needed by the genealogist. We can
toss out certain English language terms to the man on the street here in
America, too, with the same result.

Thus the purpose for the next few blogs is to help bridge the gap across some of the more common problem terms and also to look carefully at other practices and problems inherent in American genealogical research.
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Free Tools for Family Historians

Family Tree Maker's Family Archives Census Records: Indiana, 1860 CD #304 from Indiana Historical SocietyThe Ultimate Strategy Archives Babelfish
http://babelfish.altavista.com/
Having trouble interpreting a record for one of your non-English speaking ancestors? AltaVista’s Babelfish translator will translate text or entire Web pages for you in many languages.
WorldCat
http://www.worldcat.org/
Looking for more information about a battle in which your ancestor fought during the Civil War? Or perhaps your ancestor was a Philadelphia policeman and you'd like to learn more about the history of that police force. What were the working conditions of the industry in which your ancestors were engaged? The answers to these and many other questions can often be found in publications not found in your local bookstore. WorldCat will not only alert you to their existence, but when you enter your zip code it will give you a list of libraries that have those publications in their collection.
Census Enumerator Instructions (IPUMS)
http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/tEnumInstr.shtml
Census enumerators were given very specific instructions when it came to recording the answers your ancestors gave. Reading these instructions can be very helpful in more fully understanding the records. This site includes the original instructions for the years 1850-1950.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Technorati Tags: genealogy,tools,records. census. genealogy

Ever wondered whether a historic event prompted your ancestors to pick up and leave the country they had called home for generations? Wikipedia can give you some ideas. Search for a year and you’ll get a chronology of world events from that year. This free online encyclopedia is a great first step, but you should verify your findings with more authoritative sources. Although much of what you see will be correct, I have found numerous errors such as events listed under the wrong year.
Census Abbreviations
http://www.searchforancestors.com/records/censusabbreviations.html
Have you ever found a census record written by a guy who clearly had writers’ cramp? Beyond really messy handwriting, you may find that enumerators used confusing abbreviations. This website will help you sort out some of the more common abbreviations you’ll find.
Soundex Converter
http://resources.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/soundexconverter
Many databases allow you the option of Soundex searches so that you can grab more phonetically similar variations of the surnames you are researching. Use the Soundex converter to find out the Soundex codes for your family surname variations. That way if one of the variations you have found in your research has a different Soundex code, you’ll know you need to search it separately.
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic
Ever wondered in what county a town was located? Or what cemeteries were in the county in which your ancestors lived? The Geographic Names Information System can help. Enter a town name and its state and you’ll be presented with a list of features associated with that town—and the name of the county it falls within. Click on a name for geographic coordinates and links to various maps and satellite views of the area.
Google Maps
http://maps.google.com/
Another cool mapping site, Google Maps allows you to view a standard map view, a satellite view, or a view of the terrain. How tall was that mountain that great-grandpa had to traverse to visit the nearest town? Zoom in on the terrain view and it will tell you. Going to visit a library or courthouse for the first time? Google Maps has “street view” available for a growing number of cities. You can zoom in on an address and see the actual building. Using the rotation arrows you can turn around and look at the other side of the street, move down the street and see landmarks you will be able to use as you navigate your way to the repository. Street view can also enable you to see buildings in your ancestors’ neighborhoods that are still standing.
Glossary of Ancient Diseases
www.olivetreegenealogy.com/misc/disease.shtml
OK, this one really was created with us in mind, but it’s still handy for finding out what disease Great-grandma Sue died from--in today’s terms.
Epidemic Timeline
http://hawkshome.net/misc_items/events/epidemic_timeline.htm
Here’s another one created for us, but just the same, it’s helpful to see what epidemics may have impacted our ancestors and their families. Often you’ll find that people moved away--sometimes permanently, sometimes temporarily--when severe epidemics struck in their area.

Organizing Your Research

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Being organized helps you to better collate sources, compare them, evaluate them, identify discrepancies, and make reasonable conclusions. Well-documented family group records are the best source of ideas for research objectives. Up-to-date family group records also help you judge the reliability and fit of newly discovered sources with what you already know.

The main value of organized research logs is to show all the sources you have searched, and help you recall your search purposes and strategies. Good logs help you resume research after a pause, and avoid re-using sources already tried.

Too many negative searches on a research log show it is time to search in a different way. Being well organized saves you time, and it contributes to better research and results.

 

Organize and Document as you go

Before you start research have a research log and well-documented family group record in hand. After research do not lay your head on your pillow until you have finished your paper work and filing.

 

Hierarchy of research goals. 

Have an overall goal to share your research findings with others.

Have a goal to research a cluster of families—usually families that settled near each other. 

Have a goal to thoroughly document the events in one of those families before starting research on the next family.

 

Have a goal to understand that family, and why they behaved as they did.

