Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson: Commonplacing and the Challenges of Digital Editing
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1B: A New Model for Digital Editing: Founding Women and Federated Documentary Edition
Abstract
Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson (1737-1801) was the youngest daughter of a prominent physician and became a central figure in the American Enlightenment. Her father’s connections within Philadelphia society placed Elizabeth among influential figures of the American Revolution and early national period including the Franklins, Benjamin Rush, and the Penn family. After her mother’s death Elizabeth recreated the Parisian salons she had experienced abroad at her home, and following a unhappy marriage to Henry Hugh Fergusson she published 28 of her poems over the last 17 years of her life. Elizabeth was unique as a woman untethered to any prominent male Revolutionary figure of her day. Her perspective as a supporter of the patriot cause while married to a practicing loyalist sheds light on an often-unexplored realty for many colonists, caught between the political divide. Serving as a host of Philadelphia salons and a member of a community of women poets circulating their thoughts through the Delaware Valley, Fergusson and her writings became influential even in their own day. She participated in a uniquely female public exchange of manuscript writings. Making Fergusson’s papers available through the Founding Women Project allows experienced researchers and students alike access to a cache of information on subjects such the Enlightenment, religion, revolutionary politics, and the female role within the revolutionary and founding era. The three hundred documents in Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson’s correspondence are far from a complete letter-press edition, but work well within the Founding Women format as part of a larger whole. At the same time the digital format and federated model provide a number of challenges. The commonplace book was Elizabeth’s writing method of choice, including excerpts from literature and newspapers, her own poetry, poems sent to her by friends, and even bits and pieces of letters she sent and received. Yet their lack of chronology, omitted dates, and missing or vague salutations make editing difficult and present a challenge when attempting to capture the character of her manuscripts in the digital medium. Thus the Fergusson edition raises questions on how best to design a digital edition that works well for her unique manuscripts, but will also provide a good solution for the other five editions within Founding Women.
Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson: Commonplacing and the Challenges of Digital Editing
Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson (1737-1801) was the youngest daughter of a prominent physician and became a central figure in the American Enlightenment. Her father’s connections within Philadelphia society placed Elizabeth among influential figures of the American Revolution and early national period including the Franklins, Benjamin Rush, and the Penn family. After her mother’s death Elizabeth recreated the Parisian salons she had experienced abroad at her home, and following a unhappy marriage to Henry Hugh Fergusson she published 28 of her poems over the last 17 years of her life. Elizabeth was unique as a woman untethered to any prominent male Revolutionary figure of her day. Her perspective as a supporter of the patriot cause while married to a practicing loyalist sheds light on an often-unexplored realty for many colonists, caught between the political divide. Serving as a host of Philadelphia salons and a member of a community of women poets circulating their thoughts through the Delaware Valley, Fergusson and her writings became influential even in their own day. She participated in a uniquely female public exchange of manuscript writings. Making Fergusson’s papers available through the Founding Women Project allows experienced researchers and students alike access to a cache of information on subjects such the Enlightenment, religion, revolutionary politics, and the female role within the revolutionary and founding era. The three hundred documents in Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson’s correspondence are far from a complete letter-press edition, but work well within the Founding Women format as part of a larger whole. At the same time the digital format and federated model provide a number of challenges. The commonplace book was Elizabeth’s writing method of choice, including excerpts from literature and newspapers, her own poetry, poems sent to her by friends, and even bits and pieces of letters she sent and received. Yet their lack of chronology, omitted dates, and missing or vague salutations make editing difficult and present a challenge when attempting to capture the character of her manuscripts in the digital medium. Thus the Fergusson edition raises questions on how best to design a digital edition that works well for her unique manuscripts, but will also provide a good solution for the other five editions within Founding Women.