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

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.