About the Papers of Thomas Claiborne
The Thomas Claiborne Papers, held in the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, include approximately 500 items that span from 1823 to 1935. There is also a smaller collection of Claiborne Family Papers held at the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville, though it appears many of its holdings are copies of the letters held at the Southern Historical Collection. All of the letters included in this digital edition are held in the former repository.
This digital edition of Claiborne's papers is a work in progress. Thus far only transcriptions of letters written between 1849 and 1851 are available, when Claiborne served in Oregon Territory. As more transcriptions are added, they will be organized in chronological series based on Claiborne's work and involvement in the West.
Editorial Method
Although the Claiborne papers have been transcribed as precisely as feasible, a number of editorial adjustments and devices appear throughout the edition to provide continuity and assist the reader. Margins, indentation, and placement of elements have been standardized. Misspellings and punctuation have been retained. Small dashes at the end of a sentence ( _ ) have been converted to periods, and the first letter of the following sentence has been capitalized within square brackets if necessary. Flourishes and other extraneous marks have been eliminated. [Sic] indicates only words that are repeated in error (“the the,” for example). Superscript characters have been brought down to the line and followed by a period. Angle brackets (< >) enclose letters and words cancelled by the writer but still legible. Interlinear insertions appear within solidi (/ /), and all editorial insertions have been italicized and placed in square brackets ([ ]). Inferred readings are also in square brackets but in roman type. [Illegible] indicates words or letters that cannot be deciphered, and such terms as [torn] appear where appropriate. If the address and formal title of the addressee was written at the end or on the address cover of the document, it has been moved to precede the body of the letter. All notes follow immediately the document to which they refer. If an endorsement was written on the back of a letter or in the margins, it has been placed at the end of the document with the designation [Endorsed].
About the Editor
The Papers of Thomas Claiborne are edited by Andrea Gray, a Ph.D. student in American History at George Mason University. This edition began as a project for a graduate-level course in documentary editing, and continues on this website for a course in digital history.