Original sentence: In 1887, David Whitmer said that he had a paper containing characters that had been transcribed from one of the golden plates, which  Martin Harris had once showed to Charles Anthon, a Columbia College linguist and classicist
Edited sentence: In 1887, David Whitmer said that he had a paper containing characters that had been transcribed from one of the golden plates, which  Martin Harris, a prosperous New York farmer regarded by his neighbors as an honest but superstitious man,  had once showed to Charles Anthon, a Columbia College linguist and classicist