Genealogists and local historians have probably seen every birth, marriage, death and census record available, and are adept at using the Internet for research. However, once they have learnt everything they can from them, the next step is reading and understanding older documents. These can be hard to find, are often written in challenging handwriting and use legal and other unfamiliar terms. This book is an essential guide to reading and understanding the old documents necessary for researching family or local history.