Kansas Memory Blog

Worrall's guitar music revived

Lawrence, Kansas, guitarist Brian Baggett is bringing the music of Henry Worrall to life through interpretive performances of Worrall’s original music manuscripts held by the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS). Video and audio recordings of Baggett’s performances are now available on kansasmemory.org.

Henry Worrall moved to Topeka, Kansas, in 1868 and became widely known for his illustrations of the American west. But decades earlier in Cincinnati, Ohio, Worrall was a musician and composer of popular guitar instrumentals. Worrall’s “Sebastopol” and “Spanish Fandango” were widely published as parlor guitar music promoted primarily to young women. They also became standard pieces in many self-instruction manuals for the guitar through the early Twentieth Century.

Through these compositions, Worrall’s open-tuned, finger-picked style of guitar playing influenced guitar players for many decades. Some contemporary musicians and music historians think Worrall’s compositions provided the foundation for the development of nascent country and blues guitar styles in the American rural south in the last century.

The wife of Henry Worrall’s grandson, Anton Worrall, donated Henry Worrall’s personal music collection to the Kansas Historical Society in 1968. The collection remained unknown for nearly forty years. Then, in 2007, a researcher from Atlanta, Georgia, helped explain why the collection is important to understanding the development of early country and blues music. KSHS described the collection and published it on kansasmemory.org the same year. Since then, the collection’s availability online has led to a renewed interest in Worrall’s compositions and their influence on popular music in the Twentieth Century.

Baggett is focusing on Worrall’s original manuscripts because they likely document the way Worrall actually performed the pieces. Published sheet music was often simplified to make it accessible to a broader public. Baggett has interpreted “Sebastopol” and “Carmencita” from original, undated manuscripts in the Worrall collection. Sebastopol is Worrall’s most famous composition and was published in Ohio as early as 1856. By contrast, Carmencita appears to be a later composition, the only known printed copy having been published in 1896 by E. B. Guild in Topeka, Kansas.

Recordings of Baggett's performances are now available on kansasmemory.org. For more information, or to contact Brian Baggett, see his website at www.brianbaggettband.com . More information on the Worrall collection is available on the KSHS website at Henry Worrall Collection. View Henry Worrall materials on Kansas Memory by selecting the category People - Notable Kansans - Worrall, Henry, 1825-1902.

Menninger Historic Psychiatry Collection

The Menninger Historic Psychiatry Collection includes many notable individuals in the field of psychology and psychiatry. Other individuals such as King George III (right) are included for being famously "mad". The material found in this collection was donated to or collected by members of the Menninger family. The activities and achievements of the following individuals are highlighted in this collection.

Lucio Bini discovered electro-convulsive shock therapy, aided by fellow Italian Ugo Cerletti, in 1938. Anton Boisen headed the clinical pastoral education movement which taught the benefits of having hospital chaplains and theology in the mental health setting. Dorothea Dix was a mental health advocate and activist for designated mental health facilities and asylums dedicated to the treatment of those suffering from a mental illness. Henry Havelock Ellis was a British psychologist who studied human sexuality. Anna Freud and her father, Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, often corresponded with members of the Menninger family. This photograph (below) shows Anna Freud meeting Dr. Karl Menninger and Dr. Bob Menninger. Harry Guntrip was a psychoanalyst who published several works relating to the development of the psyche based on one's environment. William James was an American psychologist and philosopher. Herman S. Major operated a psychiatric facility devoted to the treatment of alcoholics in Kansas City, Missouri. Silas Weir Mitchell was an American physician who specialized in neurology and authored many poems and short stories. Florence Nightingale pioneered the field of nursing in the 19th Century. Nina Ridenour authored a fifty year history of mental health in the United States, as well as many other publications. Benjamin Rush, in addition to being a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, is known as the "Father of American Psychology." Elmer Ernest Southard directed the Boston Psychopathic Hospital and mentored Dr. Karl Menninger. Frankwood E. Williams directed the National Committee for Mental Hygiene. Walker Winslow authored a biography about the Menninger family.

300,000 images!

Congratulations are once again in order to the visitors, volunteers, and staff who support and work to improve digital access to the collections of the Kansas Historical Society. Kansas Memory has surpassed its 300,000th image. That means we've added over 50,000 images in just under five months. The 300,000th image is...

The Coffeyville City Schools

A. A. Hughart, Superintendent

R. Y. Kennedy, Principal H. S.

Coffeyville Kansas

Feb. 19, 1915.

Mr. Fred Brinkerhoff,

Pittsburg, Kans.

Dear Mr. Brinkerhoff;

Since the superintendency has been filled, I can give you a word from my heart and not be misunderstood. You are a bunch of fine fellows and I appreciate the kindness shown me and the Association while we were with you. I did not have time to see the President of the Chamber of Commerce, but you tell him how we all feel toward all of you. Mr. Brandenberg is a gem and I hope that everything will clear up for a greater Normal School and a bigger Pittsburg. Will you please send my cut soon as I am in need of it. Again thanking you, I am

Very truly,

A. A. Hughart

AAH-EW

The above letter is written by Arthur Abram Hughart, superintendent of Coffeyville schools who helped establish a kindergarten in the district. Beginning in 1914, he served as president of the Southeastern Kansas Teacher's Association. Hughart also encouraged local teachers to continue their professional development by attending the Normal School in Pittsburg mentioned in the letter. Hughart also makes a very positive reference to William A. Brandenburg, the longest serving president at Pittsburg State University. This letter is part of the Frederick W. Brinkerhoff Papers. Brinkerhoff was a prominent newspaper editor and publisher in Kansas working for the Ottawa Herald, Fort Scott Republican, Chanute Sun, Chanute Tribune, Kansas City Star, Pittsburg Headlight, and the Pittsburg Sun, among others. He served as president of the Kansas Press Association in 1935 and served as chairman of the Kansas Associated Press in 1946.

A special thanks to our intern, Dustin Burgess, for transcribing our 300,000th image and his ongoing work transcribing the Adjutant General correspondence.

Lincoln conspirators' gallows in Kansas?

Most people know that John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. What many people don’t know is that Lincoln’s assassination was part of a larger conspiracy, one meant to disable the entire United States government. In addition to Booth, federal agents identified eight other people involved in the plot to kill the president and key members of his cabinet. At their trial, four were sentenced to prison terms; the remaining four were sentenced to hang, an order that was carried out on July 7, 1865. Mary Surratt was among those executed, making her the first woman to be executed for a crime in the United States.

After the execution, the gallows used in the execution were disassembled and moved to the Old Arsenal in Washington, D.C., the pieces hidden in a pile of timber to discourage souvenir seekers. In 1885, the Secretary of the Kansas Historical Society heard of the scaffold’s location and wrote to the Quartermaster, requesting a piece for the society’s collections. He received a
nearly three-foot long, rectangular-shaped piece of wood. It is part of the Society’s collections to this day.

Could this piece of wood really be part of the gallows on which the Lincoln conspirators hanged? In 2009, Barry Cauchon, a researcher who focuses on the conspirators and their execution, began an in-depth study of the gallows fragment. Using primary source documents from the Kansas Historical Society and
other sources, as well as photos of the gallows from the day of the execution, Cauchon set out to prove the authenticity of the artifact. After three years of work, he will present his findings at a special program funded through a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council. Cauchon will speak at the Kansas Historical
Society at 7 p.m. Saturday, February 2, 2013, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 3, 2013. Washburn University history professor Rachel Goossen will speak about the historical events that led to the execution and Museum Registrar Nikaela
Zimmerman will discuss the artifact’s provenance. The program is free to the public.

Photos of the gallows fragment are forthcoming.

See the Execution of the Conspirators photo held by the Library of Congress for a view of the whole gallows.

Post by KSHS Museum Registrar Nikaela Zimmerman

The Thomas County Cat newspaper

Search the Thomas County Cat newspaper and related titles from 1885-1891 on Chronicling America.

The premier issue of the Thomas County Cat was published in Colby, Kansas, on March 12, 1885. It was the first newspaper in Thomas County, which was not officially organized until October 8, 1885. Although the number of pages in each issue fluctuated between four and ten, the Cat maintained a six-column folio format, weekly publication on Thursdays, and a Republican affiliation. The Cat proclaimed it was “celebrated for its originality” and acknowledged itself as the “Official County and City Paper.” In 1885, Thomas County had only 981 inhabitants, two-thirds of which were single and male. From a rather inauspicious beginning of fourteen subscribers during its first month, circulation swelled to 960 five years later in 1890, exceeding the population of Colby by at least one hundred and equaling one issue for every six residents of the county.

A motto appeared on the first issue only: “It purrs for Thomas County.” General interest and adoration towards the newspaper’s chosen mascot led it to be referred to as simply “the Cat”. In the first address to subscribers, publishers D.M. Dunn and Eugene P. Worcester wrote: “The Cat will purr for Thomas county, and what we deem the best interests of all her people…The Cat has velvet paws, but will not allow the fur to be stroked the wrong way. To all concerned it would be well to remember that a Cat has nine lives, and farther [sic] that a Cat is greatly attached to a place where located.” The Cat was printed in a 12’ x 14’ sod structure, which was also used as a boardinghouse. The newspaper readership expanded when “the editor agreed to take anything but native fuel as payment for subscriptions.” Later, the Cat moved to the first frame building in Colby, located at 452 N. Franklin Street.

