A little over a year ago Genealogy's Star passed the 2 million views mark. Some time in the next few hours, Genealogy's Star will pass the 3,000,000 views mark. That is more than a million views in one year. If you add in the views of my Rejoice, and be exceeding glad... blog and WalkingArizona blog, the number increases to almost 4 million, (3,897,144 to be exact). That is a lot of genealogy and photography.
Just in case you are wondering, I do feel the pressure of all those people reading this blog and I do thank each and every one of you for putting up with my sometimes obscure ramblings.
Some history might be helpful to understand what this means. I started writing this blog in 2010 so it has been about five years. I have written 3953 blog posts, which averages out to 790 or so a year or just about two every day for five years. Obviously, some days I write more and some days I do not write at all, but I average two posts a day. Now, most of the common advice to bloggers cautions them to post about once a week because many readers might think your writing every day was spam. Well, spam or not, I just have a lot to say.
How do I think of new topics? Unless I am very tired, all I have to do is start typing and the words just flow out. Really. Sometimes I have ten, twenty or more potential topics in a list. Other times, I review almost 300 websites and blogs and gather ideas. Much of the time, there is news that needs to be reported or commented on. Genealogy is a very broad subject and there is always something happening somewhere in the world.
When will I stop? About the time certain areas of the Arizona desert freeze over.
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Friday, August 21, 2015
Yes, Languages change over time
When I was a graduate student at the University of Utah, I helped publish an article on glottochronology. Here is the citation to the article:
Glottochronology measures the differences between related languages over time. The idea is that if two groups of people speak the same language and are then separated, their individual languages will change over time. This principle was first developed by Jakob Grimm (of fairytale fame) when he postulated what is now called Grimm's Law. Here is a short and adequate explanation of Grimm's Law from the Wikipedia:
Why is this important to genealogists? Well, there are a few of us who trace our genealogy back to the time when our ancestors spoke a different language than the one we speak today. Perhaps, our ancestors spoke German, Danish, Norwegian or some other language. If we continue to investigate and research their origins, we will ultimately begin to see changes in the languages of the records as we go back in time. I am not talking here about the script that records the language, but the words themselves.
Written languages use a variety of methods to memorialize the spoken language. There is a complex relationship between what is written and what is spoken. Do we speak the way we do because of what we read or is what is written influenced by the way we speak? The answer to both questions is yes, there is a cross-developmental influence. Even if we disregard the effect of writing on spoken language, we will still find that the spoken language will change over time and is affected by geography.
At this point, you may be saying, if this is true, then show me how it works. Well, the most common evidence of the relationship of time to linguistic change is the existence of language cognates. Here is a list of cognates between several Western European languages from a website listing Indo-European features:
The last example is from Finnish, a non-Indo-European language. A list like the one above can easily be constructed using Google Translate.
This is a good news/bad news situation for genealogists. The good news is that if your ancestors spoke an Indo-European language, learning to read that language is fairly easy. The bad news is that if they did not speak an Indo-European language, you have a stiff uphill learning curve. Remember, this issue is entirely separate from the issue of reading old scripts or alternative writing systems such as Cyrillic or Hebrew.
On a scale of one to ten, I would put learning a new writing script at about three. I would put learning a new Indo-European language at about six, but I would put learning a non-Indo-European language at about eight or nine. But remember, children learn their own language and writing system all over the world all the time.
From the standpoint of doing genealogical research in a "foreign" language (one you don't happen to speak) the task is a lot less demanding then moving to the country and trying to survive. Most of the documents you need to research use a very small set of the entire language. You may only have to learn a few dozen or a few hundred words to do very adequate research. As you go back in time, you will inevitably find that the language changes (and not just because of the use of Latin). This is why, when I see someone claiming a pedigree extending back before the 1500s, I automatically assume that they copied the information without doing any actual research. I have met very, very few people with the linguistic ability to do primary research is Old Church Slavonic, Old English or even Old High German.
So here is the question that needs to be asked. Do you have to speak a language to do valid genealogical research in that language? No, but it helps a lot. But you do have to learn a lot more about history and language than is normally assumed to do valid genealogical research even about a hundred years into the past. Let's get busy and start learning.
