Getting a Hand By Maureen A. Taylor Stumped by the chicken scratches and ornate script on your ancestors' old documents? Follow these steps to start deciphering the handwriting of yesteryear. As you become familiar with different types of handwriting, you can set an undated document into a time frame and learn more about the person who wrote the words. In Colonial America, most of the population learned one style of handwriting, but well-educated individuals often learned several different methods of script or "hands." For instance, John Winthrop of Massachusetts often wrote in various scripts within the same sentence. At least four different calligraphic styles of script—Gothic, Italian, Secretary and Roundhand—co-existed in Colonial America. Men and women often learned different scripts, so someone would be able to identify the sex of the writer from their handwriting. The same was true for social status: Private secretaries wrote in a particular style, while their employers would sign in another, thus establishing that they did not write the document. According to Tamara Plakins Thornton, author of Handwriting in America (Yale University Press, $16.95), different hands were a marker of a specific occupation, gender or class." Not until the late 19th century did one method become dominant in the United States. Here's a quick look at some styles you'll encounter, and when they were popular: Secretary, Court Hand or Gothic, 1600s: Known by multiple names, this is the most common script you'll encounter in 17th-century materials. It reflects the handwriting style of early English immigrants. You'll also see Mayflower Century script, which is a combination of this style with Italian and, by 1700, the Roundhand script, below. Italian, 1400s-1700s: The script we call italics is also the Italian hand. Instead of the block letters of the Gothic script, Italian has rounded letter formations. Queen Elizabeth of England used cursive Italian script in her writings. Roundhand or Copperplate, 1700-late 1800s: As copybooks—self-teaching handwriting manuals—began to be printed by copperplate engraving, the Roundhand became popular. It also helped introduce new writing implements so that the fine script could be duplicated. Roundhand is recognizable by its thin upstrokes and thicker downstrokes. Spencerian, 1865-1890: This uniquely American handwriting system was derived from three competing penmanship masters. Characterized by flourishes, Spencerian reflected the feminine pursuits of the Victorian period. Writing was a slow process because of the number of loops and times the pen lifted from the page to form letters. Spencerian handwriting became the dominant method of script in the late 19th century, taught in schools and in copybooks. Palmer, 1880-1960s: Austin Palmer developed his method of plain, legible script to be more suited to the fast pace of business than the slow pen strokes of the Spencerian method. Ask your parents or grandparents about the movement drills practiced in the classroom to master Palmer penmanship. D'Nealian, 1965-present: If you have children or grandchildren currently learning to write, this is probably what they're being taught. The letters in the printed version of D'Nealian help children learn manuscript writing without learning different letter formations. See www.dnealian.com for examples of this style. Maureen A. Taylor, the owner and principal of Taylor & Strong Ancestral Connections at www.taylorandstrong.com, is the author of Preserving Your Family Photographs and Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs. In a regular feature at FamilyTreeMagazine.com, she helps users identify old family photographs. Downloaded from: Family Tree Magazine Update, 20 Sep 2001 .