The Thomas County Cat experienced frequent administrative changes in the mid-1880s. During its short six-year tenure, the paper had at least nine known editors and publishers. In November 1890, the Cat absorbed the Brewster Gazette, also published in Thomas County. A few months later in February 1891, the Cat was absorbed by the Colby Tribune, which continued until 1925.

Search the Thomas County Cat newspaper and related titles from 1885-1891 on Chronicling America.

White Cloud Kansas Chief newspaper

Search the White Cloud Kansas Chief newspaper and related titles from 1857-1918 on Chronicling America.

The White Cloud Kansas Chief (1857-72) and its successor, The Weekly Kansas Chief (1872-1918), were made notable by their founder and editor, Sol (Solomon) Miller, a pioneer of Kansas newspaper publishing. Founded in a time when most newspapers lasted a few years at most, Miller published the Chief for nearly forty years. Shortly after arriving in White Cloud, Kansas Territory, Miller issued the first edition of the White Cloud Kansas Chief on June 4, 1857. The four-page newspaper was published every Thursday. Doniphan County, located in the northeastern corner of the state, was no stranger to the controversy over slavery then engulfing the nation. The Chief's Free-State Republican stance was clearly stated in its simple motto, “The Constitution and the Union.”

Miller was the epitome of the frontier editor--outspoken, sometimes humorous, and often vitriolic. The first newspaper in Doniphan County was proslavery and Democratic--the Kansas Constitutionalist, edited by Thomas J. Key. On September 10, 1857, Miller culminated an editorial exchange with Key: “We did not exactly tell the truth about him. We said his name was Thomas Jefferson Key. We beg Thomas Jefferson’s pardon—it should have been Thomas Jack-ass Key! (No insult intended to jack-asses generally.)….Thomas J. Key occupies a position which makes him public property—or rather, a public nuisance—and we intend to take a long pole, with a hook and spike in one end of it, and haul him about and turn him over and hold up his rotten filthy carcass to the gaze of the public, until it makes all decent men gag and turn in disgust!” Rival newspaper editors and politicians of any party were often the target of Miller’s abuse. Miller himself served several terms in the Kansas State Senate and one in the Kansas House, although later he made light of his legislative accomplishments.

Looking back on the development of the White Cloud Kansas Chief, Miller wrote, “In those times, Kansas was full of aspiring towns, each destined to become a metropolis, and every town, at the very start, must have a newspaper….We have been told that had we located in some large city or political center, the Chief might have become some great paper. They forget that when we came to Kansas, every town expected to become a mighty city.” To promote interest in White Cloud, Miller would frequently distribute copies of the Chief, locally and nationally, free of charge.

In 1872, Miller moved the White Cloud Kansas Chief to Troy, the seat and commercial center of Doniphan County, seeking greater support and advertisements. He changed the paper’s name to The Weekly Kansas Chief. The four-page newspaper appeared every Thursday; beginning in June 1880, its motto read, “Talk for Home, Fight for Home, Patronize Home.” In 1875, the The Weekly Kansas Chief absorbed the Doniphan County Republican”, which had been established in 1868. Miller died in 1897. In 1918, The Weekly Kansas Chief was succeeded by the Kansas Chief, which remains an active newspaper.

Search the White Cloud Kansas Chief newspaper and related titles from 1857-1918 on Chronicling America.

The Abilene Reflector newspaper

Search the Abilene Reflector newspaper and related titles from 1883-1894 on Chronicling America.

The Abilene Reflector, founded in the latter half of 1883, was an eight-page newspaper published every Thursday. Abilene is the county seat for Dickinson County, and by the early 1880s it had shed its rough cowtown image of the late 1860s to become a thriving commercial center with a rapidly growing population. By 1884 the town boasted a new public water system, an opera house seating nearly 1,000 persons, a telephone exchange, several banks, and three newspapers, including the Reflector. In March 1888, the Reflector became the official paper of Dickinson County, seizing the title from the Abilene Gazette. The Reflector retained this status throughout its tenure. In its own words, the paper was “conducted in the interest of the Democratic party, believing the party in its wisdom in the choice of candidates, from county offices to national, is greater than personal feeling or prejudice.”

The founding editors of the Reflector were brothers Berzelius L. Strother and Sidonia K. Strother. In June 1885, S.K. Strother left to join the Kansas City Times. Henry Litts took over his half of ownership and assumed full editorial responsibilities in March 1887 when B.L. Strother retired from the newspaper for health reasons.

On February 23, 1888, the Reflector was purchased by the Reflector Publishing Company consisting of John J. Cooper as president and Richard Waring as business manager. With them, the Reflector began a new Republican Party affiliation. Henry Litts left the paper “regretful because it will reflect Republican and not Democratic doctrine.” The new proprietors cited “the universal demand of republicans in this section of the state for a Republican newspaper at Abilene” and began the “anomalous task of converting a Simon-pure democratic paper into a live, progressive republican journal.” Later that same year, the Strother brothers established a Democratic newspaper in Abilene called the Dickinson County News which claimed to have “a larger circulation than any other weekly in the county.” In fact, the two papers were evenly matched. In 1890, the Republican Reflector circulated only 25 more copies than the Democratic News; in 1893, the News circulated 87 more issues than its rival.

The Reflector had also appeared in a daily edition, the Evening Reflector, beginning May 9, 1887. Within a few months of the purchase of the paper in 1888, both editions changed title: the weekly Abilene Reflector became the Abilene Weekly Reflector beginning on May 3, and the daily Evening Reflector became the Abilene Daily Reflector beginning on May 2. The daily edition absorbed the weekly edition in 1935 and then in 1942 merged with the Abilene Daily Chronicle to become the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle, which continues today.

Search the Abilene Reflector newspaper and related titles from 1883-1894 on Chronicling America.

The Dodge City Times newspaper

Search the Dodge City Times newspaper from 1876-1892 on Chronicling America.

The first issue of the Dodge City Times was published on May 20, 1876. Subscribers received a copy of the Times every Saturday until February 1881 when it was published every Thursday and then changing to Fridays beginning in May 1890. Readership extended beyond Ford County into the unsettled, frontier regions of southwest Kansas. In the years 1880-85, 720 copies were circulating in a county of fewer than 3,500 people. Although the number of pages in each issue fluctuated somewhere between four and ten, the Times steadily expanded from four to eight columns by November 1888.

The Times experienced a number of editorial as well as format changes. Walter C. Shinn, only 22 years old when he established the Times, worked as proprietor and editor along with his younger brother Otis “Lloyd” Shinn. In December 1877, Walter Shinn left Dodge City to pursue other opportunities, and Nicholas B. Klaine took his place as editor. Klaine had just arrived in Dodge City the previous month from Warrensburg, Missouri, where he had served in the state legislature and established the Warrensburg Standard, a Republican newspaper in a decidedly anti-Union region. Accustomed to “swimming upstream,” Klaine became known in Dodge City for his puritanical beliefs in a town better know for its immoral pursuits. Undermining the Shinn brothers’ attempts to maintain political independence, Klaine used the Times as a Republican organ. In August 1878, Lloyd Shinn sold his interest in the paper to Klaine, making him the sole editor and publisher. Klaine was often referred to as “Old Nick” by his rival, Editor Daniel Frost of the Globe-Republican, of which, ironically, Klaine would assume proprietorship in 1895.

On October 13, 1887, Frank Aikins took over as editor and publisher. In his salutatory, Aikins proclaimed the Times would have “no sympathy whatever with scheming politicians in any party, who buy their nominations and pay money for votes,” thus maintaining an independent affiliation. Aikins also added a column on education to the newspaper. Responsibility for the Times passed without fanfare to D.F. Owens on November 17, 1887, until his retirement from journalism less than a year later. Noel Edwards and E.L. Mendenhall took over as proprietors of the newspaper on September 6, 1888, calling it the Times-Democrat for one issue to acknowledge the merger with the Ford County Democrat and marking another significant shift in the political affiliation of the Times. In January 1890, the Times Publishing Company, “composed of the leading Democrats in the County,” took over production of the Times.

The title changed to the Dodge City Times-Ensign on January 15, 1892, when it merged with the Western Kansas Ensign. Its name changed again to the Dodge City Times on September 23, 1892, before dissolving in 1893 as the “Official organ of the People’s party of Ford County.”

Search the Dodge City Times newspaper from 1876-1892 on Chronicling America.

The Western Kansas World newspaper

Search the Western Kansas World newspaper from 1889-1910 on Chronicling America.

