Transcription Tuesday – Page 3 – International Institute of Genealogical Studies

Transcription Tuesday – Projects

Our students at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies register for our online courses for a wide variety of reasons. Many are seeking additional education to hone their research skills, and The Institute provides extensive genealogical education for professional genealogists, as well as those who are interested in beginning to research their family history. Included in our Basic Level courses are the foundational research skills needed to develop solid research methodology practices. Creating Transcriptions is one of those essential skills, however, it does not come naturally for every researcher. For this reason, our Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting Basic Level course has been designed to equip all of our certificate students with this vital ability. It is recommended for all family history researchers, no matter what their level of expertise, to strive to acquire this core skill. Once these skills are understood, reading and analyzing historical documents will become much easier. Assignments in the course material are designed to put into practice the concepts being taught. By accessing actual original documents, students will gain experience in reading historical handwriting, and they will become familiar with the types of records that were created in several time periods and for various purposes. Analyzing records is much more effective when these records are transcribed and abstracted. The skills learned in each course can then be applied to their own research, no matter where their research is focused. The principles and methodology will be the same, allowing researchers to develop specific research strategies for their regions. No matter which topic you study, it is important to put your new knowledge to work and practice your new skills. Experience comes with practice. The more you exercise your newly acquired skills, the more familiar they will become, and you will develop confidence in your abilities. We encourage students to look beyond their own research. There are many opportunities to expand our research. Helping friends or extended family members with their research, exposes us to new records and unfamiliar regions. We learn to think beyond our familiar resources, and seek out new strategies as we develop research plans for their family histories. Finding research projects can help you to develop your skills. Put your transcription knowledge to the test. There are many local genealogy societies or historical groups, who have projects to process their local history needing volunteers. Look for projects in your area. Below are two examples of opportunities to practice your transcription…

Transcription Tuesday – German Handwriting

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies provides online genealogical education for those interested in a wide variety of topics, including those who are faced with reading records in a language that is unfamiliar to them. Whether you are just beginning to research your family history, or you are a professional genealogist, sooner or later, you will face this challenge. One of the foundational research skills to develop is Transcribing. However, it is difficult to transcript documents in other languages. Transcriptions still need to be created by family history researchers, and often in both languages. For this reason, we have created courses to address some of these challenges. Reading German Records There are two National Institute for Genealogical Studies courses from our German Records Certificate, which deal with German Handwriting and Transcribing Records written in the German language. The first course is German: The Language. This National Institute for Genealogical Studies basic level course introduces the key information needed about the German language so researchers can be successful in reading German records. Read Course Description here The second course is German: Reading the Records. This National Institute for Genealogical Studies intermediate level course provides a detailed discussion and explanation of the old style of German handwriting. Read Course Description here This course requires the purchase of a Compulsory Textbook titled: Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Vital Records Written in German by Author: Roger P. Minert (2001, 182 pp). It includes a short history of handwriting styles in Germany, detailed separate methodologies for deciphering German, Latin and French vital records, computerized alphabet for old German characters representing the old Fraktur and Gothic handwriting alphabets, and more than 150 illustrations with 131 sample texts. Book is available in our online Genealogy Store. Both courses are part of our German Certificate Program. This can be purchased as a 40-course package, which includes all of the compulsory and elective courses required to complete the Certificate in Genealogical Studies for German Records. Practical Resources for German Handwriting Germany Handwriting – FamilySearch Handwriting Guide: German Gothic – FamilySearch List of Names in Old German Script – BYU Script Tutorial A comprehensive list of German given names, written in old script, with possible variations. Old German Script Transcriber – Deutsche Handschriften This is a very useful webpage. See how your family names were written in the script of their era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on one of the 8 different fonts. You can…

Transcription Tuesday Dutch Handwriting

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers 230+ online courses on a wide variety of topics, providing genealogical education for those interested in beginning to research their family history, as well as professional genealogists. As we continue to explore developing Transcription Skills, we realize that most researchers will eventually discover immigrant ancestors whose original language was not English. This can make transcribing their documents a challenge when the language is not familiar. Our Basic Level course: Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting was created to equip all of our students with this essential ability, but how can you start transcribing when you can’t even read the documents? DUTCH Research Our course Research: Dutch Ancestors in the Netherlands is an excellent resource for those who discover that they have Dutch Ancestors. It will guide you through the records that contain details about your ancestors’ lives. But how can you overcome the language barrier? Here are a few resources to assist you with translating the documents in order to prepare them for transcriptions. The FamilySearch Research Wiki is always a good place to start. FamilySearch – The Netherlands Genealogy FamilySearch – The Netherlands Online Genealogy Records FamilySearch – Netherlands Handwriting FamilySearch – Learning to Read Dutch Handwriting FamilySearch – Dutch Genealogical Word List Look for websites that provide tips and tutorials, created by those with experience using these records. Webinars and special collections will provide useful information for your research. BYU Script Tutorial – The Dutch Documents The Warehouse – Handwriting: Dutch Old Alphabet Dutch Genealogy – Quick tip – Mind the long S Legacy Family Tree Webinars – Researching Your Dutch Ancestors Library & Archives Canada – Immigration History: Ethno-Cultural Groups: Dutch Ancestry – Netherlands Collections Remember, the more you read through the documents, the more familiar you will become with the handwriting. Letters and words will become more easily recognizable. Practice transcribing small portions taken from a variety of documents. Create a “cheat sheet” document for yourself with screenshots of the most common letters or words found in the documents you are searching. This will make it easier to read similar documents when you come back later. It is recommended to always transcribe the documents for your ancestors when you find them, along with a complete citation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As researchers, we have found that there are many skills we need to employ in order to achieve success in our future research projects. Transcription Tuesday will share guidelines and practical suggestions to help our…

