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A View from Behind Bars: The Diary of Thomas Lloyd, Revolutionary and Father of American Shorthand, from Newgate Prison 1794-1796.

Thomas Lloyd

One of the more interesting and unique items in the Falvey Memorial Library Digital Collection is the diary of Thomas Lloyd (1756–1827) – teacher, stenographer, soldier in the American Revolutionary War and “Father of American Shorthand”. The diary covers the latter half of Lloyd’s incarceration time in London, first at Fleet Prison for debt and later at Newgate Prison for seditious libel against the British government. This item is part of the Lloyd Collection, a subcollection of the American Catholic Historical Society collection hosted at the Villanova University Digital Library.

Born August 14th, 1756 to William and Hannah Biddle Lloyd, Thomas Lloyd first studied shorthand in what is now modern day Belgium at the College of St. Omar. Shortly after, Lloyd immigrated to America right before the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, where he joined the war effort as part of the Maryland Militia Fifth Independent Company. Later, as part of the Maryland Regiment Fourth Company, he was wounded and captured at the Battle of Brandywine (which took place a short drive from Villanova University’s campus). After the war (he was released in a prisoner exchange, recovered in a hospital in Lancaster, PA, and later discharged from the army in 1779), Lloyd used his shorthand skills to record the debates of the Pennsylvania Assembly. Starting in 1787, this work included recording and publishing the debates of the Pennsylvanian Convention to ratify the United States Constitution.

This job led to both note and notoriety, as Thomas Lloyd’s pro-ratification stance was well-known, and reports and rumors abounded of Lloyd taking bribes to help the pro-ratification side. Although Lloyd recorded both pro-ratification and anti-ratification stances, both for the Maryland and Pennsylvanian delegation, the bulk of the speeches that were published were almost always of the pro-ratification kind. Eventually, with the Constitution ratified, Thomas Lloyd attended the First Federal Congress with the goal of recording the entirety of the debates — this job became official when Lloyd was appointed official recorder of the second session of the House of Representatives. The works of Thomas Lloyd during this period, including his notes and published articles, are considered the most accurate representations of the goings-on of Congress during this historic portion of American history.

Visiting family members in London in 1791, he stayed on to help with his father’s business. During his time in London, his desire to familiarize Londoners with the new Republic and its systems led Lloyd to publish “The Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States of America, with the Constitution prefixt” in 1792. Unfortunately, Lloyd also ran into financial difficulties (his London agent failed to make good on his agreements), and Lloyd was arrested and incarcerated in Fleet Prison in London for debt.

While in Fleet Prison, Thomas Lloyd was charged with seditious libel against the British government for posting a placard containing a “declaration of republican principles” on a chapel door. Found guilty, he was sentenced to one hour in the pillory, fined five thousand dollars, and received a three year sentence in Newgate Prison. It was during his prison stay that Lloyd, along with Mathew Carey, a friend and prominent publisher/employee of the Pennsylvania Herald, published “The System of Shorthand Practiced by Thomas Lloyd in Taking Down the Debates of Congress and Now (With His Permission) Published for General Use”. It was this work that made Thomas Lloyd famous for his shorthand style.

Thomas Lloyd Diary Page 10-11 

Looking for a cure for an ulcer?

During his time in Newgate Prison, Lloyd kept a diary with near-daily entries on every topic from daily prison life to recipes for medicines to shipping manifests and prices of various goods. The diary reads less like a typical journal of events and thoughts and more like a batch of notes lying haphazard on a desk (or rather more like an engineer’s notepad). This gives the impression the diary wasn’t intended to be published, but rather used as a collection of random notes for things to be remembered in the short-term for later use. An example of this can be seen starting on page 9, where Lloyd, rather than using the space for daily events, lists several recipes in his diary, including some medicinal ones. An example on page 11 has a treatment for ulcers – Lloyd had complained of being ill on several previous pages, which might be the impetus for this entry. As well, entries are written both vertically and horizontally on the page, with numerous scratch-outs, inserts and margin notes. The haphazard style of the diary, while making the pages harder to read, gives the diary the advantage of authenticity – the chance to read the thoughts and notes of someone before they got too heavily filtered for the general public. In addition, the various topics and notes give a more complete picture of the time period and the daily comings-and-goings of both the prison and the outside world.

