Early Settlers of Old Somerset
A Revision and Expansion of Bogerternorton Hundred and Surrounding Areas
of Old Somerset County,Maryland. Volume 1, Inventories, 1665-1700.
Transcribed, compiled and revised by G. Ray Thompson, PhD.
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Ordering Information
Please select one of the following links or scroll down for a list of probate inventories
in this collection, sorted alphabetically by estate owner.
About This Volume
Preface to the Revised Edition
Acknowledgement
Appendix B: Samples of Colonial Clerks' Handwriting
A Note About Spelling and Terminology
Samples of Colonial Clerks' Handwriting
Colonial handwriting is only as readable as the hand of the clerk who
penned the words of the various documents. Not only was there no
standard spelling of words during the colonial period, but the
legibility of many of the documents is also often questionable. Some
pages are so faded as to be unreadable. Others are just as
problematic due to ink seeping through from one side of a page to the
reverse side, making documents on both sides difficult, if not
impossible, to read. Furthermore, the wear-and-tear of the edges of
pages have led to the further problems with readability due to lost
words or parts of words. Finally, much of the transcription was done
from microfilm, since the originals are by-and-large unavailable for
examination. The quality of the microfilming has also created an
additional problem for readability.
These examples of colonial
handwriting which follow are illustrative of the various changes in
writing decade by decade during the mid-to-late seventeenth century.
The writing is also from a variety of clerical hands and provides mute
evidence of the task involved in accurately transcribing these early
records.
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