Yesterday I took Amos & Nora Hoover to the Lancaster County courthouse with me to look at an original German will he had translated for me in November. He did a fantastic job from the photocopy I had, but a couple of important words could be verified only by seeing the original will.
The photocopy I had gotten earlier was a copy of a copy. I had not been allowed to handle the original, so I was not sure they had the original German will. When I explained to the man who works there why Amos needs to see the original will, he went upstairs and came down with an envelope which contained the actual paper on which Peter Gut wrote his will in 1753. Imagine that! While we were at it, we also asked to see the will of Peter's son, Christian. He brought us Christian's German will and its English translation, both written in 1757. These are things dreams are made of!
The handwriting on Christian's will was a little easier to read and I could make out a couple words, but Peter's handwriting said absolutely nothing to me. I was fascinated watching Amos decipher the letters and words. He could actually read and understand it! There are not many men around who could do what he did for us. I am amazed and delighted!
The reason Amos wanted to be absolutely certain of his translation is because it changes some things in the history books. That story will be revealed in due time.
This is Amos checking the spelling of the words on Peter Gut's 1753 German will.
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