Miller, Wick R., James L. Tanner, and Lawrence P. Foley. “A Lexicostatistic Study of Shoshoni Dialects.” Anthropological Linguistics 13, no. 4 (April 1, 1971): 142–64.
Glottochronology measures the differences between related languages over time. The idea is that if two groups of people speak the same language and are then separated, their individual languages will change over time. This principle was first developed by Jakob Grimm (of fairytale fame) when he postulated what is now called Grimm's Law. Here is a short and adequate explanation of Grimm's Law from the Wikipedia:
Grimm's Law (also known as the First Germanic Sound Shift or Rask's rule), named after Jakob Grimm, is a set of statements describing the inherited Proto-Indo-European (PIE) stop consonants as they developed in Proto-Germanic (the common ancestor of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family) in the 1st millennium BC. It establishes a set of regular correspondences between early Germanic stops and fricatives and the stop consonants of certain other centum Indo-European languages (Grimm used mostly Latin and Greek for illustration).Essentially, all of the languages, known as Indo-European languages, are related and it is believed that they all began as one language, known as Proto-Indo-European (PIE), somewhere in India. See Wikipedia: Proto-Indo-European Language. The evidence for this linguistic change, as observed by the Grimm brothers, Jakob and Wilhelm, were the first to codify the observations of others into a general rule.
Why is this important to genealogists? Well, there are a few of us who trace our genealogy back to the time when our ancestors spoke a different language than the one we speak today. Perhaps, our ancestors spoke German, Danish, Norwegian or some other language. If we continue to investigate and research their origins, we will ultimately begin to see changes in the languages of the records as we go back in time. I am not talking here about the script that records the language, but the words themselves.
Written languages use a variety of methods to memorialize the spoken language. There is a complex relationship between what is written and what is spoken. Do we speak the way we do because of what we read or is what is written influenced by the way we speak? The answer to both questions is yes, there is a cross-developmental influence. Even if we disregard the effect of writing on spoken language, we will still find that the spoken language will change over time and is affected by geography.
At this point, you may be saying, if this is true, then show me how it works. Well, the most common evidence of the relationship of time to linguistic change is the existence of language cognates. Here is a list of cognates between several Western European languages from a website listing Indo-European features:
- English: Yes, mother, I have three.
- Icelandic: Ja, modir, eh hefi thrja.
- Swedish: Ja, moder, jag har tre.
- Danish: Ja, mor, jeg hav tre.
- Norwegian: Ja, mor, jeg har tre.
- German: Ja, mutter, ich habe drei.
- Dutch: Ja, moeder, ik heb drie.
- Flemish: Ja, moeder, ik heb drie.
- French: Oui, mere, j'en ai trois.
- Spanish: Si, madre, yo tengo tres.
- Portuguese: Sim, mae, tenho tres.
- Italian: Si, madre, ce h'ko tre.
- Romanian: Da, mama mea, eu am trei.
- Czeck: Ano, matko, mam tri.
- Polish: Tak, matko, mam trzy.
- Russian: Da, mat u men'a tri.
- Bulgarian: Da, maika, imom tri.
- Compare these to the non-IE Finnish: Kyllä, äiti, minulla on kolme.
The last example is from Finnish, a non-Indo-European language. A list like the one above can easily be constructed using Google Translate.
This is a good news/bad news situation for genealogists. The good news is that if your ancestors spoke an Indo-European language, learning to read that language is fairly easy. The bad news is that if they did not speak an Indo-European language, you have a stiff uphill learning curve. Remember, this issue is entirely separate from the issue of reading old scripts or alternative writing systems such as Cyrillic or Hebrew.
On a scale of one to ten, I would put learning a new writing script at about three. I would put learning a new Indo-European language at about six, but I would put learning a non-Indo-European language at about eight or nine. But remember, children learn their own language and writing system all over the world all the time.
