October 16, 2009 represents the 251^st. In honor of his birthday, we have decided to make this vision website and the new 1828 dictionary website live. Although both websites are a work in progress, we feel it is important to demonstrate the progress of Project::Noah and solicit feedback from the community. Please take a look around and offer suggestions to help us make this project successful.

Noah Webster was born on October 16, 1758, in the West Division of Hartford (Connecticut). Noah’s was an average colonial family. His father farmed and worked as a weaver. His mother worked at home. Noah and his two brothers, Charles and Abraham, helped their father with the farm work. Noah’s sisters, Mercy and Jerusha, worked with their mother to keep house and to make food and clothing for the family.

So began the life of Noah Webster, the man often called “the father of the American dictionary.”

Webster began writing his dictionary at the age of 43. It took him more than 27 years to write it. In this first “American” dictionary, Webster introduced distinctively American words such as “skunk” and “hickory” and “chowder.” In addition, he introduced American spellings such as “color” and “music,” derivations of the English spellings “colour” and “musick.”

The Noah Webster house partnered with the local community to create a website to celebrate the 1/4th millennial celebration of this great man.

Noah Webster was born on Monday, October 16th, 1758 making him a Libra, Yin Fire Ox [Ding-chou].

Wikipedia and others offer a biography of Noah Webster, the author of the first american dictionary of the english language.

Noah Webster was a life-long learner and devoted his life to creating fundamental and morally sound texts relating to the American Language. His memory should be honored with academic studies and efforts to pass along the important principles he was so influential in ingraining into the fabric of American culture.

TIMELINE:




VIDEOS of Interest:
Letter L

Preserve Our Language

Christian Education

American Language

Biosketch of Noah Webster

Young Student Biography

Nearly to the day, 251 years ago, Noah Webster was born. His contributions to our Heritage as Americans is unsurpassed, as many of his works endured as exclusive study aides for Americans for nearly 100 years.

In the era of one-room schoolhouses before the “Little House on the Prairie” model was replaced by the Taylorist Factory model, education was primarily influenced by the texts of Noah Webster.

Noah Webster understood the importance of our Christian Heritage as he wrote to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence: “The history of the first English settlements in America, and of the measures which prepared the way for a revolution in the colonies, is too interesting not to be well understood by men of common curiosity and reading in this State. That history unfolds a series of great events, evidently suited to accomplish important purposes in the economy of Divine Providence . . . events which every American of expanded views must contemplate with admiration; and every Christian, with delight.”

The aims of Project::NOAH begin with the 1828 dictionary. We need to get a microfilm copy digitized, so we can proceed to made a modern reprint (and aid in the redesign of free online tools). The future may allow us to offer more of his original works to the modern community, including a letter he wrote to George Washington. The New York Public library has a full collection of many of his writings labeled the “Noah Webster Papers”, which when digitized we can make available to our current generations.

I visited Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument while in South Dakota last spring visiting my brother who serves in the Airforce. We went inside the museum at Crazy Horse and found several sculptures Korczak Ziolkowski did on the side to pay the bills, including one of Noah Webster.

Impressed with the importance of the 1828 dictionary, Korczak convinced the town that a memorial should be built to honor this man of importance. Both Little Noah and Big Noah are on display in Noah Webster’s birthplace of West Hartford, Connecticutt.

SOURCE:

Note: “Little Noah” is now on display at the West Hartford Town Hall at 50 S. Main Street. “Big Noah” stands just outside the main entrance to the Noah Webster Library at 20 S. Main Street. Copies of Noah Webster’s dictionaries and other works may be viewed in the Local History Room of the Noah Webster Library or at the Noah Webster House, a museum located at 227 S. Main Street.

The foundation for American Heritage Access [AHA] strives to capture the essence of American culture with an intent to make early American manuscripts accessible to modern society. We believe that the successful future of this country is dependent on honoring and respecting its past. In order to achieve this ideal, several projects will be introduced and executed.

The first project will relate to Noah Webster. Noah Webster was the founding father of American education. In 1828, he published the first American dictionary of the English language. Known for its classic literature and biblical examples along with etymology of twenty six different languages, this dictionary is perfect for Christian Bible study and home schooling. He also published the Blue-Backed Speller which was exclusively used in American education for over 100 years. For these reasons, we believe Noah Webster typifies the Spirit of American Heritage. As such, Project::Noah will serve as a cornerstone of this foundation.

The first initiatives of Project::Noah will involve the accessibility of the 1828 American dictionary. Although Webster’s original American dictionary only sold 2,500 copies, today it is used daily by many Americans. Our goal is to make it available to even more. To accomplish this, Project::Noah has three specific visions.
The first vision, Vision::Reprint, has an intent to make a modern printing of the first dictionary of the American language available to the public for under $25. To accomplish this, several tasks are being considered. The first task, Task::Access, involves the digitizing of the original 1828 dictionary. The dictionary is available in microfilm (American Culture Series, Reel 335.6-336.1, Michigan University Microfilms) at many universities. To digitize the microfilm as a batch process requires a special scanner. The foundation intends to serve as the vehicle to find people interested in executing the visions to provide assistance as they are able. In this instance, members of the community can contribute by contacting their local library, finding out if the microfilm is available, and finding out if the library has the batch scanner. Once the images are captured (will only take two hours or so with the right equipment), the PDF scans will be made available online to allow others to contribute to the next necessary task: editing and proofing of the content. Following successful completion of this task, other tasks will follow relating to typography, typesetting, and printing.

The second vision, Vision::Redesign, has an intent to improve the current online accessibility to the 1828 dictionary. The current database, http://1828.mshaffer.com/, has mistakes, omissions of etymology, etc. For this reason the most important tasks, Task::XML, will be an online editing of the current words and definitions to include important missing information. An administrative tool has been built to make this possible [http://1828d.mshaffer.com/] and will be accessible to the community to help in the editing process once the microfilm scan occurs. This task will require the efforts of many volunteers to edit, revise, and format the new database structure (and is relevant to Vision::Reprint). Other tasks related to this Vision::Redesign include identifying features and functionality for the new website [http://1828-dictionary.com]. In addition, plugins will be discussed and created to make the dictionary accessible in other ways: iPhone, Google widget, Firefox Add-on, etc.

The third vision, Vision::Recapture, has an intent to evoke the importance of Noah Webster in our American Heritage. This vision will manifest itself in a commissioned painting of Noah Webster. The process involved will require the input from concerned Americans. The final commission painting will be derived from initial sketches and digital compositions. Feedback from the community is essential for this vision’s success throughout the process. [Old hi-res (~6 MB) etching is available]

Overall the foundation for American Heritage Access [AHA] will strive to capture the essence of American culture by initiating and executing projects that make early American manuscripts accessible to modern society as typified by the first project with Noah Webster. Project::Noah is about making the first American dictionary accessible. To accomplish this, three specific visions need to be executed: Vision::Reprint, will attempt to make a modern printing of the first dictionary of the American language available to the public for under $25; Vision::Redesign, will improve the current online accessibility to the 1828 dictionary; Vision::Recapture will tie the importance of Noah Webster into our American Heritage and create a commissioned painting. All in all, Project::Noah is striving to capture our American Heritage in several ways and make it available to those interested.