Editorial Criteria

    This publication of the complete extant diary of Ebenezer Parkman combines the work of three individuals: Harriette M. Forbes, who edited portions of the diary that are no longer extant; Francis G. Walett, who edited the diary through 1755; and Ross W. Beales, Jr., who transcribed the remaining portions of the diary.1

    Forbes did not set forth the criteria by which she transcribed the diary. For the most part, Forbes appears to have used an expanded form (for example, bringing most superscripts down to the line and spelling out abbreviations). Since the portions of the diary that she edited are not extant, it is not possible to be certain how much she deviated from an expanded form, but she did sometimes use a literal form: for example, ye, ym, Wm. Parkman, Wm Winchester, Saml. Fay’s, &, &c. In the current version of the diary, Forbes’s literal transcriptions have been changed to the expanded form: the, them, William Parkman, William Winchester, Samuel Fay’s, and, etc. In addition, obvious errors have been silently corrected.

    Walett consistently used a version of the expanded method: “the policy of the editor has been to write out abbreviated words using Parkman’s spelling when this could be determined, and in general to preserve the original spelling.”2 His approach differed slightly from that of Beales. For example, when Parkman wrote “prayd” or “prayd,” Walett transcribed the words as “pray’d.” Beales, for his part, transcribed the words as “prayed.” In the case of underlined words, Walett ignored the underlining, whereas Beales used italics for the underlined words. As in the case of Forbes’s transcription, errors in Walett’s transcription have been silently corrected.

    Both Walett and Beales silently inserted marginalia for which Parkman indicated, with a caret, the appropriate location. Parkman typically started each month with its name, following with Arabic numerals for each of the days. While Forbes and Walett followed this pattern, Beales provides a full date for each entry of the entire diary, e.g., 1757 January 5 (Wednesday). As a result of these different approaches to transcribing the diary, the transcript that appears here is not consistent but it is, one hopes, accurate.3

    1The Diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, of Westborough, Mass., for the Months of February, March, April, October and November, 1737, November and December of 1778, and the Years of 1779 and 1780, ed. Harriette M. Forbes ([Westborough:] Westborough Historical Society, 1899); Francis G. Walett, ed., The Diary of Ebenezer Parkman, 1703–1782: First Part, Three Volumes in One, 1719–1755 (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1974). Walett incorporated into his edition the portions of the diary for 1737. His transcription does not include the years 1736 and 1742 which were then still in private hands.

    2The Diary of Ebenezer Parkman, 1703–1782, First Part, Three Volumes in One, 1719–1755, ed. Francis G. Walett (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1974), xiv.

    3 The portions of Parkman’s diary that are held by the American Antiquarian Society have been digitized (along with the diary of his son Breck). Readers who may have questions about the transcription of those portions may go to: https://gigi.mwa.org/imagearchive/filename/271945_. For a discussion of the literal, expanded, and modernized methods, see the Harvard Guide to American History, ed. Frank Freidel (2 vols.; Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1974), 1:27–31.