From the standpoint of doing genealogical research in a "foreign" language (one you don't happen to speak) the task is a lot less demanding then moving to the country and trying to survive. Most of the documents you need to research use a very small set of the entire language. You may only have to learn a few dozen or a few hundred words to do very adequate research. As you go back in time, you will inevitably find that the language changes (and not just because of the use of Latin). This is why, when I see someone claiming a pedigree extending back before the 1500s, I automatically assume that they copied the information without doing any actual research. I have met very, very few people with the linguistic ability to do primary research is Old Church Slavonic, Old English or even Old High German.
So here is the question that needs to be asked. Do you have to speak a language to do valid genealogical research in that language? No, but it helps a lot. But you do have to learn a lot more about history and language than is normally assumed to do valid genealogical research even about a hundred years into the past. Let's get busy and start learning.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Phishing Scams and Genealogy On Line: Do NOT open this email!!
I certainly hope you are not one of those people who are flattered when they get an email from an African student or prince or whatever, telling you that you have been selected to receive a lot of money tax free. You may have gotten a similar notice and finally figured out that it was a scam, but the level of sophistication of the phishing scams has just climbed a notch or two and you might get sucked into compromising your passwords and have everyone in your email contact list get a phishing email with your name on it. Here is the rule folks:
DO NOT EVER OPEN AN EMAIL THAT HAS AN ATTACHMENT YOU CANNOT VERIFY WITH THE SENDER BEFORE OPENING. SIMPLY DELETE THE EMAIL WITHOUT OPENING IT OR THE ATTACHMENT.
Now, what if I am sending you some photos of your great-grandmother? Then I better call you on the phone or text you and tell you what I am doing. It does not matter who sends you this type of email, delete it. Recently, I have seen very clever forgeries purporting to be from PayPal, my bank and most recently my wife.
What do you do if you inadvertently open the email? Don't download or open the attachment. If you mistakenly open the attachment, I would suggest deleting it and emptying the trash. Next, I would change the password to your email account immediately. If this fails to work and stop your friends and relatives from getting bogus emails in your name, then cancel you email account (after saving off all your old email) and start over with a new email account. The most efficient way to do this is open a new account and start directing all your contacts to the new email. Then delete the old email once you have made the change over. Yes, this is painful. Yes, I have had to do it myself.
DO NOT EVER OPEN AN EMAIL THAT HAS AN ATTACHMENT YOU CANNOT VERIFY WITH THE SENDER BEFORE OPENING. SIMPLY DELETE THE EMAIL WITHOUT OPENING IT OR THE ATTACHMENT.
Now, what if I am sending you some photos of your great-grandmother? Then I better call you on the phone or text you and tell you what I am doing. It does not matter who sends you this type of email, delete it. Recently, I have seen very clever forgeries purporting to be from PayPal, my bank and most recently my wife.
What do you do if you inadvertently open the email? Don't download or open the attachment. If you mistakenly open the attachment, I would suggest deleting it and emptying the trash. Next, I would change the password to your email account immediately. If this fails to work and stop your friends and relatives from getting bogus emails in your name, then cancel you email account (after saving off all your old email) and start over with a new email account. The most efficient way to do this is open a new account and start directing all your contacts to the new email. Then delete the old email once you have made the change over. Yes, this is painful. Yes, I have had to do it myself.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Ancestral Quest is Now Available for Mac
At one time, I had to buy and maintain a Windows compatible computer so I could run some of the better genealogy programs. Eventually, the Apple Mac-based programs not only became available but ran better on my Macs than the PC versions. Although, as I have mentioned before, we still have our politically correct, token Windows PC, we do almost all our work on Apple computers.
Some of us can remember when Personal Ancestral File had an Apple Macintosh version, but those days are long gone. There are still some genealogical holdouts; programs that will run only on one platform, but they are fighting a losing battle. Multi-platform software is de rigueur right now and will become increasing so in the future. You might be aware that Microsoft's Windows 10 is designed to run on multiple devices, especially those with touch screens.
Ancestral Quest is not nearly the last of the major genealogy programs to port a version to the Mac, but some of the programs have had Mac versions for some time now. There are still several Windows-only programs and equally, there are Mac-only programs also.
Most of the Mac-compatible versions are just that, they run under a virtual operating system program from CodeWeavers.com called Crossover. There are other options for running Windows-based programs on the Mac, but using Crossover is one of the easiest and least intrusive.