The WaKeeney Western Kansas World was first issued on March 21, 1885. Its predecessor, the Wa-Keeney Weekly World had been published since March 1879, being the first and, at that time, the only newspaper in Trego County. The Western Kansas World was published weekly on Saturdays and consisted of four or eight pages per issue. The World was the “Official County Paper of Trego County” and used the motto “Stock Farming the Basis of Our Industries.” With a unique and illustrative masthead that showcased the importance of homesteads, livestock, and agriculture on local livelihood, theWorld represented the character of an entire region. Asserting a Republican outlook on events and politics, the paper maintained circulation numbers congruent with changes in the county’s population. In 1885, annual circulation numbered 385 in a county of just over 2,100 people. By 1920, circulation reached 1,225 among the 4,600 residents

By 1886, the sale of land was the largest business in WaKeeney. The July 17, 1886 issue listed nearly twenty firms, including dealers, surveyors, attorneys, and agents who dealt with the sale of land. In addition, the World occasionally featured illustrated stock brands of owners, farming notices from across the state, and listings of the largest crop producers in each township. The World experienced several editorial changes before the turn of the century. Winfield S. Tilton, editor of the World since 1882, sold his interest in the paper in September 1889. In March 1894, Harvey S. Givler became editor. Givler was a veteran editor in the state of Kansas after having previously worked for the Leavenworth Times and the Topeka Daily Capital, and he remained with the World for over two decades.

Beginning on December 6, 1890, and ending on February 7, 1891, the World published one page of a newspaper called the Ogallah Kicker in hopes of garnering publicity and establishing a wider audience for the paper. But with editors named Ketchum and Lickum and a motto reading “Whenever you see a head strike it, especially if it needs to be hit,” the Ogallah Kicker seems to have been mainly a ploy to add humor to the World. From February 14 through April 18, 1891, the World included one page of a newspaper called the Whip with editors Blister and Burns and a motto reading “It will feel better when it quits hurting.” Continuing its quirky ways, the World used headings for local township news columns that included “Collyer Cawings,” “Banner Buglings,” “Ogallah Oozings,” and “Happy Happenings.”

In 1889, the World absorbed the Trego County Republican, and in 1942 it took over the Collyer Advance. Proving its longevity, the Western Kansas World remains a current publication in WaKeeney.

Search the Western Kansas World newspaper from 1889-1910 on Chronicling America.

The Independent newspaper

Search The Independent newspaper from 1860-1874 on Chronicling America.

The first issue of The Independent was published in Oskaloosa on July 11, 1860. Contrary to what the name suggests, The Independent clearly stated: “we are for the Union, for our county, for the glorious Republic we have loved.” Subscribers received a copy of the newspaper with its four-page, seven-column format every Wednesday before it switched to a Saturday publication schedule in July 1861. The Independent experienced wide circulation in Jefferson County, which had a population of nearly 5,000 in 1860, as well as in other counties in northeastern Kansas.

The Independent was founded by John Wesley Roberts (1824-1900), an abolitionist and prohibitionist, who wrote his editorials from his home in Waynesville, Ohio, until he moved to Oskaloosa in 1862. Roberts had previously been publisher for The Miami Visitor in Warren County, Ohio, in which he described the events of Bleeding Kansas as recounted by his own family members. Roberts’ brother-in-law, John W. Day (1833-1905), acted as local editor and business manager of the The Independent. Although The Independent obviously sided with the Free-State cause, Roberts in his editorials denounced lawlessness on both sides. Only 30 miles from the border with Missouri, Oskaloosa witnessed important military actions during the Civil War, including Quantrill’s Raid on the city of Lawrence and Price’s Raid along the Kansas and Missouri border. The unique content and distinctive format of The Independent was emphasized by the paper’s motto: “Devoted to Agriculture, Mechanics, Arts, News and General Literature.”

Francis (Frank) Henry Roberts (1851-1945), who had been a frequent figure in the printing office since childhood and who was hailed by the Cincinnati Weekly Enquirer as the “youngest typesetter in America,” took over as sole proprietor of the The Independent following his father’s death in 1900. Today, The Oskaloosa Independent, which succeeded the The Independent after its last issue on May 2, 1874, remains in circulation.

Search the Independent newspaper from 1860-1874 on Chronicling America.

The Iola Register newspaper

Search the Iola Register newspaper from 1875-1902 on Chronicling America.

Publication of the weekly Iola Register began on January 2, 1875. The town of Iola was elected seat for Allen County in 1865. The first editorial stated that “The Register will be independent in all things, and will be radical in the support of freedom, justice, and equal rights to all.” As the official paper of the county, the Iola Register circulated 850 copies in 1880 when the population surpassed 11,250. By 1890, circulation reached 1,500, and the county population reached 13,500. When the last issue was published on August 22, 1902, circulation still hovered at around 1,500, even though the population soared to over 19,500 thanks to the discovery of natural gas in the area. The days of publication and the number of pages per issue varied frequently, as did the editors and publishers.

The history of the Iola Register can be traced to the Allen County Courant, founded in 1867. Its name changed in 1868 to the Neosho Valley Register and changed again in 1870 to the Kansas State Register before being restored to the Neosho Valley Register that same year. Beginning on January 2, 1875, the paper was called the Iola Register. On October 6, 1882, the Register's new publisher, Scott Bros. & E.E. Rohrer, introduced a staunch Republican affiliation with the “confidence to believe that the party that has been on the right side of all questions of principle and policy with wonderful uniformity for the last twenty years, has within itself the power and the will to rectify these abuses and to cleanse its own machinery.” Charles F. Scott, an Allen County native, had just graduated from the University of Kansas before joining the Register, and in January 1886, he became the paper’s sole editor and proprietor. Scott went on to serve Kansas in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 1911 and unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 1918 and 1928 before returning to the Iola Register.

The Register absorbed the Democratic Allen County Courant in April 1889, and at the end of 1892, it acquired both the Elsmore Eagle and the Savonburg Progress. The weekly Iola Register changed its title in 1902 and was eventually discontinued. In the meantime, a daily edition, called the Iola Daily Register began in 1897. It went through several name changes before it evolved into the current daily newspaper, the Iola Register. Following Charles F. Scott’s death in 1938, his son Angelo C. Scott succeeded as editor for the Iola Register, which continues under the same family of publishers.

Search the Iola Register newspaper from 1875-1902 on Chronicling America.

The Big Blue Union newspaper

Search the Big Blue Union newspaper from 1862-1866 on Chronicling America.

The Big Blue Union was published in Marysville, Kansas, appearing on Saturday mornings beginning with the first issue on March 29, 1862, and continuing through its last on May 19, 1866. Marysville is the seat of Marshall County, located in northeast Kansas. Taking its title partly from the Big Blue River that flowed through the town, the paper boasted a Republican affiliation and maintained a pro-Union stance in a community whose founder and early residents were decidedly proslavery. Besides serving the growing number of Union sympathizers in Marshall County, the paper also targeted Republicans in neighboring Washington County. The masthead of The Big Blue Union stated “Westward the Star of Empire takes its Way,” referring to an 1860 painting by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze of the same title depicting the settlement of the West and symbolizing the idea of Manifest Destiny.

The Big Blue Union frequently covered the military activities of Confederate sympathizers based in Missouri and reported on the tensions between the proponents of slavery and the supporters of Kansas as a free state. Several men served as editors and publishers of The Big Blue Union during the newspaper’s short tenure. Among these, Edwin C. Manning was the most significant. A returning Civil War veteran, Manning took over publishing the paper on August 15, 1863. He had already achieved some journalistic notoriety in Marysville during a two-month stint with the proslavery Democratic Platform in 1860, when he changed the paper’s politics without changing its title or informing the owner of the printing press. Manning was elected in the fall of 1864 to the Kansas State Senate, serving one term. Publication of The Big Blue Union was suspended from November 5, 1864 until September 30, 1865.

The Big Blue Union ceased publication altogether on May 19, 1866, citing competition from a rival, The Marysville Enterprise as the cause of its demise. Soon afterward, Manning moved to Manhattan where he began publishing the Kansas Radical.

Search the Big Blue Union newspaper from 1862-1866 on Chronicling America.

Saline County Journal newspaper

Search the Saline County Journal newspaper from 1871-1893 on Chronicling America.

On March 2, 1871, the Saline County Journal made its publishing debut in Salina, Kansas. Two issues preceded the Journal under the title of the Home Journal. The seven-column, folio-format Journal was published every Thursday as the “Official Organ of Saline County” with a Republican affiliation. In 1881, the Journal boasted of having “a circulation more than double that of any other English paper in this county” and a “circulation 900 more than the Salina Herald, " a competing weekly, Republican newspaper published from 1867 to 1889.

Beginning in late March 1887, founding editor Mason D. Sampson also began issuing a daily edition of the newspaper, which was the town’s first morning daily paper, called the Salina Daily Journal. It lasted until May 1888. Beginning in 1890, the Journal began offering a two-for-one special subscription price with other Kansas newspapers, such as the Topeka Weekly Capital and the Leavenworth Times, citing that “every Kansas man should have his County paper for home news and a paper from the Manufacturing Metropolis of the State.” The Journal was also published daily during the county fair from September 13 to September 18, 1892. During its tenure, the Journal frequently reported on the arrival of the Texas cattle trade and railroads, and the effect that livestock and agriculture, particularly wheat farming, had on the Kansas economy.

