Today we have a guest post from Faith Denny, who recently took on a remote transcription project as a volunteer. Faith lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband Joshua and their cat, Colby. She works in journalism and is studying to earn a master's in library and information science, with a concentration in archives management. Faith worked with Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums curator Rachel Yerger, who has written several posts about curatorial work for Trailheads (most recently in April and May).
This year, we have certainly had to overcome new challenges by not being able to safely meet or congregate in person as much as we would like. However, it has also provided us with some new opportunities to connect virtually. Thanks to the internet, I was able to be connected with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and Rachel Yerger, a curator with the Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums in Harrisburg, for a virtual volunteer opportunity, though I live about two hours away outside Philadelphia.
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| Gilpin Land Indenture (BB85.1.35, view 1) |
My work consisted of transcribing a land indenture from 1730 associated with Brandywine Battlefield Park. I was very new to transcription, especially for a document from this long ago. Rachel sent me two photographs of the indenture, of its front and back. A land indenture is similar to a deed, and this one in particular had to do with the Gilpin family. My technique was to have the photo open on one side of my computer screen, with a Word document open on the other side and I would write down whatever I saw as I saw it. The definition on the photographs was incredible, allowing me to zoom in to my heart’s content.
This project was very interesting and kept me on my toes. I had to remind myself not to change the spelling (and to watch out for autocorrect), even if the word looked incorrect or odd to my eyes. For example, the author of the indenture spelled the state’s name Pensilvania. Hickory was spelled like Hickery. There were also different terms used, such as perches, which is a form of measurement.
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| Detail of document (BB85.1.35, view 2) |
Though ideally you would want to see documents like this in person with a nice magnifying glass, it is truly amazing that something like this can be done virtually. I was able to work on it at any time, from the comfort of my own home. I look forward to doing more and to learning more about the Gilpin family and that time period in American history.
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| Rear view of Gideon Gilpin House at Brandywine Battlefield Park (via Facebook) |
[Editor's note: the document Faith Denny transcribed (transcript) involved a transfer of property from Joseph (Sr) and Hannah Gilpin to their son Joseph Gilpin Jr. In 1745, Joseph Jr constructed the stone portion of the house shown above (the kitchen section to the left in the photo was added in 1782). Joseph Jr's son Gideon took custody of the home in 1764 (learn more about Gideon Gilpin's experiences during the Battle of Brandywine and its aftermath).
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