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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: LaytonLily on Thursday 12 April 12 13:07 BST (UK)

Title: Reading old Wills
Post by: LaytonLily on Thursday 12 April 12 13:07 BST (UK)
Is there anyway / anyone could help with 'translating' some words in a Will of 1848 which is written in the old English script ?  I have managed to decipher most of it but there are names which I am stuck on.  It is in a pdf format, downloaded from National Archives website.   Or perhaps there is a website which gives the present day equivalent of  the letters ?
Title: Re: Reading old Wills
Post by: GrahamSimons on Thursday 12 April 12 13:22 BST (UK)
National Archives has some help:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/reading-old-documents.htm
Title: Re: Reading old Wills
Post by: davidft on Thursday 12 April 12 13:25 BST (UK)
There is an article here that shows you what letters look like in various scripts and some other notes

http://www.freereg.org.uk/howto/transcribe.htm

For the bits of the will you can not read if you use a snipping tool you can post the relevant extract on the deciphering board and someone will be able to help (please post enough for people to see the flow of the writing, but do not post the whole document as that may infringe copyright)

More about snipping tool

http://uk.ask.com/wiki/Snipping_Tool
Title: Re: Reading old Wills
Post by: LaytonLily on Friday 13 April 12 01:10 BST (UK)
Thank you for the responses.   There is just one name of a pub now I am stuck on but will find that eventually.   The pub was said to be in London Apprentice Street, B.ham.  bing maps didn't give it.  bing search gave an article written in B.ham Post some years ago about slum clearance in the centre of B.ham, from 1875.  And how London Apprentice Street was one of the streets that was completely demolished and so the street name was  no more.  It also gave Upper Priory and Lower Priory. It said how these streets were the poorest of the poor, with the highest death rate in B.ham.   U Priory and L Priory were where my Hunt relatives lived and had butcher's shops.   The internet  never ceases to amaze me  !