Esther Copp’s Spelling Book

Copp, Esther

This spelling book was used by Esther Copp (b. 1754) when she was about 13 years old in Stonington, Connecticut. Literacy and spelling in the colonies was heavily slanted towards religious texts. Once children had learned their letters from the hornbook, they often graduated to a primer, psalter, Testament, and finally the Bible. The primer books often included rudimentary religious passages such as the Lord’s Prayer or catechism.