Community Transcription – Fifty Months

June was the fiftieth month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription, and we continue to receive regular requests for transcriber accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of June 30, we had 2,247 users, with 14 new transcribers registered since the last update. Our community of transcribers has made 14,921 saves to War Department documents, which is 20 additional edits since the last update. We have had 252,502 total page views.

Community Transcription – Forty-Nine Months

May was the forty-ninth month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription, and we continue to receive regular requests for transcriber accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of May 31, we had 2,233 users, with 13 new transcribers registered since the last update. Our community of transcribers has made 14,901 saves to War Department documents, which is 173 additional edits since the last update. We have had 248,821 total page views.

Transcribe this: Creation of a School for Indian Children

In the first of these two letters, David Fowler wrote to Secretary of War Henry Knox on March 13, 1793, and two days later, Knox corresponded with General Israel Chapin regarding the matters Fowler discussed in his letter. Fowler, a Native American, is writing to Knox about the inhabitants of Brotherton, most of whom are poor as a result of being forced off their plantations and subsequently “lost all during [the] late war.” As a result of their economic condition, Fowler is obliged to ask for the assistance of the United States government in establishing a school for the children of Brotherton. Fowler states that he and his son have been traveling through New England “among the remnants of the tribes of Indian dwellings” that had been given to Brotherton by the Oneidas years ago in an attempt “to remove the White intruders.” The journey has resulted in much expense, and Fowler and his son also need a sum of money in order to return home.

Community Transcription – Forty-Eight Months

April was the forty-eighth month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of April 30, we had 2,220 users, with 65 new transcribers registered since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 14,728 saves to War Department documents, which is about 384 additional edits since the last update. The average number of edits before a document is saved continues to be three. We have had 244,565 total page views.

Transcribe this: “We have alarms every day”

In this letter dated May 6, 1791, Colonel David Sheppard writes to Secretary of War Henry Knox to inform him of the state of affairs in the Ohio country. Sheppard writes that he followed the orders he had received to have the militia leave the area, but tells Knox the number of soldiers they currently have “is not sufficient to the present emergency.” After the militia left, Indians attacked and killed several scouts, privates, and inhabitants of the region, and Sheppard is unsure of the exact number of casualties. Sheppard writes that “we have alarms every day.” Mentioning that Captain Kirkwood will be able to provide a better account of the situation, Sheppard notes that “we are without munitions and but few arms.”

Community Transcription – Forty-Seven Months

March was the forty-seventh month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of March 31, we had 2,155 users, with 36 new transcribers registered since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 14,344 saves to War Department documents, which is about 120 additional edits since the last update. The average number of edits before a document is saved continues to be three. We have had 240,792 total page views.

Transcribe this: Fever in Philadelphia

In a letter written by Secretary of War James McHenry to President John Adams on August 24, 1799, McHenry describes the fever that has gripped Philadelphia. The fever has “similar ravages” to those that occurred in 1793, 1797, and 1798. The sickness is so bad that McHenry tells President Adams the offices of the War Department are moving out of Philadelphia to Trenton, and that he expects to reach the city the following Monday. The move must have been challenging for McHenry, as he notes that the “personal inconveniences attending upon this removal are very great.”

Community Transcription – Forty-Six Months

February was the forty-sixth month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of February 28, we had 2,119 users, with 19 new transcribers registered since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 14,224 saves to War Department documents, which is about 26 additional edits since the last update. The average number of edits before a document is saved continues to be three. We have had 228,226 total page views.

Transcribe this and “oblige a poor woman”

In a letter dated February 27, 1796, Abiel Foster wrote to Secretary of War James McHenry on behalf of the mother of John Stanal Gilman. Gilman was a deceased soldier who served under Captain Cass and fought in the Western Army. Gilman’s mother resided in Foster’s neighborhood in New Hampshire and was curious as to whether her son was owed any “arrears of pay or clothing” at the time of his death. If Gilman was to have been the recipient of money or clothing, both would be due to his mother. Foster asks McHenry to look into Gilman’s mother’s inquiry, and stated that any information McHenry might discover would “oblige a poor woman.”

Community Transcription – Forty-Five Months

January was the forty-fifth month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of January 31, we had 2,100 users, with 28 new transcribers registered since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 14,198 saves to War Department documents, which is about 46 additional edits since the last update. The average number of edits before a document is saved continues to be three. We have had 225,033 total page views.

Transcribe this: Maria Butler to President Washington

Maria Butler, the “relick” (widow) of General Richard Butler, wrote to President George Washington late in 1791 to express her concern over the insecurity of the frontier at Pittsburgh and points west. Her husband had only recently been killed in a battle between the Western Confederacy of Indians and the United States which took place near what is today the border between Ohio and Indiana and his body was buried on the field. Although the area around Pittsburgh seemed dangerous to Mrs. Butler, she was determined to remain in the area with her children.

Community Transcription – Forty-Four Months

December was the forty-fourth month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of December 31, we had 2,072 users, with 23 new transcribers registered since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 14,152 saves to War Department documents, which is about 80 additional edits since the last update. The average number of edits before a document is saved continues to be three. We have had 222,628 total page views.

