This default search page shows structured data underlying every person record in the database, allowing users to "shape" their results. In the focused browsing sections found above, we suggest some of the ways in which filtered data can enable users to query PFE in meaningful ways.
PFE contains all people who are represented in the documentary editions of the Founding Era as well as members of nuclear families and associates born during the period 1713 to 1815. Most intersected in some way with one of the Founding Fathers during their lifetimes, and the nature of the relationships varied widely. Some individuals, such as Joel Barlow, were lifelong friends and correspondents of more than one of the Founding Fathers, and as a result PFE contains more data about him compared to people who are mentioned only in passing, such as tavern keeper William Bayley, who is listed only once in a single ledger entry for George Washington's expenses, and for him and many others very little information is known. It is our hope that the inclusion of the lesser-known will lead readers to contribute data.
PFE was developed with generous grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It is a publication of Documents Compass, a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities at the University of Virginia. © 2013–2024, University of Virginia Press, All rights reserved. ISBN 978-0-8139-3253-8