Table of Contents

1. Overview: the Cultural Significance of Early American Handwriting
2. Games
   1. Early American Handwriting Game
   2. Recognizing Common Abbreviations
   3. Abbreviations Balderdash
   4. Recognizing Names
   5. Practice Reading Short Texts
3. Handwriting in the IC Archive

Abbreviations Game

Here are some common abbreviations used by colonial Americans. Match the following abbreviations with what they represent. Many of these terms are not commonly used today in everyday speech: click here to quiz yourself on what the abbreviations mean.

When you are done, check your score. Missed answers will be indicated by an "X." Try again until you get 100%!

	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet
	??? aforesaid attorney church continued ditto marks female infant locus sigilli parish per receipt per person supra scriptum testify, testament, testate, testator vide licet

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