So, now we have a Mac version of one of the most popular programs for storing all of your genealogical data. Here is a copy of a Press Release from Gaylon Findlay of Incline Software, the developer behind Ancestral Quest. If you have been thinking of moving to an Apple computer and were waiting because you use Ancestral Quest, here is your opportunity.
Some of us can remember when Personal Ancestral File had an Apple Macintosh version, but those days are long gone. There are still some genealogical holdouts; programs that will run only on one platform, but they are fighting a losing battle. Multi-platform software is de rigueur right now and will become increasing so in the future. You might be aware that Microsoft's Windows 10 is designed to run on multiple devices, especially those with touch screens.
Ancestral Quest is not nearly the last of the major genealogy programs to port a version to the Mac, but some of the programs have had Mac versions for some time now. There are still several Windows-only programs and equally, there are Mac-only programs also.
Most of the Mac-compatible versions are just that, they run under a virtual operating system program from CodeWeavers.com called Crossover. There are other options for running Windows-based programs on the Mac, but using Crossover is one of the easiest and least intrusive.
So, now we have a Mac version of one of the most popular programs for storing all of your genealogical data. Here is a copy of a Press Release from Gaylon Findlay of Incline Software, the developer behind Ancestral Quest. If you have been thinking of moving to an Apple computer and were waiting because you use Ancestral Quest, here is your opportunity.
Salt Lake City, Utah (August 19, 2015) – Incline Software, LC announced today thatAncestral Quest™, its family tree software, is now available for Mac.
For over 20 years, Ancestral Quest has been a Windows program, providing excellent, easy-to-use yet comprehensive tools to millions of users worldwide, both professional and beginner. During that time, it has been sold directly by Incline Software, and licensed by others, often under different titles, including Ancestry Family Tree (AFT) by Ancestry.com and with more extensive adjustments as Personal Ancestral File (PAF) by FamilySearch. This powerful family tree record keeping program is now available to users of Mac. Ancestral Quest for Mac will run on OS X 10.7 and later.
Ancestral Quest for Mac simply downloads and installs directly to the Mac, without the need for additional software. Those who have used Ancestral Quest on Windows computers will find that AQ for Mac is the same program as AQ for Windows.
Overview of Ancestral Quest for Mac
Ancestral Quest for Mac allows users to record their family tree, including the names, dates and places of ancestors and descendants, and provides for the recording of notes and sources for each individual, as well as scrapbook collections for each person. AQ for Mac also allows users to print standard forms and charts such as Pedigree charts, Family Group Records, Ancestry and Descendancy charts, birthday and anniversary calendars, and scores of additional charts, lists and reports to help them review and share their family tree. AQ for Mac can create a web-site that can be uploaded to the Internet, showing whatever parts of a family tree users feel like sharing. It also generates a customizable research timeline, to help put ancestors in perspective of the times and events in which they lived, and provides users with a research log and manager to keep their genealogical research efforts organized.
Ancestral Quest provides an ability, unique for desktop family tree software products, to have several users work as a team on a single data file, from multiple computers anywhere in the world. This feature is called "Collaboration." Whether the user has a Windows computer or a Mac, team members will be able to work together with AQ's Collaboration system.
Ancestral Quest for Mac meets the same certification requirements with FamilySearch Family Tree (Family Tree) as its Windows counterpart. This means that users can upload portions of their personal family tree to the Family Tree, or download portions of the Family Tree into their personal file. Users can also synchronize individuals, families, and notes and sources for both individuals and families between their personal file andFamily Tree. Additionally, like its Windows counterpart, Ancestral Quest for Mac allows users to search such online databases as those of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, along with other sites that can be added into Ancestral Quest's Internet search engine.
Ancestral Quest has won several awards over the years, including the 2009 FamilySearch award for "Most Comprehensive Syncing", which is indicative of the way AQ is not only easy to learn and use, but of paying attention to the important details required by genealogists. AQ was also awarded the 2009 FamilySearch award for "Best Listing Tool", which epitomizes the fact that AQ provides the most advanced tools for finding individuals and defining groups of individuals for various reporting and research tasks.