Transcription Tuesday – Colonial Records

One of The National Institute for Genealogical Studies courses that requires a good foundation of Transcription Skills, is our Research: US Colonial New England Ancestors course. The next course is scheduled to begin on Monday, January 3rd, 2022. To check for future start dates, look under the Register tab on the course web page, or check the Course Calendar here. Research: U.S. Colonial New England Ancestors Course Description: This seven-module course will give the student a basic foundation to research using colonial records in New England. It focuses primarily on the most common records used for research. The student will learn about strategies for finding colonial New England records while incorporating colonial town records, colonial census records, colonial land records and maps, the colonial wars, religious records, and court documents. The student who undertakes this course should have familiarity with United States vital, religious, census, land and military records, as well as have a good knowledge of genealogical methodologies. Course Content This course introduces you to Colonial New England research through websites and state resources. It will provide strategies for finding Colonial New England records during the time period leading up to the American Revolution. As you discover these valuable and genealogically-rich documents, you will be faced with the major challenge of deciphering Colonial Handwriting. It is recommended to transcribe these documents to glean all the information they contain and every clue they provide. Transcriptions of the original documents will make future references a lot easier. Making Abstracts will be useful for a summary of what each document contains. To facilitate developing your Transcription Skills, we have two books to recommend: Reading Early American Handwriting by Kip Sperry Understanding Colonial Handwriting by Harriet Stryker-Rodda Both of these books are available to order through our online Genealogy Store on our website. Once you are ready to explore Colonial records, you should familiarize yourself with the area of your research. Build a timeline and record a brief history of the early settlement of the town. By building a location guide for each town, you will be able to gather information about which resources are available, including early genealogies that were created. Colonial Town Records are fascinating and include: Different Types of Colonial Town Records, Freemen and Inhabitancy, Town Officers, Town Business, Tax Records, Licenses, Ear Marks, Manumissions, School Records, and Poor Records; as well as Vital Records and Cemetery Records. There were Colonial Censuses taken. Some surviving records include: Published Census, Reconstructed Census Lists, and Census…

Transcription Tuesday – Town Clerk

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies encourages researchers to explore various types of historical documents as they pursue their family’s stories. Our research must reach beyond birth, marriage and death records. There are many more to discover! As the scope of our research project widens, we must continue to develop our Transcription Skills, becoming more and more familiar with the handwriting used in the time frame of our research. We may eventually begin to recognize whose handwriting is used in an entry. To discover your ancestor’s signature on a document is exciting, but even more so when you discover more of their handwriting than just their name. Determining their occupation could lead to finding samples of their handwriting in other documents. A good example of this is to discover your ancestor was the Town Clerk. This could lead to revealing many records that he personally entered, including – his signature. There is a thrill to knowing that his hand wrote those words on that page. Township Records In Colonial New England, many towns kept Township Records. These are rich with genealogical information, with families often grouped together in the records. When the New England Planters came and settled in Nova Scotia in the 1760s, they established the same system of record keeping. The entries were recorded by the Town Clerk. The following death record was found as one of the “Selected Items” in the Township Records for New England Planters at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Archives – Truro Township Book – Register of Deaths Reference: Nova Scotia Archives MG 4 vol. 150a Transcription of the first entry of the page: March The 8th 1769 Lieut. Andrew Gemmel was Unfortunately killed Falling a Tree in the woods —– Truro. WFisher.T.C.K. Often, signatures can be a challenge to decipher, just as they are today. Fortunately, we know that William Fisher was the town clerk for Truro in 1769. His signature has a unique feature. The F of Fisher is joined with the initial W of his first name William. Written out fully, it would read: W[illiam] Fisher T[own] C[ler]k. Knowing this, we can easily recognize his signature elsewhere. If there were two individuals with the same name (ie father and son) in the same area, signing documents, we would have an advantage to sorting them out by comparing their handwriting. To find out more about the New England Planters and Colonial Township Records, please…