Capital letters were written in many different styles - often varying 
depending upon a person's ancestral homeland or community style. The double 
's' is often a puzzle: it may appear to a double 'ff' or 'fs'





Not only have our words and their meanings changed throughout the years, the 
way we form the letters have too.

In order to get the most information from the records that are available, we 
have to decipher these records and put meaning into the symbols we see on the 
old documents or papers that we find.

As we read old Bible, census, courthouse, archive and Church records to 
obtain the names, places and dates, often we are unclear at the words before 
us. Also, the further back we go - the harder it is to read.

An important note to remember is that much of the writing is "phonetic." They 
wrote the name the best that they could by how it sounded.

The Leading "s"
One of the most dramatic changes in letters has been the letter "s."




Here is a regular lower case "s" and another "s" that looks like a backward lower 
case "f."




Over 100 years ago the "s" was often written like a backward "f." This strange
symbol for "s" was used very commonly in instances where there was a "double 
s." The unusual s first, called the "leading s." Then the regular s.


Old Style Abbreviations

Some of the writing looks like our modern day shorthand. To save paper and time, 
abbreviations were used often.

Lines were often used in abbreviations. They can be found over, under and through 
any given abbreviation.

Smaller letters (both top and bottom) are common.

Single and double dots are used in a variety of positions.








Marks

When we think about someone's mark, we usually think of an "x." But, there 
were many different kinds.

Many of our ancestors could not write. Many of the signatures on wills and 
other legal documents were signed by a court clerk, while the person made his 
or her "mark." Even if they could write, many people still used marks.





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