An interesting item from the diary to those unfamiliar with London prisons is the sheer amount of visitors who call on Thomas Lloyd during his incarceration — it seems like he gets at least one, if not two, visits a day, mostly on either business or legal reasons. These visitors often dine with Lloyd as well. Visits occur frequently enough that Lloyd often makes note of the days without visitors (as well as recording his tendency to get despondent on those days). This is due to the two-tier prison system common in 1790s London – commoners are housed in one section of the prison and have little rights and privileges, whereas more upscale citizens (or at least those with money) are housed in a separate section of the prison and given leeway to have visitors, conduct business, and on occasion even live outside the prison walls. According to the information contained in the diary, Thomas Lloyd is definitely in the latter group.

This of course isn’t to say Lloyd had an easy life in prison – on the contrary, as early as page one Lloyd complains of being assaulted by fellow prisoners as well as being very ill. Lloyd often records not being well over the two years covered in his diary, suggesting that prison sanitation may not be all that great, or that stress was getting the better of his immune system. My own hypothesis on this is that it’s a bit of both.

Thomas Lloyd Diary Page 97-98 

The 1790s version of drunk dialing…

For historians, lots of historical references are peppered throughout the diary. Two examples: page 171 of the diary notes that Friday, September 11th was the 18th anniversary of the Battle of Brandywine (where Lloyd was wounded and captured by the British) and page 93 has a note on receiving news of the death of Robespierre, the famous figure of the French Revolution (as well as some opinions on the man and his ideals). On a lighter note, head over to page 97, where Lloyd records taking 30 drops of Laudanum (read: opium) for his fever, which may have contributed to his declaration that a British officer “was afraid to kiss [his] posterior” later in the entry.

For those interested in shorthand, the diary has numerous examples of shorthand notation. A good example can be seen on page 107 where Lloyd shortens words that end in “-ought” with “ot”. Lloyd was also known to remove vowels from words in his shorthand, like the word “said” with “s.d”, also seen on page 107.

You can see the diary for yourself, as well as obtain a transcript here in the Digital Library.

Debtors’ PrisonWikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2 April 2011 Web. Apr 2011.

National Shorthand Reporters Association. “Unveiling the Lloyd Memorial Tablet” The National Shorthand Report Vol. 1 No. 9. Sept 1903. Google Books. Web. Apr 2011.

Newgate PrisonWikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 April 2011 Web. Apr 2011.

Thomas Lloyd (stenographer)Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 21 November 2010. Web. Mar 2010.

Thomas Lloyd commonplace book, 1789-1796 Notes” American Philosophical Society. Web. Mar 2010.


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Earth Day is April 22

By Merrill Stein and Kristyna Carroll

What you can do: Consider our planet today.  Consider the Villanova Commitment to Sustainability.  Find out what you can do to make a difference.  Learn how to be green in a billion ways or learn how even Olympic athletes are being green.  Follow the Earth Day Network on Facebook.

Lobby for environmental protection by contacting your representatives in Congress.  Support green companies and products while also protecting the environment by being a green shopper.

Library resources: Find inspiration with our many DVDs related to the environment or with some classic environmental literature.

Databases:

Learn about some famous tri-state area environmentalists, such as Rachel Carson in the Biography in Context database.

Follow the history of Earth Day in the Historical New York Times and ProQuest Newspapers databases.  Read about the development of  U.S. environmental policy  in the America: History and Life , CQ Electronic Library and Congressional (Lexis Nexis) databases.  For instance, learn more about Disappearing Forests from CQ Global Researcher.

Try looking in the Pollution Abstracts database for information about flex-fuels, biological diversity and water quality.

Remember our planet to keep it well.

 

 


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Loving the Library Video Contest

In honor of National Library Week, Falvey is holding a video contest! Submit a short video highlighting what you love best about the Library. The winning video will be featured on our website.

The winner(s) of the overall best video will also win fabulous prizes!
Submit your video by midnight, Sunday, Apr. 17, 2011, by e-mailing it to socialmedia@villanova.edu. We will announce a winner on Wednesday, Apr. 20th, 2011.

