Teaching Texas History: The Sound of History
Written records are crucial to our understanding of history. In the years before everything could be recorded and instantaneously digitally communicated on the internet, handwritten accounts served as the definitive documentation of historical events.
Today, we take our system of uniform education and standardized vocabulary and grammar as a given; however, for a significant portion of American history, formal schooling was for the most part reserved for the wealthier portion of society, and even then, mostly for males.[1]
This didn’t deter ordinary people, male or female, from putting pen to paper to communicate their experiences, hopes, and desires. With all due respect to English teachers and the value of precision of language, these rather creative, phonetic expressions of the English language convey the writers’ thoughts just as well as standard English we’d recognize today, and offer an insight into the intelligence and adaptability of those holding the pen. The records of the General Land Office include many examples of this type of phonetic writing that are both useful in the classroom and puzzling for modern students, whose access to powerful technology allows them to check spelling and grammar, and share any thoughts or feelings with the world in seconds.
On a Spring day in 1837 in the fledgling Republic of Texas, a young Army lieutenant from Kentucky took the time to write to his parents shortly before embarking on a new campaign. Henry Bright had a lot to say, and no detail seemed to escape his attention. He was clearly smitten by his new country and eager to share his experiences with loved ones back home.[2]
Click here to see the entire letter, including a transcription.
Bright wrote from the banks of the “Labachia” river about rumors of an impending invasion by a Mexican army, including a “fleat consisting of three Brigs and three scooners of War” and “a foarce of about eight thousand.” He and his company were preparing to march toward the Colorado River so that local citizens would have time to assemble and be “abal too confer with the eney.” Bright confidently states that he has “now dout” Texas will “succeade” in maintaining her independence. He describes Texas as a land of green meadows, “with grass about ancle high and as grean and tender as the finest timothy you eaver sean,” rolling hills and a perfect climate, as “the are is so pure heare that meat can be preserved for weakes without picleing.”
Despite the hazards, Henry obviously loved what he saw. The letter is a fun and interesting read and an important document that helps us understand what life was like in the early days of the Republic. But his words betray a fact that most modern readers would spot immediately; Henry couldn’t spell very well.
Henry wasn’t alone. The desire to share the news with friends and family was a strong impulse, just as it is today. So how did these early Americans overcome their spelling deficiency? Many, like Henry, learned to spell unfamiliar words by sounding them out, then writing them on paper the way they sounded. It works because the primary language of humans is spoken, not written. The mechanics of spelling, grammar, and punctuation are learned with a combination of the eye and the ear. From our earliest days, we hear words before we see them, and can make the connection even when the spelling is imperfect. Therefore, Henry’s letter makes sense to us despite its misspellings.[3]
There are many examples of phonetic spelling in the GLO Archives. Here are a few from a letter written in 1836,[4] take a shot at guessing what they mean: “exirsons,” “buffilow,” and “inosant.” If you answered exertions, buffalo, and innocent, you are correct! Of course, a word could have more than one phonetic spelling, but the goal was always the same — to communicate effectively.
Today, universal education and higher literacy rates coupled with fingertip access to online dictionaries and spellcheck do much of the work of spelling for us, but it’s worth remembering that good spelling, grammar, or punctuation alone cannot tell a good story. Especially in a time when an increasing number of students are multilingual and ESL (English as Second Language), it’s important to look back at historical letters using phonetic spelling to remember that intelligence and depth of thought are not negated by imprecise spelling and grammar. Henry Bright’s vivid account of his experience in Texas certainly does not suffer because he couldn’t properly spell every word. Henry ends his letter with the words, “Nothing more at preasant, I remain youre unworthy and affectionate Sun”. Who would dare fault him for using the incorrect version of “your”? It is what is conveyed that’s important.
Sadly, Henry did not live to see his dreams fulfilled. He died from disease only weeks after the letter was written. Years later his elderly father would bring this same letter with him to Texas in hopes of securing title to land his son had so honorably earned through his service in the Army of the Republic of Texas. It isn’t for the misspellings that we remember Henry. His love of family, his passion and promotion of Texas, and his sacrifice as a soldier, transcend every misspelled word, and that’s the real lesson for us all.
[1] To learn about education in the nineteenth century, see: http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-history/common-school-movement. In the early twentieth century, a board of thirty authors, professors, and dictionary editors sought to simplify and standardize spelling. President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order in August 1906 which required that standard spelling be used in official communications. See: Henry Gallup Paine, Handbook of Simplified Spelling, New York: Simplified Spelling Board, 1920. https://archive.org/details/handbooksimplif00boargoog
[2] H.C. Bright to parents, 13 April 1837, Court of Claims File 000936, Records of the Court of Claims, Archives and Records Program, Texas General Land Office, Austin, TX.
[3] For more information on the development of spelling skills, see: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/how-children-learn-spell/
[4] Court of Claims File 001281 for Duncan Cannon, Records of the Court of Claims, Archives and Records Program, Texas General Land Office, Austin, TX.
