The University of Pennsylvania Libraries offers the Magazines of Early American Datasets (MEAD), a collection of datasets for researchers of early American history. The datasets are collected from organizations such as the American Antiquarian Society as well as from individual scholars. Visitors can download datasets in whatever format their original authors used or as comma separated variables (.csv). Each entry also includes a codebook, allowing researchers to use this data with ease. One highlight of this collection is two early nineteenth century admissions books from the Eastern State Penitentiary, transcribed by Scott Ziegler of the American Philosophical Society and Michelle Ziogas of Drexel University. This dataset includes intake notes on each incarcerated individual. For example, the notes on a Philadelphia blacksmith charged with burglary reads: "Seems like an old convict & very insensible. No wish to intercourse with me on religious subjects." Other data sets include 19th Century American Children's Book Trade Directory (courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society); a collection of George Washington's shipping invoices; and the 1790 Census of black individuals living in Philadelphia.
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