Even though the Journal experienced several editorial changes, Mason D. Sampson continued his lengthy proprietorship until he retired in June 1891. His successor, Charles Byron Kirtland (1858-1948), later served two terms as mayor of Salina. The last issue of the Journal appeared on March 9, 1893, the publisher acknowledging that since “Salina has too many newspapers…I chose rather to sell than buy.” The Journal was sold to Joseph Little Bristow (1861-1944) and thus consolidated with the Weekly Republican to make the Republican-Journal.

Search the Saline County Journal newspaper from 1871-1893 on Chronicling America.

Daily Eagle newspaper

Search the Daily Eagle newspaper and related titles from 1884-1890 on Chronicling America.

Established as the first daily newspaper in Wichita to carry the Eagle name, the Daily Eagle printed four pages of news each day except Monday beginning on May 20, 1884. The Daily Eagle boasted of having “the largest circulation of any daily paper in southwestern Kansas.” Although the Daily Eagle only produced a mere 17 issues, its name remains synonymous with its successors, as well as with the city itself. On June 8, 1884, the Daily Eagle became the Whichita Daily Eagle, which circulated under that name until August 18, 1886, when it was changed simply to the Wichita Eagle. The publication schedule remained the same, but the size of each issue fluctuated between four, six, and eight pages and frequently included supplements. In 1888, the Eagle began routinely publishing a larger, 12-page Sunday edition reaching an additional 1,000 readers each week.

Marshall M. Murdock (1837-1908), a man recognized for his progressive ideas, worked as the editor and publisher of the Eagle, assisted by his younger brother and business manager, Roland P. Murdock (1843-1906). The elder Murdock, commonly known as “Marsh,” had first established the weekly Wichita City Eagle in 1872 and remained with the paper through all its title changes until his retirement in 1906. Murdock believed a strong daily newspaper supporting local and regional commercial interests would help Wichita “not only to be the city of this greatest of great valleys, but possibly, even probably, the city of the State of Kansas.”

During its short tenure, the Daily Eagle reported on the 1884 Republican National Convention and bore witness to the decline and collapse of the Greenback Party. From its first issue on June 8, 1884, the Wichita Daily Eagle embraced some of the latest formatting changes in the newspaper industry, explaining that “such a thing is unprecedented in American journalism – a border town with a nine-column daily.” On July 20, 1886, the Eagle began publication as an eight-page newspaper that “suitable machinery could be manufactured to order.” It claimed to be the first newspaper ever to be “printed on a power press in this valley and its presses the first to run by steam.” The Eagle witnessed the activities of the temperance movement, as well as the success of the railroads and the corresponding rise of Populism.

On March 18, 1890, the title reverted to the Wichita Daily Eagle, although its editors, affiliation, and audience remained unchanged. These early renditions of the Eagle paved the way for numerous successors, including the Wichita Eagle we know and read today.

Search the Daily Eagle newspaper and related titles from 1884-1890 on Chronicling America.

Leavenworth Weekly Times newspaper

Search the Leavenworth Weekly Times newspaper from 1870-1880 on Chronicling America.

The Leavenworth Weekly Times was published weekly from July 7, 1870, until January 1, 1880. Along with its daily counterpart Leavenworth Daily Times, it proclaimed itself as “the oldest paper in the State…the first Republican paper issued in the county, and the first Daily published in Kansas.” The Times also was recognized as the official paper of the county and city of Leavenworth. In 1870, the Times employed 27 people and recorded annual expenses of $56,000. In 1880, the paper circulated 8,900 copies when the county’s population reached 32,000. Although the number of pages in each issue fluctuated, the Times successfully filled nine columns with newsworthy content each week.

Daniel Read Anthony (1824-1904), younger brother of women’s suffrage advocate Susan B. Anthony, was one of the founders of Leavenworth and a public official, as well as the town’s most prolific newspaper publisher. He moved to the Kansas Territory in 1854 as part of the New England Emigrant Aid Company’s efforts to populate Kansas with abolitionists. Anthony’s first endeavor in publishing in Leavenworth was the Conservative whose first issue appeared on January 28, 1861. In October of that same year, Anthony enlisted as Lieutenant Colonel in the First Kansas Cavalry. By nature he was both combative and radical. He held strong opinions about Leavenworth, the Republican Party, abolition, and prohibition, among others. He was perhaps the state’s most fiery editor, but the written word was not his only weapon. During his brief tenure with the Conservative, he shot and killed rival publisher Robert C. Satterlee of the Daily Leavenworth Herald after Satterlee had accused Anthony of cowardice. A jury later absolved him. In 1875, rival editor and political opponent William Embry of the Leavenworth Daily Appeal shot and nearly killed Anthony. Although Anthony did not use them in his later years, he always kept two loaded pistols in his office. Besides the shooting affrays, Anthony participated in assorted fistfights and brawls, even into his sixties.

One of his employees wrote that Anthony “was a hard task-master, yet a good one….If he didn't like you it was best to remain in the background, for he never forgot why he disliked you." Anthony was successful in dominating the daily Leavenworth County papers. In 1871, he purchased the Leavenworth Bulletin, and in 1876, he bought the Leavenworth Daily Commercial, which was the only other morning paper at the time and also the “central organ of the Democratic, or opposition, party of Kansas.”

Following his father’s death, Daniel Read Anthony, Jr. (1870-1931) became editor of the Times and served in Congress from 1907 to 1929. The Leavenworth Weekly Times was succeeded in 1880 by the weekly Leavenworth Times, which lasted until 1918. Editions of the Times published during these years included the Leavenworth Daily Times, the Daily Leavenworth Times, and the Leavenworth Times, which has been a continuously circulating daily newspaper since 1878.

Search the Leavenworth Weekly Times newspaper from 1870-1880 on Chronicling America.

The Smoky Hill and Republican Union newspaper

Search the Smoky Hill and Republican Union newspaper from 1861-1964 on Chronicling America.

With the noteworthy motto “We Join Ourselves to No Party That Does Not Carry The Flag, and Keep Step to the Music of the Union,” The Smoky Hill and Republican Union clearly expressed its antislavery sentiment. Published from 1861 until 1864 in Junction City, Kansas, the seat of Davis (now Geary) County in the northeast part of the state, the newspaper’s title refers to the two rivers, the Smoky Hill and the Republican, that converge in the city. At the time it was the westernmost newspaper in Kansas. The Smoky Hill and Republican Union maintained a four-page, six-column folio sheet format throughout its tenure. It was published each Saturday except for a one-month suspension from December 26, 1861, until January 30, 1862, when there was a change in ownership.

George W. Kingsbury, editor and proprietor, released the first issue of The Smoky Hill and Republican Union on September 12, 1861. Kingsbury had been intimately involved in the printing of the county’s first newspaper, the Junction Sentinel, in 1858-59. The Smoky Hill and Republican Union frequently covered the events of the Civil War and local elections and promoted the “patriot [i.e., Unionist] platform.” Following Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence in August 1863, the headlines reported the “unparalleled barbarism” of the Confederates and “heroism of the [local] women.” During Confederate General Sterling Price’s attacks along the Kansas and Missouri border in October 1864, the newspaper’s headlines reported the “repulse” and “total rout of Price.” The Union intended “to use what little power we possess against rebels, whether they are upon soil made glorious by freedom, or rendered cursed by the blighting hand of slavery.”

Kingsbury sold the paper in December 1861 and moved to Yankton, Dakota Territory, where he became a prominent pioneer newspaperman and author. Beginning on January 30, 1862, William S. Blakely and George W. Martin assumed the control of the paper. The Union was sold on November 19, 1864, and renamed the Courier, but the new owners printed only two issues before suspending publication. George W. Martin, acting as editor, once again revived the newspaper on April 15, 1865 under the name of The Junction City Union. The Junction City Union experienced several title changes and reincarnations in weekly and daily form up to the present. Martin held various positions, becoming one of the more respected newspapermen and civil servants of his time.

Search the Smoky Hill and Republican Union newspaper from 1861-1964 on Chronicling America.

The Globe-Republican newspaper

Search the Globe-Republican newspaper from 1889-1910 on Chronicling America.

The Globe-Republican was published weekly in Dodge City from October 23, 1889 until November 24, 1910. Always an eight-page, six-column paper, subscribers received the Globe-Republican every Wednesday until August 1895 when it switched to a Thursday publishing schedule. Founder Daniel M. Frost, stated that the paper was “devoted to chronicling the activities of the cattle ranges and deploring the gambling rackets and the saloon murders of the frontier town.” Far from being prudish, Frost opposed Prohibition and “championed the Republican wet cause.” By 1893, the Globe-Republican was the “Official Paper of the County” and boasted “a circulation more than twice as large as any other newspaper in the county.” By 1910, over 900 copies were circulating in a city of 2,600 and a county of 7,600 inhabitants.

