Laurence Davids ’27: Sudbury Historical Society
This summer I interned at the Sudbury Historical Society, located right in the heart of the town center. I have long had a fascination with local history, even starting a local history initiative in middle school. The Sudbury Historicals Society’s mission is to help study and facilitate the preservation and education of Sudbury’s rich history. I got the opportunity to further explore and expand my knowledge of local history through my access to the Sudbury Historical Society’s expansive archives.
While working there, my project was to process a collection of family letters from the Hurlbut family in the late 1700s to the late 1800s. I worked at the Sudbury Historical Society from the beginning of July through the end of August. To catalog these letters, I read through the cursive letters to find the date of composition, the sender, the recipient, the location sent/received, and a brief summary of its contents.
To accomplish this, I read through the letters and practiced my paleography skills. I also looked into the applications of AI in summarizing the contents. I found that to have AI read a letter, it is imperative to limit the assumptions AI will try to make. Overall, it was an amazing experience to expand my knowledge of local history and get the chance to learn to read these historical letters.
© 2025 The Rivers School. All Rights Reserved
Rivers admits academically qualified students and does not discriminate against students or families on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic or national origin in the administration of its educational programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic programs, and other school-administered programs.