Have an objective to document one event at a time in one person’s life in that family. If the first search fails, continue with that objective with different sources, jurisdictions, or repositories. Don’t give up until you find a source to document the selected event or exhaust all the possibilities trying.

Research the easiest events first. What you learn from easier documents will help you find more difficult to locate sources.

DO NOT reorganize the way described below until you pick up research on a family—no mass reorganization of all files at once.

DO NOT be discouraged if you filing system is not perfect. We get better with experience.

EASY SYSTEM

This system is based on creating one file folder for each family you research.

One Family consists of a father, a mother, and their children.

One File Folder (a manila file folder) contains:

1. family group record (required)
2. pedigree chart (optional)
3. maps of family settlements (optional)
4. research log (required) Research Log Example

It is important to partially fill-in a research log before you view a source:

1. Date
2. Place of research
3. Purpose - write the person-event you seek for each search so you will later know whether you need to search the same source again for a different person or event.
4. Call Number (if any)
5. Source - write source descriptions in footnote format (see the Chicago Manual of Style¹) Example of Footnote Style

Why complete these before a search. Avoid the temptation to skip writing anything at all if the search results are negative. If you finish writing these items before the search, and if your ancestor is not mentioned in the source, it is easier to write nil than it would be to fill in all the data afterward.

Source description information is easier to find in the catalog than in the source itself. Also, it helps other researchers to use the descriptive information the way it is found in the catalog at the repository where you found the source.

Comments on your strategies, questions, discrepancies, and analysis. Research logs are also a good place to write your strategies and explain why you are searching certain sources. Explain what you want to find, why, and how you hope to find it. Also write questions about the family, or mention conflicting data. When a chain of sources are needed to reach a conclusion, use the research log to write an analysis explaining your findings.

After the search...will be continued in the next blog.