Benefits to PAF Users
Many PAF 5 users have moved, or are contemplating moving, from Windows computers to Mac computers. Because the Windows versions of PAF were derived from AQ, these PAF users will feel right at home as they use Ancestral Quest for Mac. Ancestral Quest for Mac can directly update a PAF 5 file, so current or former PAF 5 users can simply copy their PAF 5 file from their Windows machine to their Mac, and AQ will be able to open and work with their data, as is.
Summary
Incline Software™ developed Ancestral Quest in 1994, and has been enhancing it ever since.
In addition to English, Ancestral Quest is also available in German, French, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Hungarian and Swedish, with other language modules being developed. You can learn more about Incline Software, Ancestral Quest, and Ancestral Quest Basics, by visiting www.ancquest.com or calling Incline Software at 1-800-825-8864.
Ancestral Quest for Mac is expected to sell for $34.95. But for a limited time, it can be purchased at the same price as AQ for Windows, which currently is $29.95. Ancestral Quest Basics for Mac is a free version of Ancestral Quest, with all of the essential features of a family tree program available for free, but with the more advanced features locked. The free version will only be available for a limited time, so those wishing to take advantage of obtaining a full-featured, free genealogy program for Mac should act quickly. Ancestral Quest for Mac can be downloaded fromwww.ancquest.com/mac.
Puzzling Out Genealogical Abbreviations
There are two main types of abbreviations encountered by genealogical researchers. The most recent set of abbreviations come from the use of paper forms due to the space limitations of the fields allocated to places and names. Here is an example of what you will see:
Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, United States becomes Phx, Mrcp, Az, USA
There were (and are) huge lists of "standard" abbreviations. Guess what? Almost all of the space limitations imposed by the paper forms are long gone. But we still have some die-hards who use the abbreviations because they were told 50 years ago that they were supposed to do it that way. Simply put, all place abbreviations should be expanded. At the same time, the current standard is to record the place of the event as it was at the time the event occurred.
The second set of abbreviations are not going to disappear because of technology. Those are the abbreviations you encounter while researching old, handwritten documents. The most common ones are shortening of names such as "Wm" for William and "Jos" for Joseph. There are endless lists of these abbreviations because many of the record keepers made up their own conventions. But all is not lost, you will get used to seeing some of the more common ones and you find many websites with lists of those that apply in English, Spanish, German, and other European languages.
Since the solution to deciphering abbreviations is to consult a list, here are a number of websites that
will help you with your task:
Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, United States becomes Phx, Mrcp, Az, USA
There were (and are) huge lists of "standard" abbreviations. Guess what? Almost all of the space limitations imposed by the paper forms are long gone. But we still have some die-hards who use the abbreviations because they were told 50 years ago that they were supposed to do it that way. Simply put, all place abbreviations should be expanded. At the same time, the current standard is to record the place of the event as it was at the time the event occurred.
The second set of abbreviations are not going to disappear because of technology. Those are the abbreviations you encounter while researching old, handwritten documents. The most common ones are shortening of names such as "Wm" for William and "Jos" for Joseph. There are endless lists of these abbreviations because many of the record keepers made up their own conventions. But all is not lost, you will get used to seeing some of the more common ones and you find many websites with lists of those that apply in English, Spanish, German, and other European languages.
Since the solution to deciphering abbreviations is to consult a list, here are a number of websites that
will help you with your task:
- Abbreviations found in Genealogy
- Genealogical Abbreviations
- Abbreviations & Acronyms for Genealogy - The Accepted
- Cyndi's List Abbreviations
Here is a book on the subject:
Sperry, Kip. Abbreviations & Acronyms: A Guide for Family Historians. Orem, UT: Ancestry, 2000.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The Almost Lost Art of Handwriting -- Reading Old Scripts
My own handwriting has disintegrated into the failing category. I used to pride myself on writing legibly, but over the years, because of constant computer use, my handwriting has now become undecipherable. Unfortunately, that is probably the general state of handwriting today. From time to time I have commented on the erosion of the teaching of cursive writing in schools across the country and I am sure that there is still a steep decline in the ability of today's children to use handwriting at all, much less to any passible level. As genealogists, we are confronted with the need to read handwritten documents, in fact, the whole culture of FamilySearch Indexing is organized around the idea that there is still not an adequate way to read handwriting by computer and that human intervention is necessary.