Complete a Transcription: History of a Canadian Refugee

In an undated document, Benjamin Thompson set forth the history of his life during the era of the American Revolution. Although born in Boston, he was apprenticed at the age of fourteen to a merchant in Montreal. He recounts his efforts on the part of the American cause, prior to his departure from Montreal in 1776, all in an effort to qualify for compensation under the Act of Congress for the Relief of Refugees from the British Provinces of Canada and Nova Scotia.

Community Transcription – Forty-Three Months

November was the forty-third month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of October 31, we have 2,049 users, with approximately 63 new transcribers registered since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 14,072 saves to War Department documents, which is about 385 additional edits since the last update. The average number of edits before a document is saved continues to be three. We have had 217,451 total page views.

Community Transcription – Forty-Two Months

October marked the forty-second month since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts. Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for the month:

As of this morning, we have 1,986 users, with approximately 33 new transcribers registered since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 13,687 saves to War Department documents, which is about 355 additional edits since the last update. The average number of edits before a document is saved continues to be three. We have had 209,975 total page views.

Help Complete a Transcription: Keeping Up Appearances at Fort Niagara

In this Letter from Captain James Bruff to accountant William Simmons.  Bruff had recently assumed command of Fort Niagara after the British agreed to turn it over to the Americans as part of the Jay Treaty. He laments that his own government does not provide enough of an allowance for entertaining British officers, who are garrisoned just across the Niagara River at Fort George, while British government “makes an allowance for such purposes.”

What is that word?

If you have transcribed a letter, rather than a bill or report, you might have come across a jumble of letters at the end of the letter, just before the sender’s signature. The most common would be “yr obt svt.” What does this mean?

Just as modern correspondence conventionally ends with “Sincerely” or “Best Wishes” (on paper, at least), there were phrases in common use for closing letters in the late eighteenth century. “Yr obt svt” is short for “Your obedient servant.” Sometimes letter writers used the longer “Your most humble and obedient servant,” which might get compressed to “yr most hmbl & obt svt.”

Community Transcription – Forty-One Months

It has been forty-one months since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts.

Here is a snapshot of transcription activity for September:
 As of this morning, we have 1,953 users, with approximately 41 new transcribers registered since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 13,332 saves to War Department documents, which is about 96 additional edits since the last update. The average number of edits before a document is saved continues to be three. We have had 205,244 total page views.

Community Transcription – Forty Months

It has been forty months since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts

Here is a snapshot of transcription activity in the last month:
As of this morning, we have 1,912 users, with approximately 49 new transcribers signed up since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 13,236 saves to War Department documents, which is about 111 additional edits since the last update. We also know that, on average, each document is edited about three times before it is finished. Moreover, we have had 198,422 total page views.

Community Transcription – Thirty-Nine Months

It has been thirty-nine months since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts

Here is a snapshot of transcription activity in the last month:
As of this morning, we have 1,863 users, with approximately 21 new transcribers signed up since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 13,125 saves to War Department documents, which is about 240 additional edits since the last update. We also know that, on average, each document is edited about three times before it is finished. Moreover, we have had 188,031 total page views.

Help Complete a Transcription: Letters from Judith Sargent Murray

Judith Sargent Murray (May 1, 1751 – June 9, 1820) was an early American proponent of women’s rights and equality of the sexes. An essayist, playwright, poet, and letter writer, her belief that women were just as smart and capable as men was considered pretty radical stuff in the 1790s .

We have some of her letters because her brother Winthrop was a soldier (he fought under Arthur St. Clair in the disastrous Battle of the Wabash) and later a territorial governor.

Community Transcription – Thirty-Eight Months

It has been thirty-eight months since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription., and we are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts.

Here is a snapshot of transcription activity in the last month:

As of this morning, we have 1,842 users, with approximately 33 new transcribers signed up since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 12,885 saves to War Department documents, which is about 360 additional edits since the last update. We also know that, on average, each document is edited about three times before it is finished. Moreover, we have had 179,488 total page views.

Community Transcription – Thirty-Seven Months

It has been thirty-seven months since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription. Even after three years, we are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts.

Here is a snapshot of transcription activity in the last month:

As of this morning, we have 1,809 users, with approximately 16 new transcribers signed up since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 12,525saves to War Department documents, which is about 67 additional edits since the last update. We also know that, on average, each document is edited about three times before it is finished. Moreover, we have had 162,982 total page views.

Help complete a Transcription! Treaty of New York with the Creek Nation of Indians

Treaty of New York with the Creek Nation of Indians

At the behest of President Washington and Henry Knox, in the summer of 1787 several Creek leaders, along with their leader Alexander McGilivray, traveled all the way to New York City for treaty talks.  The Treaty of New York was important because it represented Washington’s and Henry Knox’s more enlightened views about dealing with Indians-that is, negotiating rather than simply taking lands away.

Community Transcription – Thirty-Six Months

It has been thirty-six months since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription – three years! We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts.

Here is a snapshot of transcription activity in the last month:

As of this morning, we have 1,793 users, with approximately 35 new transcribers signed up since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 12,458 saves to War Department documents, which is about 178 additional edits since the last update. We also know that, on average, each document is edited about three times before it is finished. Moreover, we have had 150,842 total page views.