Hundreds of handwritten letters are among the treasures in Dietel basement, including those written both to and from Emma Hart Willard herself. Katya and Inzhu began their work by transcribing a fascinating exchange between Eunice Porter Pawling—the second wife of Troy’s first mayor—and Emma Hart Willard. The subject: Madame Willard’s upcoming nuptials to Dr. Christopher Yates. What the students discovered is an age-old struggle: do you tell a friend that you don’t approve of their choice for a romantic partner, or do you keep your mouth shut?

“These were the prominent families of the time,” Inzhu explains. “But it was clear that Emma Willard didn’t think they were close enough friends for Mrs. Pawling to share this type of opinion with her.” In her letter, Mrs. Pawling questioned the character of Dr. Yates and warned Mrs. Willard away from marrying him. “Emma Willard responds with a kind of ‘how dare you,’” Inzhu says, describing the fiery words that were written in response.

After hours of deciphering early 19th-century handwriting on delicate paper, complete with ink stains and smudges, alternative spellings, unfamiliar words, and the flourish of double letters, Katya and Inzhu have created what they feel is a 95% accurate transcription of the set of letters—one from Mrs. Pawling and one reply from Emma Willard—and have annotated the places where they are uncertain of the wording. “I write in cursive myself,” Katya says, “but even so, it was tough to read some of the words. At times, we just wrote out which letter we thought we saw, one by one. After searching for that combination of letters, we found in some cases that these were actually real words; they just aren’t used much anymore.”

 

This set of letters is the first in a series of transcriptions that Katya and Inzhu plan to use to create a podcast series for their STEAM 10 project. STEAM 10 is a transdisciplinary program for tenth graders that synthesizes science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The year-long course of study allows students to deeply explore a given project focus and arrive at a culminating experience directed to the entire school community. The podcast will serve as the culmination of Katya and Inzhu’s project. They plan to talk about how they came to choose the letters they transcribed, explain the process and experience, and tell the story they found within the pages, including any additional research they found to help put each story in context.

For Katya, the appeal of spending time in the archives is what first drew her to the project. As a ninth grader, she had spent time in the archives as a member of the Library Leadership Committee. “I really like being in the archives in general; I find it really fun! I like reading all these letters and doing some work to fill in the backstory of what happened, especially about Emma Willard. Most people just think of her as the founder of the school, but we get to learn about all of these things that happened in her life.”

In guiding the students toward a focus for their project, Ms. Ross keyed in on themes that might mirror their own life experiences. “What stands out to me about this project are the themes of love, friendship, betrayal—how relatable this can be,” Ms. Ross says. “Even though these letters were written in 1838, they still could be true today. Friends argue about relationships and you may disagree with a decision that a friend makes. It’s been interesting to see Emma Willard through that lens. We know of her as this pioneer of women’s education, and she was also a wife, mother, widow, second wife, friend. She had many different roles.”

“Who would have thought that these things that happen now would have happened to Emma Willard as well?” Inzhu adds. “While exploring the archives, I have learned significantly about the personal life and personality of Emma Willard. Looking back at the penmanship and way of formulating sentences that were used back then is eye-opening, and it’s amazing that we get to see and learn from these pieces of history first-hand. I look forward to summarizing the transcripts and getting the podcast started!”

The next step in the project is to choose from among the other letters available to them in the archives, which will be no easy task. With boxes full of writings from Emma Willard, former students, teachers, and friends, by the end of this school year, Katya and Inzhu will have a compelling series of stories to tell in their STEAM 10 podcast! 

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See the letters on the Emma Willard School Library and Archives Website
 

This piece was written for the Fall 2024/Winter 2025 issue of Signature magazine.