The Osborne Center for Historical Methods

By Laura Hechtlinger, class of 2012.

While working on this research project, some key lessons surfaced that would benefit future history students.  One of these lessons, which may appear simple after going through the process, is to remain patient and determined when searching for historical items.  If a student gives up after the first few tries, then they are not truly dedicated to the research. 

Another lesson is that many of the most successful searches yield results after examining the most obvious sources.  Looking at secondary sources produces a sufficient background and drop files in the archives help as well, but sources outside the main scope of the research are the most beneficial.  When searching for Judge Hepburn’s photos and information, I limited myself to Pennsylvania and his time serving as a lawyer and judge in Cumberland County.  I needed to search other places such as the records relating to US Supreme Court where he served as an attorney.  After completing these tasks, I found more pertinent information.  New information is present in unexpected places, but diligence and having a quest for knowledge is imperative in order to achieve this. 

It is important to build on previous knowledge, which is what I did on this research.  The experience and techniques I acquired last year in History 204 gave me a basis for my current work.  I realize that research is an on-going process and actually never ending, because there are always facts and information to uncover.

By Josh Hicks, Class of 2012

Over the course of my research I learned more than I expected to. One of the most important things that I learned from this research project is the need to look in more than one place and in more than one way. The first is very self explanatory. For example, if the Dickinson Library does not have a certain source that you are looking for than go somewhere else. As far as the second is concerned, If I was looking for facts about the conditions of Andersonville then the obvious place to look is secondary sources. However, you cannot stop there  you need to look in diaries or letters home. Even further you should look at newspapers in microfilm. So learning how to look in more than one place is key. On a side note, Microfilm, while tedious,  can be made to be enjoyable. To be able to see what people in the 1860’s were seeing is rewaring.  Another thing that I learned which may seem basic but is crucial is that you need to look at secondary sources BEFORE primary sources. Secondary sources should be something that influence or support a primary source. The importance of looking at a secondary sources first is that you need to be able to get a good feel on the background information before you go out and look for primary sources. If you do not do your background information carefully enough then you run into the problem of not knowing where to look or even what to look for. I ran into this problem when not knowing what to look for in microfilm. Finally, the last thing tht when doing research and recording it, you must make sure that you make the steps that you took clear. By doing this you allow other researchers to check your steps and perhaps more importantly they can use your steps to go further than you were able to and add on to your research. Even if you are unsuccessful in producing something from your research explain why. I ran into this problem at the Cumberland County Historical Society. http://blogs.dickinson.edu/hist-304pinsker/2011/03/05/research-blog-post-5-picture

By Stephen Whittaker, Class of 2013

Conducting research through a variety of mediums has taught me several valuable lessons that I intend to carry with me into future college classes and careers.

First, and foremost, I had to learn to control the urge to jump headfirst into primary sources and detailed databases.  I discovered that beginning research with secondary sources greases the gears of the entire process and allows one to form clearer research questions and acquire direction.  In the early stages of my research into the involvement of Dickinson College students involved in the Civil War, I found myself floundering as I hopelessly searched through databases and primary documents on an immense number of different subjects.  Without taking a step back and reforming and detailing my research questions, I probably would have gotten nowhere.

A second lesson that I took away from this research process is that in order to conduct research well, one must be thorough and truly commit time to reading and sorting through materials.  I don’t think that I would have been able to locate some of the information that I found had I followed my original strategy of simply glancing over everything that I had in front of me.  During my first visit to Dickinson’s archives, I utilized the sources from a history I had read to locate documents.  Had I not gone deeper than simply reading meeting minutes, or an odd letter, I would not have located items from obscure correspondence, alumni records and photographs.  I had to buckle down and take clear, detailed notes and read through both my secondary and primary sources without rushing too much.  If I did not take the time to sit and patiently read through pages upon pages of microfilm, I probably would not have been able to find the name of a fraternity that led me to images of Dickinson students who had enlisted in the Union Army.  In a similar fashion, had I not looked through the card catalog in the Dickinson College Archives and never inquired about the correspondence of a college president’s son, I would not have located a reference to masonic fraternity that played a role in the invasion of Carlisle, PA.