Rules:

Your video entry must:

* Be between 30-60 seconds in length
* Be in .AVI, .MOV, or .WMV format
* Highlight a library space, service, resource, or feature
* Be emailed to socialmedia@villanova.edu by midnight, Sunday, Apr. 17, 2011
* Comply with the Student Code of Conduct (as laid out in the Student Handbook)
* Comply with U.S. Copyright Law (find some tips for working within fair use here)
* Be filmed and produced entirely by Villanova students

Entrants must:

* Have a completed release form for every person appearing in the film
* Give Falvey Memorial Library royalty-free use of the work
* Be respectful of others who are working if you choose to film in the library
* If submitting as a group, the group must be comprised of 3 students or less

Prizes for best video will be awarded as follows:

* If submitted by an individual the prize will be an Apple iPad
* If submitted by a group of 2-3 individuals the prize will be an Apple iPod Touch for each group member

Judging will take place between Apr. 18 and Apr. 20, 2011, and will consist of a panel of Villanova undergraduate and graduate students as well as Falvey staff. Winners will be posted on the Library website, blog, and Facebook page on Wednesday, Apr. 20, 2011.


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Irish and Irish-American Poetry @ the Library

To celebrate National Poetry Month and conclude our Scholarship@Villanova lecture series for the spring, Falvey Memorial Library welcomes three poets: Joseph Lennon, Ph.D., Mary Madec, Ph.D., and Nathalie Anderson, Ph.D. The three poets will read from their respective new books of poetry on Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2011, at 4:30 p.m. in the library first floor lounge.

Dr. Lennon recently released his first volume of poetry, Fell Hunger (Salmon Poetry), and will read from this collection. “They are sonnets mostly,” he says, gathered from 20 years of writing. He writes about Ireland, he explains, in large part due to his childhood. “I grew up in an Irish-American household and was always interested in Ireland, but after living there for a year, following my B.A., I grew more interested.”

He went on to focus on Irish literature in his graduate work, and now serves as director of the Irish Studies program at Villanova University. Of his first year at Villanova, he says, “It has been really busy, but very satisfying. I really enjoy the open space on the campus (coming from NYC), as well, of course, as the openness of the community here. The students are smart and interested in new ideas, and I try to bring them to them. The administration, faculty and students have been really supportive of any new initiative I’ve begun—that is also really welcoming.”

Among his current favorite poets, Dr. Lennon lists Seamus Heaney, Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Dickinson, Moya Cannon, Giacomo Leopardi, Walt Whitman, Daniel Tobin, Eamon Grennan, Eleanor Wilner and Robert Frost, as well as fellow Villanova faculty member Lisa Sewell and Wednesday evening’s additional poets, Nathalie Anderson and Mary Madec.

Especially for students interested in poetry, he recommends reading widely. “I think taste is individual but achievement is always recognizable. I love to read poets from my area, and poets I know, poets with an Irish connection, and I’d recommend that our students read one another as well as the greats!”

(more…)


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Stumped by your research? Got a question?

The research consultation librarians and the information desk staff are here to help you with both short questions and in-depth research.

In the library? Stop by the front desk to query the info desk staff or talk to the research librarian on duty.

Off site? Use “live chat” on the library home page (bottom right) to connect to a research librarian. Post your question on the “Question Center” and you will receive an answer in no time at all. Other questions/answers are listed there as well. Or, contact a research support librarian by email, by telephone or online  to talk or to schedule an appointment.

Check the Subject pages to locate the specialist librarian for your discipline.

It’s easy to get research help for your paper, class assignment or other information finding needs.


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Senior Project Series – Formatting in APA Style

We all know about APA rules for citing sources and creating a reference list, but it is important to remember that APA style also dictates the way you format and write your paper.  If your senior project involves an academic style paper, be sure to format it according to APA style.

Get familiar with the basics of APA style with their online tutorial.  For the official rules, see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.  These resources will instruct you on formatting your margins, your title page, writing your abstract, and much more.

For questions that are not covered in these guides, try searching the APA Style Blog, or contact me for help.

If your project is being presented in some other format, such as a PowerPoint presentation, formatting rules are not likely to be covered by APA style rules.  This is because the purpose of the Publication Manual is to assist scholars preparing their manuscripts for publication in journals.

However, even in other formats, it is important to attribute the work of others, and APA citations may be appropriate.  Cite all references to the work of others, and be sure to attribute all images and other media to their original creators.  Please see the library’s guide to Academic Integrity for more information.

____________________________________
Kristyna Carroll
kristyna.carroll@villanova.edu
610-519-5391


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Last Modified: April 4, 2011

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