Gena Philibert-Ortega discusses (and provides links to) several free online
tutorials to help you sharpen your skills at deciphering handwriting. To read her article please hit here and to check out the free web sites, place your mouse over the bold words to access their information.
You may go to the following websites, where the information is free.
What
Does That Say? provides help with colonial American handwriting, including
samples, common name abbreviations, and resources. Another one is How to Read 18th
Century British-American Writing
The UK National Archives web page Palaeography: Reading
Old Handwriting 1500-1800. A Practical Online Tutorial is great for learning
to read English handwriting from the 16th to 19th centuries.
Don’t forget to click on the Quick
Reference link to find information about money, calendars, numbers,
measurements and counties.
One website that might be a surprise in relation to handwriting is Stephen P.
Morse’s One-Step Webpages. Most
researchers are familiar with Morse’s tools that help search Ellis Island and
Castle Garden databases as well as the federal census, but he also provides
language tools you can find by clicking on the Foreign Alphabets link.
If you are looking for information in old Spanish, check here ¿Qué dice? Reading Spanish Handwriting Helps Find Records and another is Spanish Handwriting
.