The history of the Globe-Republican can be traced to Christmas Day, 1877, when attorneys Daniel M. Frost and William N. Morphy founded the Ford County Globe. The paper went through several title and personnel changes before becoming the Globe-Republican in 1889. In July 1891, Walter C. Shinn, who had established the Dodge City Times in 1876, returned to Dodge City to become assistant editor for the Globe-Republican. Frost delivered his valediction in the January 14, 1892 issue, followed by Shinn’s relinquishment of editorial duties on February 1, 1895. Nicholas B. Klaine, Frost’s former editorial rival at the Dodge City Times, took over sole charge of the newspaper on June 21, 1895, stating that the Globe-Republican “will be a clean newspaper of which no one will be ashamed, and its columns will be free of abuse and scurrility.” Klaine sold the newspaper and printing plant to William E. Davis and Frank W. Tyler on June 15, 1902. In their salutatory editorial address, the new owners proclaimed to “strive at all times to be fair and courteous to the home people who are [of] different political faith, but will be persistent and steadfast in standing for its own [Republican] convictions.”

After the November 24, 1910 issue, the name officially changed to the Dodge City Globe, commonly referred to as just the Globe, which remained in publication until 1918. Editor Jess C. Denious cited the reason for the name change the complaints from patrons that “it was too much trouble to write Globe-Republican when remittances were to be made to this office.” In December 1911, a daily edition was introduced called the Dodge City Daily Globe, which continues to publish to this day.

Search the Globe-Republican newspaper from 1889-1910 on Chronicling America.

Wichita Eagle newspaper

Search the Wichita Eagle newspaper from 1872-1909 on Chronicling America.

In 1872, the Wichita City Eagle debuted as the dominant newspaper of south-central Kansas and a pioneer newspaper of the state. Established in 1870 and named after an Indian tribe, Wichita was the seat and largest city of Sedgwick County. The first issue of what would later become widely known as the Eagle was published on April 12, 1872. It boasted a circulation of nearly 400 in a city of only 1,500 people. By 1877, the Eagle's readership reached 1,500 as Wichita’s population grew to over 4,800; five years later circulation swelled to more than 2,500 in a county of 18,000. On April 19, 1883, the Wichita City Eagle changed its name to the Wichita Eagle, which, like its predecessor, was a Republican weekly. As Wichita grew so too did the Eagle. In 1888, when the population of the county surpassed 48,800, with 31,700 living within the city limits, the Eagle's readership reached 6,000.

In order to become better acquainted with the people of Wichita, Eagle founder Marshall M. Murdock (1837-1908) had personally delivered the first issue of the newspaper to every home and business. Murdock’s younger brother, Roland P. Murdock (1843-1906), assisted him as publisher and editor. Marshall Murdock began his journalistic career at the Burlingame Osage Chronicle in 1863 before moving to Wichita. In 1864, Murdock enlisted as a lieutenant colonel of the Osage and Lyon county militia in the wake of Confederate General, and former Missouri governor, Sterling Price’s raid on Kansas. As publisher, Murdock, commonly remembered as “Marsh,” expressed to the newspaper’s readers that “the ambition of its founder is, and will be, to make [the Eagle] the leading journal of the Great Southwest.”

Just as the people of Wichita welcomed the arrival of the Eagle, railroads bringing cattle from the south helped establish Wichita as the “cow capital” of Kansas. The Eagle's popularity continued to increase with the growth of the region. The paper’s headlines frequently concerned railroad expansion, the cattle and wheat industries, and temperance unions.

The Wichita Eagle simultaneously published a daily edition called the Daily Eagle in 1884 and the Wichita Daily Eagle until 1886. Following the January 20, 1888 issue, the title changed to the Wichita Weekly Eagle in an apparent attempt to help differentiate it from its daily counterparts. Weekly editions lasted until 1919 when greater demand for daily newspapers made such publications irrelevant. The main competitor of the Eagle was the Democratic Wichita Weekly Beacon published by David G. Millison and Fred A. Sowers, along with a daily edition, the Daily Beacon, both founded in 1872. Sowers had published the first newspaper in the area called the Wichita Vidette back in 1870-72. The Eagle and the Beacon remained strong rivals for nearly 90 years until the latter merged with the Evening Eagle in 1960 to form the Evening Eagle and Beacon under Marcellus Murdock, the son of Marshall M. Murdock.

Search the Wichita Eagle newspaper from 1872-1909 on Chronicling America.

Bird's-eye views of Kansas

Thirty-eight 19^th Century lithographic prints from the collections of the State Archives Division, Kansas Historical Society (KSHS), show many Kansas cities and towns from a novel “bird’s-eye” perspective. Twenty-seven towns and twenty-six counties are represented. The Archives’ entire bird’s-eye print collection is now available on Kansas Memory.

Advances in lithographic printing, a coterie of itinerant (often European-trained) artists, and an increasing interest in town promotion all led to a proliferation of bird’s-eye illustrations of many American cities in the several decades following the Civil War.

A few printing firms dominated the bird’s-eye map market in the Midwest. The following firms are the most frequently represented in the KSHS collection:

Lott & Zeuch Lithograph, Chicago, Illinois

Strobridge & Co. Lithograph, Cincinnati, Ohio

Ramsey, Millett, & Hudson Lithograph, Kansas City, Missouri

The earliest prints in the collection actually predate the Civil War and Kansas statehood, being depictions of Sumner in 1858 and Tecumseh in 1859. Middleton, Strobridge & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, created the prints.

The local production of Kansas bird’s-eye illustrations was rare. Topeka resident, Henry Worrall drew a bird’s-eye map of Topeka that was published in Hirons and Bowen’s Directory of Shawnee, Osage, and Wabaunsee Counties in 1887. This is the only known print in the KSHS collection that was created by a Kansan.

Augustus Koch was one of the most prolific bird’s-eye artists in the United States. Five prints attributed to Koch are included in the KSHS collection. Koch spent nearly half of his career working in Kansas City, Missouri.

The most unique print in the collection is an 1879 view of Oak Dale Park in Salina by Augustus Koch. The print promotes the park as the site of the Kansas State Tournament games. The park has hosted the Smoky Hill River Festival since 1977.

See the entire KSHS bird’s-eye map collection on Kansas Memory.

Veterans of WWII Oral History Project

In 2005, the Kansas Legislature awarded the Kansas Historical Society $150,000 to issue grants to nonprofit groups charged with collecting oral histories from WWII veterans. Each grant awardee focused on a unique scope or approach to capturing this information, for example, the Doniphan County Historical Society focused on the experiences of Pottawatomie, Kickapoo, and Sac and Fox tribal members.

Grant recipients were the Greater Barber County Historical Action Association and Barber County Veterans Memorial in Medicine Lodge, the Doniphan County Historical Society in Troy, the Center for Learning Tree Institute in Girard, the Ellis County Historical Society in Hays, the Department of Social Sciences at Emporia State University, the Frank Stull American Legion #152 in Ness City, the Gray County Veterans Memorial & Archives in Cimarron, the Rice County Historical Society in Lyons, and Watkins Community Museum of History in Lawrence. Original copies of the audio or video tapes are housed in safekeeping at the contributing institutions and at the Kansas Historical Society.

Over 500 interview transcriptions relating to experiences during WWII can be found here.

Voting ballots

With the November 6^th election just around the corner, you're likely to see electronic ballots widely used at polling locations. While paper ballots are still used, they do not resemble the scratch paper ballots from the past. Below are examples of ballots for the first referendum of the Lecompton Constitution on December 21, 1857. Voters were choosing between the Constitution with slavery or without slavery.

The Constitution with slavery won 6,226 to 569, although the December 21st vote was boycotted by free-state supporters. A second voting occurred on January 4, 1858 with an Anti-Usurpation Ticket. Names listed on this ticket include George W. Smith, William Y. Roberts, Philip C. Schuyler, Andrew J. Mead, Joel K. Goodin, and Marcus J. Parrott. In the example to the left, the voter has indicated Henry H. Williams as his selection for Senator, D. B. Jackman as his selection for Representative, and that he is "against the Constitution." The Lecompton Constitution was rejected by a vote of 10,226 to 138. Other election materials of interest on Kansas Memory include a ballot box swept away by a tornado, voter instructions, and a campaign truck.

250,000 images!

Congratulations are in order to the visitors, volunteers, and staff who support and work to improve digital access to the collections of the Kansas Historical Society. We now have over 250,000 digital images available on Kansas Memory, which continues to expand since it was created in 2007. Just in the past two months we've added over 26,000 images! The 250,000th image is...

Brookdale Rice Co Kansas

Jany 1st 1871

Governor Harvey

Dear Sir

Enclosed please find petition for the general distribution of arms among the citizens of Rice Co. necessary for their defence against any raid or raids by the Cheyenne Indians.

Most of the settlers located in this vicinity are unable to purchase the arms and ammunition necessary, hence the petition.

Should you not decree it advisable to send the arms, a small detachment of troops sent here would allay all anxiety on the part of the people located in this vicinity.