A quick glance at headers or keywords would have led me astray in this instance, so I am glad that I took the time necessary to do a fairly thorough reading of my materials.

Utilizing secondary sources and forming research questions coupled with thoroughness and patience form the most valuable lessons that I took from our research project.  Had I not been able to confront the problems I had been facing in conducting research, it is unlikely that I would be able to achieve much as a history major.  I hope that with this experience I can go forward and put my skills to good use and I hope that my mistakes and achievements can aid other students of history.

By Cassi Stanco, Class of 2013

The past couple of weeks have found me engrossed in a research journal for History 304.  This archival research project was time consuming and, at times, quite frustrating. However, my work on this research journal has taught me how to conduct effective research.

Don’t think too narrowly: Part of my assignment was to find articles in online newspaper databases. My topic was the Carlisle home front during the Civil War and as I began to search online databases, which cover national newspapers, I found that my topic was just too obscure to easily locate information. As you can see from this post, no matter how many spellings or variations I tried, I was not able to glean any valuable articles. Then, I had a revelation. Originally, I focused only on the story of local troops. I broadened my search, looking for articles related to different aspects of the home front, namely articles relevant to women, like advertisements for household goods. As it turns out, advertisements are one of the most telling parts of a 19^th newspaper. So if you get stuck on a research project, try broadening your focus a little and look into other aspects of your topic, which you might have previously ignored. This is a really good way to pull you out of a rut.

Persevere: Early on, I wanted to look into William Bratton, a Union solider, and son of the newspaper editor John Bratton. There was only one problem; I could not find any information on either Bratton. As you can see from this post, my initial, somewhat weak attempts yielded no information on this subject and at first I gave up, to a more interesting and accessible topic. However, with a little back tracking and the help of an archivist I was later able to find more leads on the Bratton family. This shows that perseverance is a must when conducting research. Sometimes when a search fails, it is not that the information does not exist; you just simply need to search harder, try new types of sources, and ask for a bit of help.

Use Microfilm: When researching, it is of utmost importance to use a wide variety of sources to find the best material. I for one found that although lots of people say it is too tedious, microfilm is a fantastic source for historians. Can microfilm be tedious? Yes, it can be. However, by determining a date range and using a systematic approach, microfilm is a supremely effective and interesting source. Viewing newspapers on microfilm allows you to view history in the making, just as like the readers of the past saw it. It also get allows you to see a whole newspaper issue, so that as you browse, you may just stumble upon a useful article where you were least expecting it.

By Wilson Riccardo

This past month, I found myself working on a research project for Professor Pinsker. The goal of the project was simply to create a body of research centered around various points of Carlisle during the Civil War era. For my own project, I began with Dickinson’s role in the Invasion of Carlisle in the summer of 1863, but later expanded to focus on the invasion itself. Throughout this process of researching for the sake of research, I came to find myself learning more than just about the Invasion of Carlisle.

The first lesson I would try to impart on future students, were I in any position to do so, would be that persistence pays off. Alliteration aside, being persistent really does offer results. While the research materials for my area of search were more or less available and easily accessable, there were times were I would find myself frustrated because I wouldn’t find what I was looking for, even though I knew it (whatever it was, exactly) was there due to mentions of it in other research or in the card catalogue. One particular occurrance of this was when I was looking for the letter from President H.M. Johnson’s son, Theo. I had known it was somewhere in the archives because it had been cited in a student’s paper. I looked for the citation for a long time in the card catalogue, and only found it after looking through the cards for Theo’s dad, pres. Johnson, and even then, it was a passing reference. I then took that specific card to the secretary whose name escapes me at the moment (and seemingly every moment), even though she is a lovely and helpful woman. After some searching on her part, she presented me with a large folder of loose papers authored by people with the last names beginning with the letter J. After some time searching and getting distracted by interesting topics not related to mine, I finally came across the one paragraph half-sheet of paper that was what I was looking for. Success.

