Had Grass, Water and Wood: Scanning and Transcribing the 1864 Travel Diary of John Heinen

Authors

Elizabeth Dugan, DePauw University
Caroline Gilson, DePauw University

Files

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Fall 10-6-2023

Abstract

This collaborative project included scanning and transcribing a diary owned by Caroline Gilson passed down from her mother. The diary is from May-September 1864, kept by Ernst John Heinen, recording his trip from Nebraska to California on the Overland Trail. Heinen is Caroline’s great-great grandfather, born in Germany in 1836. Elizabeth Dugan worked hands-on with the diary, scanning the work and transcribing the work. Elizabeth and Caroline developed a manuscript transcription guide, based on established best practices. A reading list Caroline created guided the exploration of the diary, including emigrant migration and native American encounters and perspectives of the time, and westward expansion in the 1860s.

Department

Roy O. West Library, DePauw University

Project Mentor

Caroline Gilson

Funding and Acknowledgements

Funding provided by the FDC Faculty-Student Grant for Summer 2023

Recommended Citation

Dugan, Elizabeth and Gilson, Caroline, "Had Grass, Water and Wood: Scanning and Transcribing the 1864 Travel Diary of John Heinen" (2023). Annual Student Research Poster Session. 118.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/srfposters/118