Trusting that you will give this matter your careful

[Page 2]

consideration I have the honor to be very truly yours

D.H. Bowdoin

Address.

Brookdale P.O.

Rice County

By way of Ellsworth

This letter is part of the Kansas Adjutant General's correspondence collection, containing 50 years of letters from 1861-1910, now available on Kansas Memory. Events highlighted in this collection include the militia companies involved in the Civil War, including colored units, and Price’s Raid claims for compensation for lost property and militia service rendered during Price’s Missouri Expedition. Reports of Indian conflicts continued well into the 1880s, as the presence of the reorganized Kansas National Guard expanded across the state and beyond, including the Spanish-American War in 1898. The Kansas Adjutant General’s correspondence collection is one of many found in the State Archives which preserves the records of all three branches of state government, including the official records of nearly every Kansas governor.

Kansas State Penitentiary

The Kansas State Penitentiary, now known as the Lansing Correctional Facility, was built in the 1860s. Since then, thousands of inmates have passed through its doors, most notably, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, whose crime was retold in Truman Capote's novel, In Cold Blood. Recent additions to Kansas Memory include the images of several dozen inmates from the Kansas State Penitentiary captured on glass plate negatives, all taken in 1901.

More inmate photographs are currently being digitized, but in the meantime, other items of interest relating to the Kansas State Penitentiary include correspondence and artifacts. You can also learn how to preserve any collodion negatives you might have at home, or browse all the glass plate negatives we've put on Kansas Memory thus far.

Riding bicycles

In the spirit of Biking Across Kansas, we're celebrating bicycles and the places they've taken us across the state. Bicycles have been used to deliver newspapers, carry home the bounty of a hunting trip, provide therapy, or beat the train home. Each town hosting an overnight stop on this year's Biking Across Kansas is represented on Kansas Memory. Riders started in Sharon Springs, Kansas, perhaps passing by the Wallace County Courthouse or passing through Main Street. Headed east, Oakley, Hoxie, and Logan offer a glipse into life in western Kansas. The city of Downs greets visitors with its historic railroad depot, which is still standing. Further to the east, Clyde, Centralia, and Troy await bicyclists. The final stretch takes riders into the city of Elwood, on the Missouri River, completing a successful 481-mile tour on two wheels of the state of Kansas.

William Clark (of Lewis & Clark)

Sometime between 1883 and 1885, John Speer, a former director of the Kansas Historical Society, happened upon a pile of leather-bound volumes outside a used bookstore in Lawrence. Immediately upon his discovery, he contacted Judge Franklin George Adams, secretary at the Kansas Historical Society who paid the bookstore owner $33 for the priceless volumes of seemingly negligible value to other passersby. These volumes were the record books from 1807-1855 of the Office of Indian Affairs Central Superintendency in St. Louis, Missouri. How they left government custody in St. Louis and ended up on a sidewalk in Lawrence is still a mystery. William Clark (of Lewis and Clark, Voyage of Discovery fame) served as Indian Superintendent for the Central Superintendency from 1807 until his death in 1838. Included in these volumes are entries of his correspondence to others, surveys of Indian reservations, account books that recorded expenditures, property returns, and annuity payments, correspondence of Indian agents, treaties, meteorological data, and the records of the Missouri Fur Company. Many of the volumes have been transcribed and a searchable, full-text version is avavilable. To browse the volumes, click here.

The Prairie Woodcutter

Herschel C. Logan (1901-1987) was a woodcut artist and printmaker raised in Winfield, Kansas. His depictions of the Kansas landscape, including the Flint Hills, dust storms, tornadoes, and farmhouses earned him the nickname "The Prairie Woodcutter."

Logan studied commericial art at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and worked as the art director of Consolidated Printing and Stationery in Salina for 36 years. He was a member of the Prairie Print Makers. In addition to making woodcuts, Logan enjoyed firearms and ammunition, being a historian and author on the subject, as well as a member of the American Society of Arms Collectors. To each print he added his monogram - "L" inside a square. Between 1921 and 1938, Logan created 140 prints. In addition to the Kansas Museum of History, Logan's prints have been displayed at the Spencer Museum of Art. You can view a collection of Logan's woodcuts on Kansas Memory by clicking here.

Historical Society partnership with Ancestry

The Kansas Historical Society has partnered with Ancestry.com to make thousands of pages of records available for free to Kansans with a valid driver’s license. While Ancestry’s primary interest is genealogical, the records that have been added to date can be used to study local communities, farming, and military service in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I as well as numerous other topics.

Through this partnership, Ancestry has digitized the Kansas State Census records taken every ten years from 1865-1925 in years ending in 5. This state census provides coverage for the entire state by listing all members of families, their ages, sex, and often other information about where they were born, where they lived before coming to Kansas, and if they served in the military during the Civil War. Because this census was taken by the Kansas Board of Agriculture, there is also a section that provides information on agricultural production farm by farm.

Ancestry has also digitized these records series and other record series will be added as they are available:

Civil War Enlistment Papers of Kansas Volunteer Regiments, 1862, 1863, 1868

Russell County Vital and Probate Records (J. C. Ruppenthal Collection)

World War I, Kansas Veterans, Manuscript Collection no. 49

United Spanish-American War Veterans, Reports of Deaths, 1945-1970 (TAPS)

If you are a Kansan with a valid driver’s license, check out the Kansas Historical Society records now available through our Ancestry partnership. This page also lists additional records series the Ancestry plans to digitize and make available via this portal.

This partnership allows us to make significantly more records available to Kansas via the internet than what we could accomplish with in-house digitization. The Kansas Historical Society is committed to providing easy access to as many of our research holdings as possible. The partnership with Ancestry, Kansas Memory, and Chronicling America are the three ways Kansans can access thousands of documents from their homes or anyplace where they have internet access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Samuel Reader's lantern slides

Samuel J. Reader arrived in Indianola, Shawnee County, Kansas in 1855. As an adult, his occupation was farming but he was a man of many talents and interesting hobbies. He was an avid diarist, drawer and painter until his death at the age of 78. Among his collection available at the Kansas Historical Society are his lantern slides.

Each slide is made from hand-painted glass cased in a handmade wooden frame. The slides depict a variety of subjects including ghastly creatures, like Satan and the Grim Reaper, flowers, people and animals.

Reader used a type of image projector commonly known as the magic lantern to showcase his works of art for members of the community. Lantern slides were first introduced in 1849. By the time Reader began creating his own slides in 1866, they would have been a popular form of entertainment.

Kansas Equal Suffrage Association

Take this off-year Election Day to revisit the history of the women's suffrage movement in Kansas. Suffrage in Kansas had many important supporters, including Stella Stubbs, the wife of Kansas Governor W. R. Stubbs (1909-1913) and Lucy Browne Johnston, the wife of the Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court William Agnew Johnston (1903-1935). As these newspaper clippings illustrate, the activities in Kansas attracted the attention of national figures in the women's suffrage movement, like Susan B. Anthony.

The official newspaper of the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association, founded in 1884, is available on Kansas Memory. To explore women's suffrage on the national level, visit Chronicling America for newspapers from across the country covering the climactic years of the women's suffrage movement. Women in Kansas were granted the right to vote in 1912, making Kansas the eighth state to do so, following Utah, Arizona and California, among others.

Cyrus K. Holliday

Recognized as one of the top 25 Notable Kansans, Cyrus K. Holliday and his claim to fame may be less well known to most Kansans than his counterparts also honored on the list. Cyrus Kurtz Holliday (1826-1900) was one of the founders of city of Topeka and the first president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The success of Holliday's railroad ventures is evident in the newspapers published during that period. The Iola Register called Holliday "a conspicuous figure in Kansas business and politics for nearly forty years."

Newspapers regularly featured advertisements for trips on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe Route, which ran along the Santa Fe Trail, was advertised as the "coolest route to Los Angeles, and many hours shorter than any other." Possible stops on the route included Denver, the Grand Canyon, and San Francisco.

Timetables were often printed daily in the Wichita Eagle and included other railroads, such as the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, and provide great insight for researchers studying the development and efficiency of train travel across the United States. You can search Chronicling America for newspapers from states in which the railway passed through, including Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, and explore the far-reaching influence of Cyrus K. Holliday.

Labor Day Proclamation

When Kansas governor Lyman Humphrey issued a proclamation in August of 1890 recognizing Labor Day in Kansas, he was heralded by many as being the first head of state, anywhere, to do so. See an original copy of the proclamation on Kansas Memory.

The proclamation established September 1, 1890 as Labor Day in Kansas. It recognized the need for improving the working conditions of laboring people and asked business to be suspended on Labor Day so that working people could enjoy the holiday. In an equally pioneering gesture, and at the urging of Governor Humphrey, the Kansas Legislature made the first Monday in September a legal holiday in Kansas in 1891. Labor Day was not recognized as a federal holiday until 1894.

Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, praised the move and encouraged other states to follow the example of the Kansas governor. Gompers reportedly wrote Humphrey to express his appreciation for the governor’s recognition of organized labor.