Another major lesson regarding research that ingrained itself into my brain was to be creative with research. While creativity and research didn’t originally find themselves together in my mental associations, this project has taught me how to bring creativity to areas I originally thought were devoid of the characteristic. The easiest example of this is, for me, best described in this post:

archive images

In summary, I went to the Dickinson Archives looking for letters, was immediately frustrated at the lack of findings, and moved on to uncover arguably the best part of my project. In short, when something isn’t working, do something else.

The final, and arguably more valuable lesson I learned during this experience was the benefits of treating people with respect. Research is rarely done 100% solo. It helps to be respectful to and appreciate the assistance of other people. The woman in the archives at the desk is one example. I would have had a much harder time with my research without her. Additionally, during my time perusing the microfilm, I had a long and interesting chat with Brad. I had gotten what I needed to find out of the way, and was skimming papers just in case something else should pop up, which could have been very boring, but instead, I got the opportunity to know Brad a bit better. It was a good experience.

I suppose, upon reflection, that these lessons I’ve learned could also be applied to life in general as well as history. Think about it.

By Taylor Bye, Class of 2012

Looking back on my research project on the life and Civil War service of Levi Bowen I can say with certainty there are several lessons to be learned. The first of these goes back to the very process of choosing a topic. I started this process by looking for individuals with interesting backgrounds, which proved to be a wise way to go about it. What posed a slight problem was the moment where I had to choose a topic to commit to. On the one hand I had some pretty thin information about Bowen, which consisted of a few muster rolls and a diary of his time in Andersonville. As intriguing as that was, I also had a sort of research fantasy of finding information about a confederate pow who had participated in the invasion of Carlisle and then perhaps the Battle of Gettysburg. I still held out hope that I could find information about that topic. I probably waited about as long as I could afford before I had to start the real work to make my choice. I ended up choosing to research Bowen, mostly because after reading the muster rolls more closely a second time I got a feeling it could be an interesting story. It’s been quite an experience. My most interesting discovery was the article in the North American detailing the fact that he had been listed on the Carlisle monument to those who died in the war when, in fact, he survived 2 stints in prison and a horrific injury. Below is a link to my blog post for that particular discovery.

Dead Man Walking

The lesson I suppose is twofold here. First, don’t be afraid to commit to a project just because there doesn’t seem to be much to go on, or because you have this other fantasy about what you want your project to end up being. Secondly, the best and easiest projects are the ones that you are passionate about. If you are genuinely interested in the project, and emotionally invested, it makes it feel a bit easier. This is important – don’t kid yourself, research is hard. It’s time consuming, tedious, can be maddeningly frustrating and results in a large sleep deficit. Far better to work on a project that you are passionate about than one that engenders the same enthusiasm as a trip to the dentist.

Another lesson about the research process itself is the need to think ahead and to be efficient, both of which go hand in hand. In this, I did not do a good job. I followed plenty of different directions and ran down plenty of leads, but when it came to documenting sources and keeping track of where everything came from I started out as an abject failure. For the first half of the project I tried to keep everything in my head. Then, after countless times going back to websites and looking up book details, and trying to figure out how to actually cite ancestry.com (still a mystery to me), I ended up with an ungainly combination of copy-pasted word documents, handwritten notes, web bookmarks, downloaded images with and without identifying captions, and of course memory. The lesson? Think ahead – the time is going to come to actually create a finished product, and it will be easier if the source information is in one easily accessible place. All researchers need to organize and compile source information as they find it, not after the fact. Its the second major way you can make the process easier.

I guess the best lesson is to not underestimate the difficulty of any given research project. If you had asked me before this project what made good research I would have said the ability to find good sources. There’s nothing wrong with that, in fact it’s one-hundred percent true. But equally important is good RESEARCH PRACTICE. Thinking ahead with and eye towards the end product, and being efficient are two aspects of this. What I learned this semester is that if you can find a topic that excites you, maintain good research practice, and maybe get a small assist from lady luck, it helps a great deal with an already difficult task.

