Notes on Method

This explains the transcription process and editorial decisions.

This archive is both a scholarly and deeply personal endeavor. The formatting choices you will see throughout this Substack aim to preserve as much of the original writing style as possible, including its quirks, cadences, and period conventions. It is highly recommended that, if possible, you read the original letters and use the transcriptions to help you along.

There is something profoundly meditative and nurturing to take in their thoughts and experiences, slowed by the handwritten scripts of Ebenezer and Agnes. The former was meticulous in his handwriting. He rarely, rarely made a mistake or changed his mind after putting ink to paper, and his script was tighter and more easily read (though not without a deep learning curve and plenty of tricky words to decipher). The latter’s handwriting at times looks like a different alphabet altogether; transcribing Agnes’s letters generally took 2-3 times longer than Ebenezer’s.

A few guiding notes for readers:

• Original formatting is retained …