In 1938, when an Ohio labor organization was seeking to establish a memorial in Governor Humphrey’s honor, Lyman L. Humphrey (the governor’s son) searched through his father’s papers at the Kansas Historical Society but could not locate any letters from Gompers. An exhaustive search of the papers by archives staff did not locate any such letters either and archivists noted that the letters were not included in the official register of letters received by the governor’s office.

However, Humphrey's executive clerk, D. O. McCray, noted in an article in volume 9 of the Kansas Historical Collections: “Governor Humphrey was the first chief executive of the United States to thus speak in behalf of labor, and he holds letters from President Gompers recognizing this action.”

If Governor Humphrey did receive such letters, it appears he did not file them with the official papers of his office and the whereabouts of the letters are unknown. Reference: Mechem to Humphrey, L. L., Nov. 4, 1938. Lyman L. Humphrey Papers, Coll. 11, Box 1, Folder 1930-1938, Kansas Historical Society.

For more primary sources on Kansas labor history, select the category Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Labor movement.

Cased Photograph Collection

The cased photograph collection in the State Archives & Library Division of the Kansas Historical Society includes more than 200 one-of-a-kind daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes. These are some of the oldest and most unique photographs owned by the Historical Society. In order to help preserve and improve access to these photos, we scanned the entire collection, which is now available on Kansas Memory.

Many of these photographs were created prior to, or during, the Civil War. Making them available now contributes to our understanding and celebration of Kansas statehood and the Civil War.

Follow the links below to review the collection.

Daguerreotypes

Ambrotypes

Tintypes

Women's Fashion and Gossip

Beginning in June 1897, a recurring column first appeared in the Wichita Daily Eagle, signed by the anonymous "Bab." The columns, often titled "Feminine Facts and Fancies," "Woman's Ways and Woman's Work," "The New Woman and the The Old," and "Woman at Home and Abroad," covered such topics as fashion, interior design, marriage, and childrearing. Was this a nickname for an actual female columnist named Barbara or a mocking representation of women's supposed "babbling" and gossiping? You be the judge.

Fashion accessories and other personal artifacts from the time period can also be found on Kansas Memory, including this dress and purse, in addition to photographs of some fashionable women.

Kansas State Federation of Labor

One hundred and twenty-one years ago this month, in July of 1890, a small group of Kansas trade union leaders adopted a constitution for a new, centralized state labor organization. With the decline of the Knights of Labor in the 1880s, Kansas lacked a unifying organization for its many craft unions. Topeka printers, barbers, plumbers, carpenters, and others had recently established a successful central union representing their common interests. This increased the desire for a statewide organization. Meeting in Topeka in July of 1890, this group created the Kansas State Federation of Labor (KSFL).

The constitution of the KSFL outlines the group’s purpose, operations, and resolutions. Among their common interests included 1) demanding an eight hour workday, 2) recognizing a “Labor Day”, 3) encouraging the patronage of “union shops”, 4) and condemning the employment of children under fifteen years old.

The strength of the KSFL fluctuated dramatically over the next sixty years in response to economic booms, busts, and the two world wars. But many of its reforms were eventually adopted. Kansas Governor Lyman Humphrey established a statewide “Labor Day” in 1890. In 1901 Kansas passed an eight hour work day for state workers. And in 1905, Kansas began restricting the employment of children in manufacturing and heavy industry.

Marc Karson’s A History of Trade Unions in Kansas provides a brief history of the KSFL up to 1956, including its opposition to “right to work” legislation, which Kansas ultimately adopted in 1958.

For additional sources documenting labor unions in Kansas, visit Kansas Memory and select the category Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Labor movement.

Hawkins Photograph Collection

Hundreds of additional photos from the Omar Hawkins photograph collection are now available on Kansas Memory. Based in Marysville, Kansas, Hawkins captured scenes of his town and the surrounding communities in the early twentieth century. The images reveal the quaint pleasures of small town America and the emergence of the automobile and other modern conveniences.

Sheldon Edition, The Topeka Daily Capital

If Jesus were publisher and editor of a daily, twentieth-century newspaper, what would that paper look like? In March of 1900 in Topeka, Kansas, congregational minister Charles Sheldon decided to find out. For one week he took over the publication of the Topeka Daily Capital and attempted to publish it as he thought Jesus would. The result was six complete issues that followed a totally new editorial policy: 1) publish only news important to the righteous development of humanity, 2) be politically non-partisan, 3) advocate for the total extinction of liquor, 4) raise awareness of the selfishness of mankind, 5) express an abhorrence of war, 6) do not take sides on policy matters “which are not clear in my own mind,” 7) influence readers to seek the Kingdom of God, 8) name the writers of articles and editorials, 9) do not publish a Sunday paper.

Did he succeed? Decide for yourself. The complete Sheldon Edition of the Topeka Daily Capital is now available on Kansas Memory.

Additional historic Kansas newspapers are available online through Chronicling America. See the Kansas Digital Newspaper Program page for more information.

Iron Shirt

In 2007, a small photo (a carte-de-visite) of a Cheyenne chief named Iron Shirt was donated to the Kansas Historical Society as part of a collection of photos and documents belonging to Colonel John Yard. Yard was commander at Fort Hays in 1868 when he was major of the 10th Cavalry and again in 1886-1889 when he was colonel of the 18th Infantry. Yard died on Feb. 17, 1889 while commander at Fort Hays.

According to The Fighting Cheyennes by George Bird Grinnell, a number of Native Americans in the Great Plains were known as “Iron Shirt.” The name referred to coats of mail (a garment of metal rings or plates that covered the chest) that Indians possibly acquired from the Spanish and reportedly wore during battle.

The exact identity of the man in the photo is unknown. Could he be the Northern Cheyenne leader noted for participating in the Battle of the Little Bighorn? According to Thomas Marquis in A Northern Cheyenne Album, this Iron Shirt was named after an uncle born in the late 18th century who wore a coat of mail.

The Iron Shirt photo was included among Yard’s family photos along with several other photos related to Cheyenne chiefs including a carte-de-visite of Cheyenne Chief White Shield’s daughter, and a carte-de-visite of the son of Cheyenne Chief Bull Thigh.

For additional primary sources on the Cheyenne in Kansas Memory, see People - American Indians - Tribes – Cheyenne.

George Bird Grinnell, The Fighting Cheyennes (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1915).

Thomas Bailey Marquis, Margot Liberty, John Woodenlegs, A Northern Cheyenne Album (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006).

Bill Nye

No, not "the Science Guy." Born Edgar Wilson Nye in 1850, he used the pseudonym "Bill Nye" long before the Bill Nye we know today (YouTube). Edgar Wilson Nye was a well-known American journalist and humorist. His syndicated columns, sometimes an entire page in length, were written to entertain readers, and often included illustrations. Nye also established the Laramie Boomerang (Wyoming) in 1881. He was a fixture in newspapers across the country until his death in 1896. Click on the images below to read more in the Wichita Eagle:

Decoration Day Newspapers

Memorial Day, previously referred to as Decoration Day, is a federal holiday that has been observed on the last Monday of May each year since 1868 in remembrance of those who have died in military service.

Newspapers often published special “Decoration Day Editions” that memorialized members of the community and chronicled local activities. Click the newspaper images below to read the articles and explore how the holiday has historically been celebrated across the country.

Kansas Memory also has digitized photographs depicting the Memorial Day parades in Garnett, Hutchinson, and Dorrance, as well as hundreds of military photographs and letters.

Topeka is a People Place film

When a talking Mynah bird escapes from a local pet shop in Topeka, Kansas, an otherwise beautiful day in Midway USA goes topsy-turvy as a young truant defies his school and his parents to search for the bird and for answers. Cruising through town on his 70’s chopper bicycle, young John is stopped short on his way to school by an encounter with a talking bird. This experience starts him on an unexpected journey through the capital city that ultimately leads through Gage Park (apparently a popular gathering place for truant children) to the Menninger Psychiatric Clinic where he has a private meeting with Dr. Karl. Meanwhile John’s older brother’s deft pursuit of a blond Washburn co-ed results in a lakeside frolic and a rather dangerous looking sailboat ride. Packed with Topeka scenery, local hotspots, an unsettling Air Force scene, and an endless stream of discordant 70’s mood music, Topeka is a People Place showcases the best of Topeka while it follows John on his quest for the talking bird. Will John find the bird? Will anyone, including Dr. Karl, believe him? Watch this Topeka short film to find out. Brought to you by the producers of You Asked About Topeka.

Kaw Valley Flood film

Silent film footage of the 1951 flood of the Kansas River basin in Topeka is now available on Kansas Memory. With 28 deaths and over $1 billion in damages, the '51 flood was one of the most devastating natural disasters to strike the Midwest. The flood lent support to a series of large dams and levees on rivers in the Missouri River basin.

For additional materials on floods in Kansas, select the category Environment - Weather - Floods.