By:Kristina Niedermayer

One of the most useful files that I came across is the drop file titled “Civil War Cumberland County,” file L16.0060. This file of useful information that I previously blogged about, is located at the Cumberland County Historical society and is available upon request. The letter written by Fitz-Hugh Lee titled “Letter of Gen. Fitz-Hugh Lee containing allusions to the shelling of Carlisle, Pa., July 1, 1863.” This letter is located in the “Civil War Correspondence File,” number 024-001-015. In a previous blog post I thought the historical society did not have the whole letter, however, I realize that I overlooked the last page because I was rushing myself. (Something I must learn not to do while conducting research).

By re-writing Gen. Lee’s letter, I have come to a different conclusion than in my previous blog post. First of all, this letter was written a little over 20 years after the attack so we must be careful with our interpretation of what is being said as people memories are foggy and cannot be taken at face value. It was not that General Lee was instructed to destroy ALL property, but rather he was instructed to destroy all public property. He is writing about a Mr. Delany’s private property that was destroyed and claims he cannot recall the event of destruction but that his men were instructed only to destroy PUBLIC property and if they did not follow orders then they would have been punished. Lee goes on to explain that there were no armed forced to prevent the attack of Carlisle on the July 1st. Then, he explains that the objective of the confederate army was to reach York but it was then decided the confederate forces should meet up around Carlisle. However, there was a mix-up and General Stuart ended up proceeding to Gettysburg. This led the federal army to in essence come between the confederate forces and it contact between confederate forces was made difficult by this barrier. When General Lee came closer to Carlisle, he had no idea there were Union forces that were not willing to cooperate and so he goes on to claim that he had no choice but to attack the town. He kindly gave orders to evacuate all women and children and to put them into safety. General Lee proceeded to attack Carlilse the morning after as well. Lee’s last paragraph offers an apologetic reflection of the event. He claims he did not want to harm Carlisle or the town of Carlisle (where many of his friends lived), but it was a time of “horrid war.” Lee concludes with a beautiful allusion to how war separated the paths between him and his army and his Carlilian friends. Lee’s letter is very useful as a reflection of the Shelling. It shows Lee’s humanity and the personal tensions associated with wartime.

I have transcribed the letter bellow.

Letter of Gen. Fitz-Hugh Lee
containing allusions to the Shelling of
Carlisle, Pa., July 1, 1863.

Richard, Stanford Co., Va.
Aug. 25, 1882.

Mr. J. T. Zug,
My dear Sir: –
I am very much obliged for your kind and interesting letter of the 10th inst Mr. O Delancy is mistaken if he though I intended in my reply to his letter, to give and evasive answer. I would only be too glad to be of service to him. I think it is most probable his property was burned under the impression it was public or U.S property – from your description of its character and position – but I can not give a certificate to that effect, for the reason that I do not recollect nor can I recall the circumstance. My uncle Gen. R. E. Lee’s orders were very strict as to the destruction of private property while his army was in your state – my cavalry was a part of his army and I was particularly strict in carrying out his instructions in that respect. I mention this that you may draw a general inference, that Mr. D’s property was not burned as private property , for no man in my command would have so flagrantly disobeyed orders, because if his own sense of duty did not prevent him, his offence would have been seen and punished. There were no troops in front of Carlisle on the afternoon and night of July 1st, 1863, except my command – At the time I commanded a Brigade of four regiments. On July 1st, our cavalry Corps under Stuart were marching on Carlisle – my Brigade in advance, the other Brigades were under Hampton and Chambliss, the three under Stuart. We left our army in Virginia & crossing the Potomac above Washington, moved through Rockville & Westminster Md & Hanover &c. in Penn’a Our objective point was York, but hearing our army had evacuated that place we turned on Carlisle, hoping to unite with it there, but en route Stuart got communication from Gen. Lee saying he was concentrating his army at Gettysburg and ordering him to proceed thither, so he turned off when probably some 12 miles of Carlisle with Hampton and Chambliss while I being in the advance of some distance ahead was directed to go on to Carlisle and then to come on during the night or as early as possible the next morning & follow the column which had taken a shorter route to G [Gettysburg]. Our move through Maryland & Pennsylvania interposed the Federal army between our army and ourselves & hence it was difficult to get information as to Gen. Lee’s positions, &c. I did not know that Carlisle was occupied by hostile troops until I got within a mile or two of the place, and all of the statements as to the affair of July 1st., there, it must be borne in mind that Carlisle was occupied by troops, and their Commander refused to surrender it, of course there was nothing left but to fight for it, & when that alternative was presented I sent a staff-officer to Gen. Smith telling him I was going to attack & that I would wait for him to put the women and children in places of safety & suggesting the cellars.
I moved off during the night in consequence of an urgent dispatch for Stuart to come on at once after him (he having again heard from Gen Lee), and after I had made my plans to attack again at light in the morning.
Sometime when I can get much leisure I will give you some of the incidents of that night, now I have only time to say that it was with much regret I proceeded with hostile intent against Carlisle. My first military service after graduating from West Point was there. I knew & had received the hospitalities of most of its citizens. I had warm & earnest and good friends among its inhabitants. Some of the most plesant [this is the way he spells it] days of my life were passed in the hospitable homes of her people but war – horrid war- was raging then between the & those with me, & my path and their paths had separated.
Xxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxx
I am very respec. & truly
Yours Fitzhugh Lee

