Take a Paleography Course

Paleography is the study of ancient manuscripts, written forms, historical records, and other textual barriers that can impede deciphering the past. You may have struggled to decipher old letters and handwritten documents as a genealogist and even done some online indexing without realizing what you were doing was classified as paleography. Paleography research goes much further back in time than most genealogical research.

In practice, taking a Paleography course can assist you in making sense of materials from the past. You might be able to decipher any surviving information about your ancestors. From there, you learn more about your family history. Furthermore, while you don't need to become an expert in paleography, an introductory class or book could help guide you through uncharted waters once your search takes you to other countries, eras, and languages.