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Archiver > AZORES > 2001-08 > 0996789539
From:
Subject: Re: [AZORES-L] Extracting data-Reading Handwriting
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 17:58:59 EDT
In a message dated 8/2/2001 2:26:16 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
writes:
>
Just a snip from Sheila's email.
For those unable to hire a researcher (besides, I like to do it myself...the
thrill of discovery!!!), you CAN learn to do it. It does take quite a bit of
perseverance. I had 2 advantages: I did take 3 years of a foreign language
in high school (Spanish). If you took a foreign language (even if it was
ages and ages ago), I'd recommend you going to the library or bookstore and
brushing up on it (especially if it was a Romance language: Portuguese,
Spanish, Italian, French or Romanian). The grammar rules are very close.
Verbs are conjugated. Adjectives come after the noun. Once you semi-brush
up and get a dictionary, or the Portuguese Word List put out by the LDS (it
is online or about 50 cents from your FHC...they can order it), you have
conquered half the battle.
The other advantage I have (the other half of the battle): I am a teacher.
I teach mainly 12 and 13-year-olds. I swear some of those kids never learned
to write. Their handwriting is horrible. Since I have had practice in
horrible handwriting, reading the Portuguese script isn't too bad. For those
of you who would like to overcome this obstacle, find some kids
(grandchildren will do) and have them write you letters the "old fashioned"
way and tell them you want it in their WORST handwriting. I'm sure your
local schools would love to have volunteers help English teachers read those
mounds and mounds of essays too!
For those of you who know the above ideas aren't feasible, I do want to do a
project and put progressively worse handwriting on a webpage to help train
people in reading the documents. I have lots of projects I need and want to
do, so I would think in a year or 2, I could get something like this up and
running.
Once you are in your town and you find your ancestor's baptism (or marriage),
get the baptism (or marriage) of ALL siblings. You may not have this type of
cluster research in mind (you may be searching the direct line only), but in
the beginning, if you collect the siblings' documents, you are dealing with
one priest/scribe (usually) in the village in the same time period. You are
getting used to his handwriting and the form of the document. It will help
you learn to deal with the handwriting.
If you ever see a copy of the original Declaration of Independence or the US
Constitution, you will find yourself with the same handwriting problems. It
wasn't a European thing. At certain times in history, you will find certain
styles of handwriting prevalent. (a double s in a word, such as lesson will
look like lefson). You see it in English and in Portuguese. There is a
website (mentioned before on this list) that explains the old handwriting:
http://www.amberskyline.com/treasuremaps/oldhand.html
Hope I encouraged some more of you folks!
Cheri Mello
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