(Original in possession of the Hamilton Library Asso. Library Association, Carlisle, Pa.)

As a brief follow up to my research project on the Shelling of Carlisle, I realize that there were many things that I overlooked. In particular, I overlooked important manuscript collections such as the Himes collection and the Turner collection (both located at the Cumberland County Historical Society). I also realized that the way I went about my research was very unorganized and I did not refer back and forth between different sources (both secondary and primary). However, this research project has made me aware of the mistakes that I made, so that I do not make them in the future. In general, I found this a very helpful project because it made me aware of how to improve my research in future projects. I can conclude that there were two main lessons that I took away from my research project that I feel other history students can benefit from. Though they may seem obvious, they are very easy mistakes to make and they must be avoided in order to accomplish productive and effective research.
The first important lesson that I found to be imperative to my research project was careful note taking. When I first started my research, my notes were messy and unclear because I was rushing to get as much information as possible in a short amount of time. I think that messy note taking is something that many people are guilty of and it seriously impairs research. To be somewhat cliche, the expression “haste makes waste” has a definite validity when applied to researching. When going back to look over notes, messy writing complicates accuracy. Along with taking clear notes is keeping careful record of where information comes from and all information needed for citing the source. I mad the mistake of forgetting to write source locations and this made my research tedious because I needed to re trace my steps in order to re-find sources.
The second essential lesson goes hand and hand with careful note taking – taking time, and not rushing. As Professor Osborne has repeatedly told me, history takes time, a lot of time. In order to careful and complete research, there can be no rushing or skimming information. When I began my research project, I would only allow myself a couple of hours a day to do research. It did not take long for me to realize that putting a time limit on research was totally impractical. I would advise anyone doing research to make research a commitment by setting aside many hours of time in order to assure thoroughness and accuracy.

Last night I had a breakthrough with my research. I had already spent three in-depth research sessions in the Cumberland Country archives researching the Hemphill family, who was/is a Carlisle family who immigrated to Cumberland County from Ireland in the mid 18th Century. They were successful in Carlisle but not famous. I thought that it would be very interesting to do an in-depth genealogical project. Who was this family? What were their values? What did they leave from the past, and what do those choices tell us about their lives? Moreover, what can the history of one Carlisle family tell researchers about the lives of other families of that time, how their lives reflected greater history, and how families evolve?  

I thought my work would be fruitful because the archive has probably about thirty large boxes about the Hemphills. However, I grew very frustrated. Box after box all I could find was family trees. Although important, this told me nothing about how the Hemphills lived their lives. The best I could find was secondary sources of Hemphills in California writing to the archive asking for information. The archive would reply with information about land owned by the Hemphills, deaths, and births. 

Last night, however, was very exciting.  I found Hemphill wills, Hemphill photographs, letters of Hemphill business interactions, Hemphill part invitations, and a map of their farm. For the first time I feel as if my project has some meat to its bones. I will go back tonight and closely read all of these primary sources. I feel as if my research is paying off. It was great finally finding the right box!