Today, while at my job at the Delaware County Historical Association, I showed our student volunteer, Samantha Misa, some of the pages from Coulter's diary that contained coded text. Samantha is a history major at SUNY Geneseo and when not in school lives on Bramley Mountain with her parents. While Samantha was having her lunch, she took some of the pages I had printed from the scans and started playing with the code. In a couple of hours she did it! We now know what the coded passages are saying, so I will be updating the blog entries with the coded sections translated.
The information we had from the donor indicated that the code was somehow connected to Walter's mother, but either she misspoke or there was some miscommunication, because most of the coded passages related to Walter's fiancee and, by February 27, his wife.
He started using the code the very first day - here's the two coded sections and their translation:
I am in the town of Hamden
to day. I am at H.P. Wilburs to
day. I am with my dear Nettie
to day & also to night.
I am in the company of
my dearest earthly treasure.
H.P Wilbur is Walter's future father-in-law, Hatzel P. Wilbur. Nettie is Jeanette Wilbur, his soon to be wife.
Walter used the code throughout 1868, though not every day. He uses the code less and less in the next few years and by after early 1876, the code disappears from his diary completely.
Kudos to our own Enigma, Samantha Misa, for breaking this code.
The information we had from the donor indicated that the code was somehow connected to Walter's mother, but either she misspoke or there was some miscommunication, because most of the coded passages related to Walter's fiancee and, by February 27, his wife.
He started using the code the very first day - here's the two coded sections and their translation:
I am in the town of Hamden
to day. I am at H.P. Wilburs to
day. I am with my dear Nettie
to day & also to night.
I am in the company of
my dearest earthly treasure.
H.P Wilbur is Walter's future father-in-law, Hatzel P. Wilbur. Nettie is Jeanette Wilbur, his soon to be wife.
Walter used the code throughout 1868, though not every day. He uses the code less and less in the next few years and by after early 1876, the code disappears from his diary completely.
Kudos to our own Enigma, Samantha Misa, for breaking this code.
Very cool that he wrote & code & that Samantha was able to crack it. This is why we love & study history.
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