German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Vital Records Written in Germany

Germans have long been a scattered lot. Millions of Americans identify their ancestral roots as German. For many of these individuals, their ancestors spoke German but never lived in what constitutes modern Germany or even any previously identified German states or territories. From the middle ages on, German-speaking communities have thrived all across Europe, especially in the Eastern countries. Many identified themselves by their language, culture, and customs as German, but may have lived nowhere near modern Germany. The result is many German documents exist across a large geographical area in Europe. The language was used in written vital records across Europe. So where documents written in other languages but by German hands. Learning to read and transcribe these documents can be a stumbling block. Fortunately, Roger Minert has taken his more than 20 years of experience and applied it to producing Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Vital Records Written in Germany; a book considered by many to be the preemptive guide on the subject.

This book is so much more than a basic treatment of Old German Script or Gothic letters. This book examine the history, the development, the alphabet, and the handwriting of not only the German language, but also Latin and French in German documents. In the author’s own words, he as added the following features to this book, not previously handled by other authors:

  • “a brief but scholarly review of the history of handwriting styles and alphabets in German-speaking regions of Europe
  • the introduction of a computerized, normed set of Gothic alphabet characters
  • the inclusion of examples consisting of illustrations taken from genuine records
  • a methodology for deciphering Latin texts in German source documents
  • a methodology for deciphering French texts in German source documents
  • the introduction of the only modern technology to be applied to the deciphering of words and names in old handwritten German documents — the reverse alphabetical index”

In addition to all this well-defined and unique information, the author facilitate the learning process with over 150 illustrations. These include 131 examples taken from authentic German vital records. These documents are used step by step along the path taught in this guide to decipher German handwriting. In many cases, the author has provided a transliteration to a modern typeset face of the sample’s text, a translation into English, and a useful analysis to better understand both the type of document as well as key points in the deciphering of the contents.

 

Table of Contents

Introduction

How to Use this Book

Chapter 1: The Evolution of Handwriting Styles in Germany

  • Introduction
  • Early Handwriting Styles
  • Handwriting Styles after the Middle Ages
  • The Standardization of Handwriting Styles
  • The End of the Gothic Alphabet in Daily Use
  • Determining the Language of the Handwritten Document
  • Notes

Chapter 2: Deciphering German Handwriting in German Documents

  • Introduction
  • The Gothic Handwriting Alphabet
  • Lower Case Gothic Characters
  • Upper Case Gothic Characters
  • Consonant Clusters and Doubled Consonants
  • Diacritical Marks and Punctuation
  • Crossing the t and Dotting the i
  • Abbreviations
  • Similar and Confusion Characters
  • Numbers and Dates
    • Numerals
    • Days of the Week
    • Months
    • Time of Day
    • Seasons of the Year
    • Cardinal Numbers vs. Ordinal Numbers
    • Feast Dates
    • French Republican Calendar Dates
  • Learning to Write in the Gothic Alphabet
  • German Language Tools
    • German Grammar
    • German Syntax and Word Order
    • German Vocabulary
    • Archaic German Language and Dialect Variants
    • Personal Names
    • Place Names
    • Determining the Type of Record
  • Basic Tactics in Deciphering German Handwriting in Vital Record Entries
    • Extraction
    • Transcription/Transliteration
    • Translation
  • Additional Tactics in Deciphering German Handwriting in Vital Records
    • Index
    • Chronology
    • Alphabet Sampler
    • Vowel/Consonant Environments
    • Syntactic Analysis
  • Deciphering Sample Vital Record Entries
    • Church Birth/Christening Records
    • Civil Birth Records
    • Church Marriage Records
    • Church Death/Burial Records
    • Civil Death Records
    • Other Types of Records
    • Summary
    • Notes

Chapter 3: Deciphering Latin Handwriting in German Documents

  • Introduction
  • The Latin Alphabet as Used in German Vital Records
  • Abbreviations in Vital Records entries in Latin
  • Numerals
  • Dates
  • Latin Grammar
  • The Elements of a Typical Latin Church Book Entry
    • Column Entries
    • Sentence Entries
    • Paragraph Entries
  • Tactics for Deciphering Latin in Vital Records in German Documents
  • Summary
  • Notes

Chapter 4: Deciphering French Handwriting in German Documents

  • Introduction
  • The Practice of French Record-keeping in Germany
  • Church Vital Records in the French Language
    • Civil Registry Vital Records in the French Language
    • Civil Registry Pre-printed Entry Forms
    • Numerals and Dates
  • The French Republican Calendar
  • French Grammar and Language Tools
    • Gender
    • Number
    • Capitalization
    • Syntax
    • Vocabulary
    • Placement of Adjectives
  • Analyzing French Entries in German Church Records
    • Column French Entries in German Church Records
    • Paragraph French Entries in German Church Records
  • Analyzing French Entries in German Civil Records
    • Paragraph French Entries in German Church Records
    • Pre-Printed French Entries in German Civil Records
  • Summary
  • Notes

Conclusions

Foreign Language Competence

The Reverse Alphabetical Index

Annotated Bibliography

  • Works Cited in This Book
  • Additional Works Recommended to Family History Researchers

Glossary

Appendices

  1. Normal Fraktur Printed Alphabet
  2. German Genealogical Vocabulary
  3. German Genealogical Vocabulary – Reverse Alphabetical Order
  4. Latin Genealogical Vocabulary
  5. Latin Genealogical Vocabulary – Reverse Alphabetical Order
  6. French Genealogical Vocabulary
  7. French Genealogical Vocabulary – Reverse Alphabetical Order
  8. Common Genealogical Symbols found in German Vital Records
  9. German Empire Civil Registry Forms (1876–1918)

Index

 

Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Vital Records Written in Germany is available from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: M0001, Price: $26.41.

One Reply to “German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Vital Records Written in Germany”

  1. Genetic aspects of handwriting:
    Is this factor worthy of discussion?
    Various members of same family (without any history of contact) have very similar handwriting?

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