Before 1870, you're likely to find little if any punctuation. If it was there, it was often used as a decoration. Expect to see little of it and don't make any assumptions because it is or isn't there.

Capital letters

Unlike today, capital letters were often used mid-sentence to emphasise any word felt important.

Abbreviations

There were three types of abbreviations in common use.

1. Superior letters, for example Will^m = William ; Rich^rd = Richard ; w^th = with ; w^ch = which ; y^r = year
   Titles were also abbreviated: M^r = Master ; M^rs = Mistress - these are common titles today but meant something in olden days - a person of importance.
2. Contractions - letters missed from the centre of a word, usually marked with ~ or ' to indicate the contraction.
   

   	= parish
   	= Margaret
   	= Johannes (Latin for John)
   	= daughter

3. Suspensions - where the end of the word was missed off. The word may be marked with a ., :, ' or ~.
   

	= widow
	= buried
	= Philip
	= filius (Latin for 'son of')
	= filia (Latin for 'daughter of')

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