Network of Letters

Social networks do more than tell us who communicated with whom: they provide insight concerning connections, interactions, and patterns which otherwise could be left unnoticed. W. S. Teator wrote and received numerous letters during his lifetime. In this network, each letter we found is represented by a connection between two nodes: each of which represents an individual person. The thickness of each connection is determined by the number of letters exchanged.Here, you will find thank you letters, business inquiries, requests for employment, requests for apples, and even notices of death.This network map provides a view of William S. Teator’s relationships through his correspondence within his social and business networks. Among 108 total people, there were 161 individual letters.

Click the lines connecting nodes to see the letters, and click the nodes to learn about the people involved. Red lines represent connections that are primarily social and green lines represent primarily business relationships. Scroll over the graph to zoom in or out.