I don't remember that he used a "dip pen," but he did write in long-hand, though he usually typed his manuscripts for his publisher once it was written out. He said it made him slow down and think a bit more as he worked. I heard him in various interviews over the years, in addition to his contributions to documentaries such as Burns' The Civil War. He was a delight to listen to, and I daresay, for many Americans who are not from the South, he went a long way toward reforming the dismissive attitude some hold toward Southern accents.

His cousin is Horton Foote, who wrote, among other things, the screenplay to To Kill A Mockingbird. A talented family! IMDb information about Shelby Foote is a bit out of date. They missed a third marriage, I think an obit said in 1955. That one lasted.

SRS