I guess there is a trade-off. Older genealogists are forced to learn computers and the "youth" have to learn to read cursive. Did you know that here in the United States, we have a National Handwriting Day? It was established in 1977 and is celebrated on the 23rd of January, the birthday of John Hancock. See "A Brief History of Penmanship on National Handwriting Day."
From the standpoint of someone who learned cursive in grade school, I can say unequivocally that learning modern cursive was not much help in learning to read old handwriting. Most of my ability to decipher old handwriting was a later-acquired skill. If you would like to get started in reading old handwriting, may I suggest the following books:
I have mentioned these before, but they should be remembered every time this subject comes up. Here are some online tutorials for learning old handwriting systems.
I guess there is a trade-off. Older genealogists are forced to learn computers and the "youth" have to learn to read cursive. Did you know that here in the United States, we have a National Handwriting Day? It was established in 1977 and is celebrated on the 23rd of January, the birthday of John Hancock. See "A Brief History of Penmanship on National Handwriting Day."
From the standpoint of someone who learned cursive in grade school, I can say unequivocally that learning modern cursive was not much help in learning to read old handwriting. Most of my ability to decipher old handwriting was a later-acquired skill. If you would like to get started in reading old handwriting, may I suggest the following books:
Briggs, Elizabeth, and Boyd Speer, Manitoba Genealogical Society. Handbook for Reading & Interpreting Old Documents: With Examples from the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives. Winnipeg: Manitoba Genealogical Society, 1992.
Cope, Emma Elizabeth Thoyts. How to Decipher and Study Old Documents: Being a Guide to the Reading of Ancient Manuscripts. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1978.
Genealogical Institute (Salt Lake City, Utah). How to Read Old Documents. Tremonton, UT: Genealogical Institute, 1999.
Kirkham, E. Kay. The Handwriting of American Records for a Period of 300 Years. Logan, Utah: Everton Publishers, 1973.
Mashey, Anne B. A Guide to Olde German Handwriting of the Mid-1800’s, No. 2. Wexford, Pennsylvania: Anne B. Mashey, 1982.
Reading Old Records. Georgia? s.n., 1998.
Sperry, Kip. Reading Early American Handwriting. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1998.
———. Reading Early American Handwriting. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1998.
Thoyts, Emma Elizabeth. How to Read Old Documents. London: Phillimore, 1980.
I have mentioned these before, but they should be remembered every time this subject comes up. Here are some online tutorials for learning old handwriting systems.
- Script Tutorial: making sense of old handwriting, Brigham Young University, Department of History and the Center for Family History and Genealogy. Courses in Engish, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese documents.
- Here you can learn Suetterlin - the "German handwriting"
- Palaeography, The National Archives. Lessons in old script from the British National Archives
- ScottishHandwriting.com
- English Handwriting 1500-1700: An online course almost entirely funded by a grant from CARET, the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies, in Cambridge, UK.
There are some of the very old documents that almost defy transcription. Not only are the scripts hard to read, they are usually written either in Latin or a now defunct language. There is really no substitute for practice. I usually approach old unreadable script by looking at the document for half and hour or so and then putting it aside. I pick it up again the next day and try and read some of the letters or words, but put it aside again after another half hour. I keep repeating this routine until the letters start to make sense. This can take more than a few days, sometimes weeks. Your mind needs time to assimilate the shape of the letters and the words.
No matter whether you write cursive or not, deciphering old script can be a challenge. Here are some examples of handwritten documents from the past, going back about 100 years at a time. I decided to use some Catholic Parish Registers from Puerto Rico to start out, since these are what I have been looking at lately.
