Editorial Process

Scope and selection of documents

Documents meeting the scope of the Voices of the Eastern Shore project date from 1750 – 1890, and have connections to the Teackle, Dennis, Upshur or Quinby families of the Eastern Shore. Phase I of the project focuses on letters from 1796-1813, and Phase II will focus on materials from 1814-1825. In the future, the project may add other archival collections that fit within the scope and timeframe of materials previously published for Voices of the Eastern Shore.

The documents published for the project currently focus on the household and family, business, and political network of the Teackle family. The main repository is a large collection housed at the University of Virginia, and historical materials held by the Somerset County Historical Society. A small number of letters held at New York Public Library, the Libraries at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Library of Congress. Subsequent phases may incorporate allied collections from other repositories already identified as related to the Teackle family and their network.

Protocols

The Voices of the Eastern Shore’s Editorial Policy was inspired by those of the Civil War & Reconstruction Governors of Mississippi project, the Library of Congress's By the People project, conversations with other documentary editors, and the best practices of the Association for Documentary Editing.

Transcriptions for this project are written out and subject tagged on our transcribing platform, FromThePage (FTP) and transcribers follow the directions below to ensure consistency across the materials and a stable user experience for all audiences.

Transcription Instructions

Tagging Protocol

Metadata Protocol