Hi, All!!! I saw this on another list and thought I would pass it along. There are some good tips and info here. Karen > <<Just a few things I found in Bluegrass Roost this month. Thought it might > be of help to some. > > PHOTOCOPYING TIP: To void bleed-through from the back side when making > copies, place a black or navy sheet of paper on top of the page being > copied and it will even out the shades in your new copy. > > FILM READING HINT: When reading microfilm, many pages are dim and the > handwriting nearly illegible. to help bring out the writing, use a yellow > clear-plastic report cover on the screen. When help or taped over the > viewing screen, the writing is much more clear. > > READING FADED WRITING: If the writing is too faded to read, use a 75 watt > black light bulb in a lamp that cast light directly on the item being > deciphered. The writing will miraculously appear. > > And one more > > HANDFASTING: Marriage bonds were instituted in Colonial Virginia in 1661 > to prevent couples from being married who were not qualified to do so. A > disqualification might be that one of the parties were already married, not > old enough, an indentured servant without the master's permission, or a > person with too close a family tie. > > Some early marriage records hare "HF" beside the names of the couple. This > stands for "Hand Fast". Handfasting was a form of announcing the > intention of a couple to marry without the formal blessing of a preacher. > The couple would stand before a group of their peers, clasp their hands > together over their heads and state their intentions. handfasting was good > for a year and a day, or until the preacher came to perform the rites.. > Any child born of handfasting was legitimate and could inherit. (Bluegrass > Roots, Volume 27, Number 3, Fall 2000, page 104, as taken from the Oregon > Gen. Society Newsletter)>> >