Current document from 20th Century:
Even if you are not familiar with this person's handwriting, it is most legible and fairly easy to read. Unless you know Spanish, the record might be a little harder to decipher. Here is the next document from the 1800s:
As you can see, 100 years makes a lot of difference. With this example, you have multiple challenges. The handwriting is a lot less legible and since the form is missing, the entire entry has to be examined carefully. Even if you could read cursive very well, this second example would be a challenge. This is one reason I think the learning vs. not learning cursive in grade school is somewhat of a red herring for genealogists. Now, lets move back another 100 years to the 1700s:
We are now back to a time period when the records themselves become the challenge. This book has disintegrated so much that a considerable portion of the text is unreadable under any circumstances. I selected one of the more complete entries for this example. Actually, the handwriting is pretty easy to read, assuming, of course, that you read Spanish and are also familiar with the handwriting practices of the 1700s. What do you think we will find in the 1600s? Here is the entire page from 1645. Can you read this? You can click on the image to see a larger example, if you wish.
Clue: It is in Spanish. Just in case you are wondering, this is still fairly easy to read (for me). I have seen much worse. The quality of the handwriting is one of the main issues. The second challenge is the contrast and whether the ink is visible.
Shall we go back another 100 years? If I do, I have to change to another type of record. These are the earliest images in the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections from Puerto Rico. Here are some marriage records from the Archdiocese of Mexico in the early 1500s:
It has been a while since I have worked on this early type of record and this example would take me a while to work on. I can pick out the words, but I would need a few hours to start to read this record. What about you?
The point of this review is that reading old records is a skill that must be acquired. It is not necessarily related to your own personal ability to write in cursive. It does require you to be able to read and to be skillful enough to read in Spanish (or whatever). It is helpful to get a tutorial on old Spanish handwriting because some of the forms of the letters are unfamiliar.
Do I think children should be taught to write cursive? Whether I do or not, I do not think that learning to write in cursive helps you very much to decipher old handwriting. Deciphering old handwriting is a completely different skill that requires quite a bit of work and experience.
Current document from 20th Century:
Even if you are not familiar with this person's handwriting, it is most legible and fairly easy to read. Unless you know Spanish, the record might be a little harder to decipher. Here is the next document from the 1800s:
As you can see, 100 years makes a lot of difference. With this example, you have multiple challenges. The handwriting is a lot less legible and since the form is missing, the entire entry has to be examined carefully. Even if you could read cursive very well, this second example would be a challenge. This is one reason I think the learning vs. not learning cursive in grade school is somewhat of a red herring for genealogists. Now, lets move back another 100 years to the 1700s:
We are now back to a time period when the records themselves become the challenge. This book has disintegrated so much that a considerable portion of the text is unreadable under any circumstances. I selected one of the more complete entries for this example. Actually, the handwriting is pretty easy to read, assuming, of course, that you read Spanish and are also familiar with the handwriting practices of the 1700s. What do you think we will find in the 1600s? Here is the entire page from 1645. Can you read this? You can click on the image to see a larger example, if you wish.
Clue: It is in Spanish. Just in case you are wondering, this is still fairly easy to read (for me). I have seen much worse. The quality of the handwriting is one of the main issues. The second challenge is the contrast and whether the ink is visible.
Shall we go back another 100 years? If I do, I have to change to another type of record. These are the earliest images in the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections from Puerto Rico. Here are some marriage records from the Archdiocese of Mexico in the early 1500s:
It has been a while since I have worked on this early type of record and this example would take me a while to work on. I can pick out the words, but I would need a few hours to start to read this record. What about you?
The point of this review is that reading old records is a skill that must be acquired. It is not necessarily related to your own personal ability to write in cursive. It does require you to be able to read and to be skillful enough to read in Spanish (or whatever). It is helpful to get a tutorial on old Spanish handwriting because some of the forms of the letters are unfamiliar.
Do I think children should be taught to write cursive? Whether I do or not, I do not think that learning to write in cursive helps you very much to decipher old handwriting. Deciphering old handwriting is a completely different skill that requires quite a bit of work and experience.
Monday, August 17, 2015
First Impressions of Windows 10 -- PAF Still Lives!
Despite my pervasive Apple computer environment, we do own a token Microsoft Windows PC. We finally did figure out to look for the Windows icon on our desktop for the upgrade to Windows 10. Of course we had to install two sets of about 50 or so upgrades to get the icon, but who is counting. After registering for the "free" upgrade, we checked back after a few days and got an invitation to download the new operating system.