The Census in Historical Context

Special schedules, collected with the population censuses, may contain rich details on individuals, families, and communities not found in other sources.
These schedules can also be used to supplement the population censuses, to further document family relationships, and to understand better the economic status of the family and its community.
Special schedules date to the first manufacturing census of 1810. This schedule was authorized by Congress to collect better data on economic conditions and growth of the country. While efforts to collect additional data via special censuses continued from this date, they expanded after 1840. Until then, additional data was collected by adding columns to the population schedules. As this procedure became more of a problem than an aid, the 1850 census was broken down into six separate, more manageable, schedules, only one of which was the original population schedule. Special schedules created since that time include the slave census, a mortality schedule, agricultural and manufacturing schedules, and a social statistics schedule.
Slave and Native American Schedules
Early U.S. population schedules are in reality schedules only of the free white population. For example, while information on slaves was collected from the first census in 1790, not until the 1870 census were all African-Americans enumerated by name in the federal census. Until that time, only free blacks were listed. Similarly, Native Americans were not enumerated in the census if they lived on a reservation or "roamed over unsettled land" and if they were not taxed; however, Native Americans of mixed blood or those who lived among the white population were probably counted in the population schedules. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is the major Native American information source.
While the earliest population censuses included a count of slaves by category, color, and gender living in a particular residence, it was not until the 1850 and 1860 slave schedules that each slave was listed individually. Information shown for each slave included age, color, and gender. Unfortunately, the personal name is not given; nevertheless, it may be possible to derive information about individuals from these lists by careful analysis. In very rare cases the enumerator listed the slave’s name.
While slave schedules are a critical source of information on African-American families, they can also be used to document relationships among white families. For example, if an executor was responsible for slaves as part of an estate, the testator or owners may be named, thus helping to establish relationships among the white slave owners.
Mortality Schedules
The mortality schedules enumerate persons who died during the previous year. These schedules are biased since they are based on memory, but they can still be a valuable source of information. Included in the mortality schedules are the deceased’s name, age, gender, color, marital status, place of birth, and the month and cause of death. Mortality schedules are available for some states for 1850 to 1880 on CD ROM. In addition, a few of the states which conducted a census in 1885 also have mortality schedules for the previous year.
Veterans Census
Two special censuses of veterans have survived: the Revolutionary War veterans census of 1840 and the Union veterans census of 1890. The second page of the 1840 census lists Revolutionary War soldiers. There are also several printed versions of this list. Although the 1890 population schedule was mostly destroyed, sections of the special schedules of Union Veterans and their widows have survived. It appears that all the schedules for Alabama through Kansas and approximately half of those for Kentucky were destroyed before they were transferred to the National Archives in 1943. The Union veterans and widows list includes soldiers who served in the army, navy, or marine corps. For each veteran or widow, the information includes: the veteran’s rank, company, regiment or vessel, dates of enlistment and discharge, disability, and length of service.
Agriculture Schedules
Agriculture schedules were taken from 1850 to 1910; they are a rich but under-used resource for family researchers. Detailed schedules are available from 1840 to 1880, but only the summary reports of the 1890 to 1910 schedules have survived. The 1850 to 1880 agriculture census includes every farm that produced more than $100 worth of products. The schedule shows the name of the farm’s owner, information on acreage, machinery, livestock, and produce. All of the family’s activities are listed, including such activities as raising chickens and producing eggs, butter, etc. As a result, these schedules can provide insight not only into the lives of the head of the household, but also its female members and the rest of the family.
Manufacturing Schedules, 1810-1910
While early manufacturers censuses were conducted as early as 1810, continuity is spotty. For example, most 1810 manuscripts are lost. The 1820 manufacturers schedule shows owner’s name, location, number of employees, and information on equipment and products. The 1830 and 1840 schedules no longer exist; the 1830 schedule may not have been completed.
Only for 1850 and 1880 have the manufacturing, sometimes called industrial, schedules survived. They contain information about each manufacturing, mining, fishery, and other business concern with an annual gross produce of $500 or more. They give the company name and the quantity and value of materials, labor, machinery, and products. The censuses after 1880 were destroyed, with the agricultural censuses, by Congressional order; nevertheless, if your ancestor operated a business, it may be worthwhile to explore these schedules.
Social Statistics
The social statistics schedules (1850-80) are the most neglected by researchers, perhaps because its name implies that there is no individual-level data. Indeed, the schedule is primarily a summary of various social and economic indicators such as the amount of taxes collected in the district, pauperism, crime, wages, religion, and libraries. However, data of interest to the family researcher includes the names of churches, cemeteries, and social clubs, including membership counts. In the 1880 census, social service organizations and their resident populations are given by name. These schedules included those populations considered dependents of the government. For example, orphanages, prisons, paupers’ homes, homes for the aged, and asylums for the insane, blind, deaf, and mute are included, along with lists, by name, of their residents.
State Censuses
In addition to the nationwide federal censuses, many states conducted their own censuses. Some state censuses date from as early as the 1790s, others as late as the 1940s. The motivations for these censuses varied from state to state and from year to year. Where they vary from the Federal censuses, both in terms of the years they were collected and the types of questions asked, can prove to be invaluable sources of information. While a great deal of misinformation about state censuses exists, fortunately, that has been remedied by a recent publication by Ann Lainhart (Lainhart, 1992).
A number of states took advantage of the federal government act of 1879 that provided some financial support if a state undertook its own inter-decennial census. In 1885, population, agricultural, industrial, and mortality schedules were collected in Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, North and South Dakota, and Ohio. Finally, when an act to establish a state or territory was made, there was usually a provision for enumerating the inhabitants. (1985: 36–7).
References
Anderson, Margo J. The American Census, A Social History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.
Lainhart, Ann. State Census Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1992.
National Archives and Records Administration. Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1990.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Age Search Information. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Twenty Census: Population and Housing Questions 1790—1980. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979.
Roseann R. Hogan, Ph.D., has been researching her family since 1978. Her special interests include oral and social history.She is the author of Kentucky Ancestry (Ancestry: 1993).

How to Determine Where Your Ancestors Came From

In a country built by immigrants, a common quest of beginning family tree researchers in the United States is identifying the country that your ancestors originally came from. Whether they arrived on the Mayflower or came as war refugees, the generations in your past left a paper trail. Your job is to find the key documents and decipher the clues they contain. Once you know where to look and what to look for, you'll be able to determine the origin of your ancestors.

Step 1
Interview your oldest living relatives to determine whether they know where your family is from. Many times, an elderly aunt will recall her grandfather speaking Italian or telling tales about ""the old country""—this will give you a strong direction on where to begin your search.

Step 2
Look for family documents that may pertain to your ancestors. For example, your grandmother may have her father's birth, marriage or naturalization papers tucked away in a safety deposit box. Often these documents will give the birth information of the generation before the recipient.

Step 3
Check census records for the person in question. US census records are available to the public 72 years after the year of the census, and typically list the state or country of birth. For instance, if you know your great grandfather lived in Detroit when your grandmother was born in 1928 you can search for their names in the 1930 census. The census will show your great grandfather's state (or country) of birth as well as the states or countries his parents were born in. You can then search the earlier census records for his parents and siblings and retrieve information from the next generation back, which will also give the same parental information.

Step 4
Consult with the library or genealogy society in the county where your ancestors lived. Often there are local records available that may point to your ancestor’s origin, such as membership lists of organizations and churches.

Step 5
Search for records on genealogy websites such as the Ellis Island website or Ancestry.com.

Tips
Most public libraries have access to the US census records.
Most U.S. counties have genealogical societies that hold information and offer help in county searches.
Many family surnames were changed at the time of immigration, so remember to look for variations.