Original Source Documents on Writing a Book or doing a Lecture

[NH Civil War Gal]

I'm not asking anyone to give away their trade secrets, but some of the answers in the continuing thread of Shelby Foote made me curious on how *good* history writers find these original sources. For example the Grant papers that @Bee mentioned which are now apparently opened up. Or new sources that @Eric Wittenberg found for his books. How exactly does one find these new sources?

Do you physically scour libraries? And if so, that seems like it could be real needle in the haystack approach. How do you get librarians or historical custodians to open their boxes from 150-years-ago?

For example, if I wanted to write a book on nurses in the civil war from New Hampshire that only took care of certain regiments (not remotely thinking of that btw), where would I start from? There are 100s of little libraries and historical societies in NH that have boxes they haven't opened. I just found out that the town I live in, our historical society, has some civil war letters that haven't been transcribed yet. There could be a Grant letter there but somehow I doubt it.

Obviously you've built relationships with certain librarians and historians and have a good network going but there has to be more than that.

So please fill us in on how this all works.

 

[Hawkeye Brehm]

I'm not asking anyone to give away their trade secrets, but some of the answers in the continuing thread of Shelby Foote made me curious on how *good* history writers find these original sources. For example the Grant papers that @Bee mentioned which are now apparently opened up. Or new sources that @Eric Wittenberg found for his books. How exactly does one find these new sources?

Do you physically scour libraries? And if so, that seems like it could be real needle in the haystack approach. How do you get librarians or historical custodians to open their boxes from 150-years-ago?

For example, if I wanted to write a book on nurses in the civil war from New Hampshire that only took care of certain regiments (not remotely thinking of that btw), where would I start from? There are 100s of little libraries and historical societies in NH that have boxes they haven't opened. I just found out that the town I live in, our historical society, has some civil war letters that haven't been transcribed yet. There could be a Grant letter there but somehow I doubt it.

Obviously you've built relationships with certain librarians and historians and have a good network going but there has to be more than that.

So please fill us in on how this all works.

This is such a good question. I've been wondering how to start the research process myself, and I'd love to hear from some of our esteemed group of experts on the subject.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

From my perspective there's a trail. You start with one item of interest/source, and it will lead you to another, and so on. This could mean scouring various options (libraries, collections, internet sources, genealogy sites, contacting relevant people, etc). You are a detective, and looking for clues. Sometimes you come to a dead end. It takes patience and perseverence. I'm saying this as a writer, and not an historian btw. I imagine both, if wanting to be sure of their facts, follow a similar path.

 

[alan polk]

It is why footnotes or endnotes are cherished by researchers. Those can be starting points that lead in all sorts of directions. Portals to new worlds. The digital age has also made searching archives easier. But physically going to archives is useful. Diaries, letters, etc can be found. Like Cavalry Charger said above, you become an investigator. You may want to find books about Civil War nurses generally. Comb the footnotes, track the sources wherever they lead to— libraries, archives, museums, etc. if they are located out of state, search their website, call them. They are generally nice and helpful. A whole new world will open up, and you'll probably be surprised what's hidden in that world that will take you directly to nurses in New Hampshire. The discoveries can be intoxicating!!

 

[cash]

I'm not asking anyone to give away their trade secrets, but some of the answers in the continuing thread of Shelby Foote made me curious on how *good* history writers find these original sources. For example the Grant papers that @Bee mentioned which are now apparently opened up. Or new sources that @Eric Wittenberg found for his books. How exactly does one find these new sources?

Do you physically scour libraries? And if so, that seems like it could be real needle in the haystack approach. How do you get librarians or historical custodians to open their boxes from 150-years-ago?

For example, if I wanted to write a book on nurses in the civil war from New Hampshire that only took care of certain regiments (not remotely thinking of that btw), where would I start from? There are 100s of little libraries and historical societies in NH that have boxes they haven't opened. I just found out that the town I live in, our historical society, has some civil war letters that haven't been transcribed yet. There could be a Grant letter there but somehow I doubt it.

Obviously you've built relationships with certain librarians and historians and have a good network going but there has to be more than that.

So please fill us in on how this all works.

Usually, a trip to the National Archives and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center is necessary. Additionally, send letters to various archives and historical societies where one thinks materials might be found to see if they have any relevant collections. Also, the Huntington Library in California often has materials for a wide range of subjects. Once you get the letters back, trips to those who responded positively are in order. Sometimes you can find materials online and sometimes you can get things scanned and sent to you. Normally, librarians and archivists are happy to help researchers.

