How to Read 18th Century
British-American Writing

18th
Century Reading and Writing
Some
Characteristics of 18th Century British-American
Handwriting
Steps
in Deciphering Handwritten Documents
Excerpts
from The American Young Man’s Best Companion

18th Century Reading
and Writing

Historians soon learn not to
assume that people in the past thought about and experienced life in the
same ways that we do today. Something as basic to us as writing was quite
different in 18th Century British-America. British-Americans in
that century spoke English, yet they used words that we do not, and we use
words that did not even exist then. 18th Century pronunciation
differed from ours, and many of the rules of spoken and written usage
differed as well.

In Martha Ballard’s time, not everyone could read fluently, and even
fewer people could write. Literacy estimates vary, but it is thought that
almost all of the adult New England population at the end of the
eighteenth century could read at least to some degree. Maybe half of those
could write. The ability to read the printed word did not necessarily
result in the ability to read handwriting. Likewise, the ability to write
one’s name or copy phrases in one "hand" or style did not necessarily mean
that the same person could compose original prose.

Reading and writing were taught separately, as separate skills. The
amount and type of one’s reading or writing skills depended on class,
occupation, and gender. In British colonial America, reading was taught so
that both males and females could read the Christian Bible. It was thought
that women especially, did not need to express their own thoughts as much
as they needed to be able to read the Christian Word. Males progressed in
school and learned to read in order to carry on business or professional
occupations. Some, but by no means all, of the upper classes became
literate as a sign of good breeding and education. Typically, fewer women
than men could read.

Writing in colonial America was also a predominantly male skill, tied
strongly to occupation and class. Lawyers and their clerks, scholars,
physicians, clergy, and business people needed to be able to write. It was
felt that most women did not need to know how to write, nor did farmers,
artisans, non-whites, and the lower classes. Most Black slaves were kept
illiterate as a means of social control.

Martha Ballard’s lifetime straddled the colonial and early national
periods of United States history. Her schooling as a girl began before the
American Revolution. After the American Revolution, the idea of Republican
Motherhood invited more schooling for females. It was argued that women
would be the mothers and first teachers of the republic’s future (male)
citizens, so females needed to be well-educated. How could they teach what
they didn’t know? As a writing female who kept a diary, Martha Ballard was
unusual for her time. She would have been less unusual in the next century
when diary keeping became a fashionable female avocation.

Penmanship instruction in the eighteenth century consisted of copying
different "hands," which were different calligraphic styles. Penmanship
books showed alphabets, sayings, and business forms in different hands.
Students copied these exactly, for practice and reference. Writing
practice for females was not based on commerce but on accepted female
skills. Thus girls learned to stitch alphabets and maxims onto samplers
while boys practiced on slates and paper. Many samplers survive
today.

Handwriting
Samples from The American Young Man's Best
Companion

"An easy Copy for
Round Hand"

"The Italian
Hand"

"Flourishing
Alphabet"

"German
Hand"

"It is necessary
for all those who would qualify themselves for Business to imitate this
print hand"

Different hands were considered proper and appropriate according to
style, class, gender, and occupation. For example, 18th century
females used the Italiante hand, which was considered easier to
learn and more feminine in appearance. Men in commerce were expected to
use a hand that inspired confidence and demonstrated self-assurance. By
contrast, the earlier arcane, very difficult to read Court Hands of
England were not favored in the more democratic early national period of
the United States.

Materials were unlike
today’s. Martha Ballard folded and cut individual sheets of paper for her
diary. Writers had to make and sharpen their own quills. Ink could be made
according to recipes or mixed from dried ink powder that could be
purchased.

By looking at 18th
century writing, studying who wrote what, and reading 18th
century penmanship books, one can develop a "feel" for the era and learn
to read period manuscripts. Unfamiliar writing styles, quirks of
individual writers who do not follow standard writing patterns, and
problems with the materials such as ink blotches, fading ink, and
discolored paper can pose intriguing reading challenges.

