Transcribe News
Thanksgiving, in their own words New look, same old handwriting More News ↗
#OnThisDay — November 12, 1953
When I had a chance to meet Freud in Vienna, I turned it down in favor of spending a few days with Magnus Hirschfeld and his pansy clinic.
View full document → Browse #OnThisDay →

Newberry Transcribe

Unlock history!

Help preserve the past by transcribing handwritten letters and diaries at Newberry Digital Collections

Choose a manuscript → Jump in — surprise me → Learn more about the project →
Getting started

It's easier than you think

1

Select a page

Browse thousands of letters, diaries, and business records from the 18th–20th centuries.

2

Type what you see

No experience needed. Type the handwritten text into the box alongside the image.

3

That's it!

Your submission makes handwritten text searchable for researchers worldwide.

Want step-by-step instructions? View the full tutorial →
Find your niche

Choose a creator

Our diarists and correspondents come from all woks of life: social activists, novelists, homemakers, and lots more.

Sherwood Anderson

Midwestern novelist & short story writer

George Ruxton

Author & explorer

Arts Club of Chicago

Pro-Modernist private club & public exhibition space

Mark J. Satter

Chicago lawyer & civil rights activist
Browse all creators →

Choose a manuscript

Select from thousands of pages of letters, diaries, and business records, spanning the 18th through 20th centuries.

Olin D. Wheeler letters and writings, 1892-1924 →

John M. Wing diary [4], 1865 →

John M. Wing diary [3], 1865 →

John M. Wing diary [2], 1865 →

John M. Wing diary [1], 1865 →

Arts Club letters [24], 1929-1971 →

Reynolds-McBride family letters [02], 1879-1930 →
Browse all manuscripts →
"The whole North Side is in ashes — irreparably & irrevocably gone."
Julia Newberry, Chicago Fire, 1871
"Houses floating down the current... their cry was for help, for Mercy save us."
Christopher Gardner Pearce, St. Louis Flood, 1844
"We fired our Swivel... and Set out in high Spirits for the western Expedition."
Joseph Whitehouse, Missouri River Exploration, 1804
Mitchell's Map of the U.S., 1839 · Newberry collections
See what transcription makes possible
Midwest Time Machine
Travel to the past via first-hand accounts from letters and diaries in the Newberry's collections — plotted on historical maps, paired with images from the era, and made searchable by volunteers like you.
Witness the Chicago Fire through Julia Newberry's diary
Ride out a Mississippi flood with steamboat captain Christopher Gardner Pearce
Join the Lewis and Clark expedition in real time
...and more journeys spanning three centuries of Newberry manuscripts.
Explore the Time Machine →
Built from manuscripts transcribed by Newberry Transcribe volunteers
Powered by people. Unlocked for everyone.

Search
???
pages of handwritten history

Letters, diaries, ledgers, and manuscripts that once had to be read page by page are now searchable in seconds — thanks to Newberry Transcribe volunteers.

Search for a name, place, phrase, event, or everyday detail.

Try searching: Fire 1871 "World's Fair" "Dear Mother" cholera railroad Lincoln 1865
Right now
Recently transcribed
10 Marston St Lawrence Mass. U. S. A. [margin note: 5/11/23] My dear Mr Reynolds No doubt you have heard from your Nephew by now of my dear father's death. I was both surprised & pleased when he called on me at the same time I felt so bad that father was gone he would have been delighted to have met him for your sake. how often I have heard him speak of you & I should certainly have notified you of his death but did not have your address
from Reynolds-McBride family letters [02], 1879-1930 →
Transcribed by tsvolunteer · 11 / 12 / 2026
10 Marston St Lawrence Mass. U. S. A. [margin note: 5/11/23] My dear Mr Reynolds No doubt you have heard from your Nephew by now of my dear father's death. I was both surprised & pleased when he called on me at the same time I felt so bad that father was gone he would have been delighted to have met him for your sake. how often I have heard him speak of you & I should certainly have notified you of his death but did not have your address
from Reynolds-McBride family letters [02], 1879-1930 →
Transcribed by tsvolunteer · 11 / 12 / 2026
SECOND LOOK CHALLENGE
manuscript image
Try the tough ones
We'll pull up a page where another volunteer got stuck and marked a word [unclear]. Often a fresh, patient eye is all it takes.
Accept the challenge →
or become a reviewer → to check finished transcriptions