17
votes
Accepted
Reading given name of German great-grandaunt?
The name is Agnes.
You can compare each of the letters to those shown in this BYU Script Tutorial for German handwriting.
I extracted the relevant letters from the alphabet image on that site, and ...
15
votes
Accepted
What is this place in County of York on UK War Office Marriage Record?
It says "Leeds in the County of York"
14
votes
13
votes
Accepted
Meaning of “dofhoadayne” in 1648 Will of William Noake from Longburton, Dorset, England?
It says "Doth Ordayne" as in "I doeth Ordain this my Last Will and Testament"
example - William Shakespeare's Will of 1616 - "I, William Shackspeare of Stratford-upon-Avon in the county of Warwick, ...
12
votes
Accepted
What might word "wise" mean on 1764 Marriage Record of John Smyth and Sarah Osment from Stoke Damerel, Devon, England?
I think (having looked at the full page on FindMyPast) that it probably actually says "were" so that it reads:
John Smith Captains Clarke of his Majestys Ship Firm and Sarah Osment
of St Andrews ...
12
votes
Accepted
Deciphering three words from mid 19th Century Cornwall Marriage Certificate?
It's "Superintendent Registrar's Certificate" - though I admit it does help to know the various ways of getting married rather than rely on the text. Generally marriages in the Church of England would ...
12
votes
Accepted
Deciphering cause of death?
1a Left Ventricular Failure
(b) Myocardial Degeneration
(c) Arterio sclerosis
Certified by C. J. C. Leggins MRCS
In other words, left-sided heart failure.
11
votes
What is the first word in this baptism record?
Imprimis is Latin for "firstly". The word commonly appears in lists in parish registers and wills, preceding the first item.
11
votes
Accepted
What is the teacher's last name?
The teacher's name is Elizabeth Ullrich.
From the report card, we can see that the school was in Rhode Island. There is a report titled RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL REPORT, prepared for the Rhode Island ...
10
votes
Accepted
Was William Chichester recorded as Judge in 1841 Census at Dymock, Gloucestershire, England?
Annoying...!
I think the word is "Indep", meaning "Independent", as in "Of Independent means".
"I" and "J" do seem to be very similar in many hands and I'm not sure what to say the difference is. I'...
10
votes
Accepted
Reading comment in 1825 baptism register?
The note reads: "According to the Cert[ifica]te of the Rev[eren]d G. Morland transmitted to me 30th August."
An Act for the better regulating and preserving Parish and other Registers of Births, ...
10
votes
Deciphering 1868 Irish marriage record?
Counkilla or Ceancullig (Gaelic: Ceann Coille) is located just north of Drimoleague. It is a townland in Drimoleague parish. Clearly there are numerous spelling variations of this place that you may ...
10
votes
Accepted
What is written over some of these Irish birth records?
I can't read the script yet. But we can say what it meant - if you look at the vertical annotation to the right, it explains that the registrations were cancelled because the qualification of the ...
10
votes
Accepted
Deciphering Work Profession from Spanish death certificate
My reading is "profesión, sus labores". In view of the 1970 film "De profesión, sus labores" I take it this is how one says "housewife/domestic duties" on a Spanish Death certificate.
See also the ...
9
votes
Accepted
What is the Russian town in this census listing?
A completely different direction - is it clear that the name wasn't written by that person themselves in cyrillic script?
The image can also be read as Russian cursive handwriting, spelling 'Одес', ...
9
votes
Deciphering an Intended Marriage from England around 1800
"Know all men by these presents, that we George Dutton of Coddington in the County and Diocese of Chester, farmer, and Robert Ruscoe of Aldersey in the same county, farmer, are holden and firmly bound ...
9
votes
Accepted
What is this town in Macedonia, Greece?
I am not an expert on Macedonian place names or history but from
Macedonian Village Names
THE NAMES OF 804 MACEDONIAN VILLAGES IN AEGEAN MACEDONIA, occupied by
Greece in 1912, that have ...
9
votes
Accepted
Identifying cause of death on Scottish record
Paralysis.
Determining the underlying cause is pure speculation, but suffice it to say that the person had some sort of neurologic disorder. Causes could range from trauma to infectious or ...
9
votes
What is being recorded in this Latin church vital record?
Mathias, Andreæ [Kousheg?] ejusque uxoris gertrudis [Vidmagesin?], fil. legit. sub Dno [Ashiber?], baptizatus est 13 Januarÿ 1771 per M. ?. D. Mathiam [Mervezh?] cooperat. Patrini Anton Kovatschetski ...
9
votes
Accepted
What is name of this 1927 town in Missouri?
The handwriting isn't great (and it hasn't come through well on the pdf copy), but the Address is given as "Independence MO".
The downstroke of the J of "Jr" crosses the last "e" of "Independence".
...
9
votes
Accepted
What is name of this Captain in War of 1812?
The name of the Captain would appear to be "Cannon" in the first image (appearing more legibly in "Captain Wm Cannons Company" in the second).
The phrase at the end is "per annum" (compare the "p" ...
9
votes
What is the house number on this 1891 Census record?
The UK and Ireland censuses are available from multiple places: Ancestry, FindMyPast, and MyHeritage to name a few. FamilySearch has transcripts, but it links to FindMyPast for the images.
I can ...
8
votes
Reading a will to get land information?
Here are some links to handwriting tutorials and other articles to help you get started:
Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 - 1800: A practical online tutorial from The National Archives (UK)
...
8
votes
Accepted
Reading Finnish Parish Records
I would read Kaisa's birth record as
Torparen Josef Johansson Törmänens & hru Anna Greta Matts drs barn:
Caisa Fredrika.
Faddr: Pehr Majala med hru Greta Mathilda; Matts Törmänen med hru Anna ...
8
votes
Accepted
What is written after John Lark's name?
The words after John Larke's name are "Single Man" it's just the top of the a doesn't go all the way over. Compare to "Single Woman" after Elizabeth's name. I would interpret it as meaning he was a ...
8
votes
Accepted
What does huba mean in this Polish Catholic marriage record?
Some small differences, especially in word endings:
Inter Josephum Wojnowski viduus de Bialybrod operanium et Hedwigem
Wojleckem de huba Lukowo non uxor atam ad contrahendum matrimonium
...
8
votes
Accepted
What are these words in the 1841 will of Elisha Strong?
The Said Eunice Strong shall pay one third for the support & education
of Lucy Strong and Julia C Strong until they are eighteen years of age
and the remaining two thirds for their support to ...
8
votes
Where was Berditoscher, Russia in 1912?
Passenger lists can be difficult to decipher, and I think the transcriber has interpreted the place name incorrectly. I think a more accurate transcription would be: Berditschew.
Translating place ...
8
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of the handwritten notation on the pension record of Charles Clements?
The descriptive pamphlet for NARA microcopy publication T718 is a reproduction of its entry in the print catalog of microfilm publications. It contains a roll list and a brief description of the ...
8
votes
Accepted
Locating "Bankhead of ..." in parish of Forfar
It appears to be:
"Bankhead of Turfbeg"
Turfbeg is a district to the north-east of the modern town, in roughly the same place as "Bankhead" on this snippet from an 1850 map by James Knox:
...
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