We started the upgrade process, but neither my wife nor I had time to sit there and watch the entire process and keep the computer from going to sleep, so it took us two or three days to finish the downloading process and get to the actual installation after re-starting or continuing the download from Microsoft several times. Of course, your experience could vary since we were using the WiFi version of Google Fiber. I thought about hard wiring the computer to the Google router after I got the whole process underway but by then, I was simply setting the computer aside and letting it run until it went to sleep or whatever.
Once we got the Windows 10 program downloaded, it only took about three hours or so to install. We left the computer and came back a few hours later to finish the whole process.
Once we got through the registration procedures and setting preferences etc., I got my initial look at the Windows 10 program. For the first time in my long memory, the Windows 10 operating system worked well and was reasonably easy to figure out. My first impulse was to see if the venerable Personal Ancestral File program would still run. It did. We might find a few complicating factors as we get into the operating system a little further, but right now it is about the best upgrade I have seen from Microsoft in a long time.
Next I had to explore Microsoft Edge and Cortana. Interesting. It might take me a while to learn what I need and want and what they think I need and want.
All in all, it is neutral experience, which is very good. If I still had Windows 8 on my computer and saw this new operating system. I would change over immediately. I was able to find everything I needed and I could never say that about Windows 8.
Oh, some programs made need an upgrade. I know that RootsMagic does. See RootsMagic.com.
More thoughts about Windows 10
I set the computer aside and came back to it the next day and continued to write. I don't usually do this but I decided I needed to let the program settle down before looking at it again. I immediately got lost when going back into the program. Guess what? I am completely locked out of my computer!! I some how ended up with three "users" for my computer and all require a password, which of course, I don't remember setting up. I am finally able to get into one of the three accounts, but I have no idea how to manage the accounts or recover the "lost" passwords.
I restarted the computer to try and sort things out. It looks like I am being jerked back into the real world of computer operating systems again. Oh well.
It took me a few restarts of the computer to remove the unwanted extra users that had been generated inadvertently and now I am back to the regular use of the programs etc. Off on another computer adventure.
We started the upgrade process, but neither my wife nor I had time to sit there and watch the entire process and keep the computer from going to sleep, so it took us two or three days to finish the downloading process and get to the actual installation after re-starting or continuing the download from Microsoft several times. Of course, your experience could vary since we were using the WiFi version of Google Fiber. I thought about hard wiring the computer to the Google router after I got the whole process underway but by then, I was simply setting the computer aside and letting it run until it went to sleep or whatever.
Once we got the Windows 10 program downloaded, it only took about three hours or so to install. We left the computer and came back a few hours later to finish the whole process.
Once we got through the registration procedures and setting preferences etc., I got my initial look at the Windows 10 program. For the first time in my long memory, the Windows 10 operating system worked well and was reasonably easy to figure out. My first impulse was to see if the venerable Personal Ancestral File program would still run. It did. We might find a few complicating factors as we get into the operating system a little further, but right now it is about the best upgrade I have seen from Microsoft in a long time.
Next I had to explore Microsoft Edge and Cortana. Interesting. It might take me a while to learn what I need and want and what they think I need and want.
All in all, it is neutral experience, which is very good. If I still had Windows 8 on my computer and saw this new operating system. I would change over immediately. I was able to find everything I needed and I could never say that about Windows 8.
Oh, some programs made need an upgrade. I know that RootsMagic does. See RootsMagic.com.
More thoughts about Windows 10
I set the computer aside and came back to it the next day and continued to write. I don't usually do this but I decided I needed to let the program settle down before looking at it again. I immediately got lost when going back into the program. Guess what? I am completely locked out of my computer!! I some how ended up with three "users" for my computer and all require a password, which of course, I don't remember setting up. I am finally able to get into one of the three accounts, but I have no idea how to manage the accounts or recover the "lost" passwords.
I restarted the computer to try and sort things out. It looks like I am being jerked back into the real world of computer operating systems again. Oh well.
It took me a few restarts of the computer to remove the unwanted extra users that had been generated inadvertently and now I am back to the regular use of the programs etc. Off on another computer adventure.
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