Here are some characteristics
of 18th century British-American handwriting that might make
for difficult reading until you get used to it.

Some Characteristics of
18th century British-American Handwriting

There were no typewriters,
so personal writing was handwritten. Commercial writing was handwritten
or printed with type on a press.

Upper case letters were
used to begin nouns as well as to begin sentences.

The lower case s
was written in elongated form at the beginning of a word, in the
middle of a word, and when written twice, as in pass. The
elongated s can be mistaken for an f, and ss can
look something like a p.

Shortened versions of
words were indicated by beginning the word in regular-sized letters and
ending with superscript letters, maybe with a line underneath where the
missing letters would be. Martha
Ballard used superscript to shorten
words. Some writers simply shortened words and left no other indication
of the missing letters.

Spelling was not
standardized. Writers would spell words differently in different
documents or even within a single document. Look at Martha Ballard’s
spelling and notice how much it varied. Like many other informal writers
of her time, Martha often
spelled her words phonetically, using the way the words
sounded as a guide. Although challenging to read, such spelling tells us
much about pronunciation before sound recordings existed.

In words like the, y could stand for the th and the e
was added in superscript. The y was pronounced as we pronounce a
th today.

In some hands, upper
case K, P, and R can look similar, as can J
and T. Also, at times L and S will be confusing
because of similarities.

Steps in Deciphering Handwritten
Documents

The more 18th century writing you read, the easier it will
become. If you are having difficulty reading a handwritten document, you
could try some of these suggestions:

Look at the document as a
primary source. Try to find answers to the basic questions: Who wrote
this document? When? What does it say? Why? How?

In trying to date the
document, consider the kind of writing instrument used, the type and
date of the paper, the style of writing, the author, and internal
evidence such as dates, names, and events mentioned.

Study samples of hands
from penmanship books of the time and become familiar with the varieties
of hands.

In the document you are
trying to read, find words that you know.

Use internal evidence to
help you. Figure out what kind of document this is and become familiar
with some of the standard phrases likely to appear in such a document at
that time. For instance, look at some deeds or probate records. Certain
legal phrases are likely to appear and reappear.

Begin transcribing the
document by writing the words you know and leaving space to write the
mystery words once you decipher them.

Put guesses in brackets in
your transcription. The brackets say, "This could be this word or these
letters, but I’m not quite sure." For example, notice the brackets in
the McCausland
transcription of Martha Ballard’s diary.

Find individual letters in
the document, using the letters in the words you know as guides. Compare
and compare. Eventually you will start to recognize letters and then
combinations of letters more easily.

Read odd looking words
aloud, phonetically. Maybe the sound will help you recognize an
oddly-spelled word.

If the writer is
particularly idiosyncratic and hard to decipher, create a personalized
alphabet guide by marking letters on a photocopy. You could also cut and
paste a photocopy to create a complete alphabet style sheet to use as a
reference.

Look up odd and unfamiliar
words in the Oxford English Dictionary. This multivolume
dictionary is the most complete available and includes archaic and
obscure words unlikely to appear in abridged dictionaries.

Some words associated with
particular occupations or sciences might also be found in eighteenth-
century instructional texts about those subjects.

Get knowledgeable
professional help if faded ink makes reading impossible. Ultraviolet
light, various chemical treatments, photographing with colored filters,
and infrared photographing are options that might help. Professionals
with the proper equipment and know-how will help ensure that the
treatment doesn’t damage the document.

Return to the document
several times after leaving it for awhile. Sometimes clarity will
intervene, and words you could not recognize before will seem simple to
read later.

Ask others what they think
mystery words say. Sometimes fresh eyes will see what you do not.

Enjoy the quest!

Excerpts from The American
Young Man’s Best Companion

See more in the Archive

5 Examples of
18th Century Hands

How to Make a
Pen

Instructions for
Practice

A Receipt for Making
Black Ink

How to Make Red
Ink

To Keep Ink from
Freezing or Moulding

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