I would suggest you check letters, diaries, and memoirs from soldiers of the particular regiments you're looking for, which may get you to the nurses. Surgeons will probably be good sources. Check surgeons from regiments, brigades, divisions, and corps levels because they may have treated those soldiers and may have had contact with the nurses. Once you get names of nurses, you can try to find if they left any writings.

Don't neglect published writings that may also have not only good information but also may point the way to additional sources. The Official Records are available online and are searchable. That's normally a good source as well.

Spend time in the historical society to see what the untranscribed letters have to say. That's information no one has used yet.

Don't forget state archives.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

I'm not asking anyone to give away their trade secrets, but some of the answers in the continuing thread of Shelby Foote made me curious on how *good* history writers find these original sources. For example the Grant papers that @Bee mentioned which are now apparently opened up. Or new sources that @Eric Wittenberg found for his books. How exactly does one find these new sources?

Do you physically scour libraries? And if so, that seems like it could be real needle in the haystack approach. How do you get librarians or historical custodians to open their boxes from 150-years-ago?

For example, if I wanted to write a book on nurses in the civil war from New Hampshire that only took care of certain regiments (not remotely thinking of that btw), where would I start from? There are 100s of little libraries and historical societies in NH that have boxes they haven't opened. I just found out that the town I live in, our historical society, has some civil war letters that haven't been transcribed yet. There could be a Grant letter there but somehow I doubt it.

Obviously you've built relationships with certain librarians and historians and have a good network going but there has to be more than that.

So please fill us in on how this all works.

That's a legitimate question.

The advent of digital databases has really opened things up. Specifically, making public domain books available through Google Books or archive.org makes it substantially easier than research used to be. Instead of having to find books and get them through interlibrary loan, they're now here at your fingertips.

The same thing is true of historic newspaper accounts. Some of my favorite sources are soldier letters home that were published in hometown newspapers. The accessibility of large databases of historic newspapers like the one at the Library of Congress (free) or newspapers.com (pay service) has made it infinitely easier to find really cool stuff that nobody else has ever used.

Those tend to be the two areas where I see it the most. The rest is just good old fashioned sleuthing. Local historical societies tend to be underutilized resources, and you can find some really cool stuff at them.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

It is why footnotes or endnotes are cherished by researchers. Those can be starting points that lead in all sorts of directions. Portals to new worlds.

Exactly right, which is why my policy is no endnotes/footnotes=no purchase.

No bibliography=no purchase.

If I cannot trace the author's research, the book is useless to me and I will not buy it.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

Usually, a trip to the National Archives and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center is necessary.

Cash is absolutely correct about this.

Now, for a dirty little secret...

While Carlisle, PA--home of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center--is one of my favorite places on earth (I went to college there), it's 6+ hours from my house in Columbus, OH. The Library of Congress and the National Archives are 7+ hours of driving from my house.

Consequently, making trips to these places requires a lot of planning and several days on the road to be worth the effort. Mix in the fact that my hourly billing rate as a lawyer is $300 per hour, and it should be obvious that a day out of the office can be quite costly. I have a couple of researchers that I pay $15-20 per hour to go get stuff for me at these repositories. I direct their activities--I tell them very specifically what to get for me--and remain deeply involved in the process. But do the math: I can pay my researcher for 20 hours of his time for what I lose by being out of the office for one hour. It just makes business sense for me to do things this way.

Dirty little secret, I know. But it's how I get things done AND stay on top of my legal work.

 

[chellers]

Just by reading this forum I've learned that many of Grant's papers are located at the University of Mississippi.

ETA: Correction: Make that Mississippi State University.

 

[jackt62]

I'm not a professional historian or writer but I always look to the primary sources cited in any historical work I read to ascertain the seriousness of the work.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

I might also add that I have worked with one of my researchers since 1994, and he and I know each so well at this point that he knows precisely what types of things I'm looking for, and I trust his abilities after all these years, so that I will just turn him loose on a project, confident that if it's out there, given sufficient time, he will find it for me.

 

[Hawkeye Brehm]

I'm not a professional historian or writer but I always look to the primary sources cited in any historical work I read to ascertain the seriousness of the work.

Good rule of thumb to have!

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

I'm not a professional historian or writer but I always look to the primary sources cited in any historical work I read to ascertain the seriousness of the work.

The first thing I do with a new book is to look at the bibliography to see whether the author did his or her homework. The second thing that I look at is the endnotes/footnotes. If both seem legit, then I will consider buying the book.

 

[jackt62]

Same here. I especially look to see the use of archival material and original newspaper reporting.

 

[jgoodguy]

Very good points.

From my perspective there's a trail. You start with one item of interest/source, and it will lead you to another, and so on. This could mean scouring various options (libraries, collections, internet sources, genealogy sites, contacting relevant people, etc). You are a detective, and looking for clues. Sometimes you come to a dead end. It takes patience and perseverence. I'm saying this as a writer, and not an historian btw. I imagine both, if wanting to be sure of their facts, follow a similar path.

It is why footnotes or endnotes are cherished by researchers. Those can be starting points that lead in all sorts of directions. Portals to new worlds. The digital age has also made searching archives easier. But physically going to archives is useful. Diaries, letters, etc can be found. Like Cavalry Charger said above, you become an investigator. You may want to find books about Civil War nurses generally. Comb the footnotes, track the sources wherever they lead to— libraries, archives, museums, etc. if they are located out of state, search their website, call them. They are generally nice and helpful. A whole new world will open up, and you'll probably be surprised what's hidden in that world that will take you directly to nurses in New Hampshire. The discoveries can be intoxicating!!

Usually, a trip to the National Archives and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center is necessary. Additionally, send letters to various archives and historical societies where one thinks materials might be found to see if they have any relevant collections. Also, the Huntington Library in California often has materials for a wide range of subjects. Once you get the letters back, trips to those who responded positively are in order. Sometimes you can find materials online and sometimes you can get things scanned and sent to you. Normally, librarians and archivists are happy to help researchers.

I would suggest you check letters, diaries, and memoirs from soldiers of the particular regiments you're looking for, which may get you to the nurses. Surgeons will probably be good sources. Check surgeons from regiments, brigades, divisions, and corps levels because they may have treated those soldiers and may have had contact with the nurses. Once you get names of nurses, you can try to find if they left any writings.

Don't neglect published writings that may also have not only good information but also may point the way to additional sources. The Official Records are available online and are searchable. That's normally a good source as well.

Spend time in the historical society to see what the untranscribed letters have to say. That's information no one has used yet.

Don't forget state archives.

 

[thomas aagaard]

The first thing I do with a new book is to look at the bibliography to see whether the author did his or her homework. The second thing that I look at are the endnotes/footnotes. If both seem legit, then I will consider buying the book.

As I written before, I really don't care if a writer is a university educated historian or not...
What is important is that the writer used proper methods, like footnotes and bibliography..
(obviously that do by it self result in a good book, but without it there is no change to verify any of the claims)

The best books I got on the 100 year war was written by a British lawyer in his spare time...

For some reason lawyers can be great historians... unfair I say... ;-)

----

To get back to the OP...
In some cases forums like this one can also be of help.

2-3 years ago I wanted to get hold of the Drill book "compiled" by Chandler since is was used by Wisconsin regiments.
I asked around on a number of forums and was told that it did not exist online and no one knew of any digital copies...

But I did get information about two originals. So I contacted the owner of one of them and they scanned it for me...
(They did ask a fee... so I got my university library to get it for me... since that cost me nothing.)

 

[jgoodguy]

The first thing I do with a new book is to look at the bibliography to see whether the author did his or her homework. The second thing that I look at is the endnotes/footnotes. If both seem legit, then I will consider buying the book.

A lot better than my preferred way which if seems to be these days if cash mentions it and Amazon used books has one for sale with former library book as a description.

 

[jgoodguy]

For some reason lawyers can be great historians... unfair I say... ;-)

Lawyers IMHO have to make a case as part of their profession, gather and present evidence. A book, at its core, is a case to be presented.

 

[alan polk]

Thanks for the very good information, @Eric Wittenberg. A bit off topic, but I've always wondered if you have ever been published in academic journals. Sometimes authors might publish a chapter or so of a book they are presently working on or researching. At least, sometimes.

If so, do you run into problems with not having a History degree? Or are history journals open to, say, folks with law degrees? I've often wondered what advantages or disadvantages there are with being published in journals while an author is simultaneously researching or writing a book. It seems a good way to get peer reviews and feedback as one researched and writes. Thanks!!

 

[Bee]

Per esempio:

Whilst I did not like the Chernow Grant book, his Notes turned out to be a treasure trove on sourcing. I found about 5 Brooks D. Simpson articles that I was previously unaware of and some were not available to the general public. I contacted Prof Simpson and was able to procure the most important of the articles. From that PDF, I was able to pinpoint Primary Sources & reference material (diaries & newspaper articles) that I was previously unaware of. All in all: Three book purchases came of this little foray, and a list of 5 more is in the hopper...