Kansas Tornado Footage

Three silent films showing footage of the June 8, 1966 tornado in Topeka, Kansas, and its aftermath are now available on Kansas Memory. The storm cut a swath of ruin through the capital city, destroying hundreds of homes, causing millions of dollars in damage, and killing sixteen residents.

Footage by Jim Ward, John Coyle, and Al Tebben

Topeka Bus Company footage by Al Moore

Footage by an unknonwn photographer

Select the category Environment - Weather - Storms - Tornadoes for additional sources on Kansas tornadoes.

Kansas Woodstock?

When 10,000 or more youth converged on a farmer’s field in southeast Kansas in 1970, they came to enjoy live rock music and protest the ongoing war in Vietnam.

The three-day event near Pittsburg, Kansas, may have been the only successful grassroots rockfest in the Midwest that year as similar events in larger Midwestern cities were cancelled. But the blatant use of illicit drugs at the festival spawned a political backlash against Kansas state and local officials accused of tolerating drug use. The issue would play an important role in upcoming elections. Rare film footage of the Pittsburg Peace Festival is now available on Kansas Memory.

Inspired by the Woodstock Music and Art Fair held in Woodstock, New York, the previous year, locals Kenny Ossana and Fulton Wilhelm organized the festival, which had many names including the Ken-Ton Festival, the Peace at Pittsburg Festival, Cornstalk, the Arma-Pitt Festival, and the Happening. Initially, the organizers sought permission to hold the festival at various locations without success. They solved this problem by literally settling on a 160-acre field located three miles west of the Kansas-Missouri state line southeast of Pittsburg in Cherokee County. The owner, farmer Florn Meyers, gave tacit permission against the wishes of his neighbors by refusing to ask the youth to leave. The event took place over Labor Day weekend, September 4-7.

Organizers expected as many as twenty-five bands to participate, including Impulse Federation (Kansas City), Rock Sanctuary (Fort Scott), Man Alive (Pittsburg), the Chessmen (Kansas City), Grit (Kansas City), Kansas (Topeka), and Caurosel [sic] (unknown), Morning Star (unknown), and Fatty Lumplin (unknown). A surprise appearance by Jerry Hahn and the Brotherhood, Columbia recording artists from San Francisco, marked the highpoint of the festival. The event ended abruptly early Monday morning when a car ran over two sleeping teenagers, leaving one eighteen-year-old girl in critical condition with extensive head injuries. Authorities later arrested two sixteen-year-old boys.

The Pittsburg Headlight-Sun reported, “Marijuana dealers abound everywhere. Shouts of ‘Black Hash over here,’ ‘Get your organic mescaline in the grey van, only $1.50 a hit (tablet),’ are common.” Vern Miller, Sedgwick County sheriff and Democratic candidate for state attorney general, emerged as the most vocal critic. Miller berated state and local authorities for not enforcing the law saying, “Such an attitude gives dope suppliers and pushers free rein to deal and distribute dope.” He said the festival should have been “saturated with undercover agents and enough law enforcement personnel… to arrest law violators.” Under attack, then state attorney general and Republican candidate for governor, Kent Frizzell cited several arrests made as part of KBI investigations. The event helped bolster Miller’s campaign for attorney general, which he won, and undermined Frizzell’s law-and-order campaign for governor, which he lost to Democratic incumbent Robert Docking.

Kansas State College at Pittsburg professor Robert Blunk Jr. filmed the event. Blunk’s film includes psychedelic imagery and camera work, and focuses primarily on the crowd. For more information on the festival see the numerous articles published in the Pittsburg Headlight-Sun from September 3 to September 11, 1970. See also Randall Thies, “Hippie Archaeology: In Search of the Kansas Woodstock," Journal of the Iowa Archaeological Society 50:69-77 (2003).

Over There: World War I Soldiers' Letters

A number of World War I Kansas soldiers' letters and photographs have recently been added to Kansas Memory. The letters are from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th Infantry Divisions) and from the Gold Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who had lost a child in the service of their country.

Several letters are from soldiers who only made it as far as Camp Funston before they were stricken with the Spanish Influenza. Many letters came from France, or as the boys wrote, "Somewhere in France" or "Over there." Some soldiers mentioned their experience on the battlefield--many served in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. To view more items from this collection, click here .

Tuttle Creek Story film

The people of the Blue River Valley in Kansas produced this short film as part of their campaign against the construction of the Tuttle Creek dam on the Big Blue River in the Flint Hills of Northeast Kansas, north of Manhattan. Despite heavy local opposition, construction of the Tuttle Creek dam began in 1952 and it became fully operational by July 1962. The dam displaced 3000 people and ten towns including Stockdale, Randolph, Winkler, Cleburne, Irving, Blue Rapids, Shroyer, Garrison, Barrett, and Bigelow. The complete Tuttle Creek Story film is now available on Kansas Memory.

Additional historic films are available on Kansas Memory under the category Collections--Audio-visual.

Over There: World War I Soldiers' Letters

A number of World War I Kansas soldiers' letters and photographs have recently been added to Kansas Memory. The letters were from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th Infantry Divisions) and from the Gold Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who had lost a child in the service of their country.

A number of letters were from soldiers who only made it as far as Camp Funston before they were stricken with the Spanish Influenza. Many letters came from France, or as the boys wrote, "Somewhere in France" or "Over there." Some soldiers mentioned their experience on the battlefield--many served in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. To view more items from this collection, click here.

Spirit of Washington film

Washington Elementary School was one of four Black elementary schools in Topeka, Kansas, prior to the U. S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. The Board of Education (1954) that called for the desegregation of public schools. This silent film from the late 1930s or early 1940s documents a day at Washington School and follows each grade level through various activities. The complete film, Spirit of Washington, is now available on Kansas Memory.

See African American Teachers in Kansas for a description of the effect of the Brown v. Board ruling on Black teachers.

For more information on the Brown v. Board case and segragation, select the category People - African Americans - Discrimination - Segregation

For oral histories on the Brown v. Board case, select the category Collections - Oral History - Brown vs Topeka Board of Education

Smith Automobile Company

One day in October of 1908, Dr. L. Anton Smith was discussing matters automotive with his friends at the Denver Auto Club in Denver, Colorado. They were debating whether an ascent of Pike’s Peak was possible at that time of the year in such snowy conditions. Though the “road” was barely passable for horse drawn vehicles, Smith surprisingly suggested a Great Smith touring car could make the ascent. As president of the Smith Automobile Company of Topeka, Kansas, Smith knew his vehicles were not just luxurious, they were reliable. But the quality workmanship that allowed the car to conquer Pike’s Peak ultimately became its weakness. Unable to compete with the cheap vehicles produced by Ford, the Smith Auto Co. closed its doors in 1911. A series of rare Smith Auto Co. catalogs are now available on Kansas Memory.

These thirteen illustrated catalogs published in Topeka, Kansas, between 1904-1911 are available in full color. They provide detailed descriptions of different models of vehicles and their component parts, as well as many automobile supplies and accessories.

For more information on the 1908 Pike’s Peak expedition, see Pike’s Peak or Bust.

For photographs and other materials on the Smith Automobile Co., select the categroy Business and Industry - Automotive - Production - Smith

The Kansas State Journal

The year 1861 was an eventful time for the state of Kansas and the nation. The April 18^th issue of the Kansas State Journal proclaimed the start of the Civil War, and at that time, Kansas had been a state for less than three months. The Kansas State Journal, like the majority of other publications in Lawrence during this period, was known for its Unionist affiliation. Josiah C. Trask and Hovey F. Lowman established this “family Republican newspaper” in February of 1861. In the editorial salutatory, they state that “while each of the Free-State journals in the Territory have contributed its full share towards securing our release from political and social thralldom, it cannot be denied that each, to some extent, has fanned the flame of factional strife.”

Learn more about this tumultuous period in Kansas history, and celebrate the 150^th anniversary of statehood by exploring the pages of other Civil War era newspapers such as, the Big Blue Union, the Independent, the Smoky Hill and Republican Union, and the White Cloud Kansas Chief, which are now fully-accessible on the Chronicling America website.

The B-B-Blizzard

The B-B-Blizzard, a single-issue newspaper out of Kinsley, Kansas, was a collaborative effort of stranded train passengers caught in a blizzard in January 1886. Editor F. Weber Benton, with the help of the local Kinsley Graphic and Kinsley Mercury publishers, hoped "to give immortality to events that might otherwise be lost to history."

Find other unique and interesting newspapers online by visiting the Chronicling America website, a collection of digitized newspapers from across the country that gives you the ability to search for keywords within the text. Be sure to follow the most recent digitization efforts of Kansas newspapers at the Kansas Historical Society.

Dust Storm Scrapbook

The magnitude of the dust storms sweeping across southwest Kansas in the mid 1930s was truely unbelievable. In Ness City, Kansas, in 1935, Lillian Foster wrote:

"The idea of a dust scrap book occurred one evening when the 'very worst' storm swooped down upon us. Each storm seemed worse than any previous ones so I decided on newspaper stories and pictures to prove the seriousness of our famous 'black blizzards.'"

Lillian Foster's entire dust storm scrapbook is now available on Kansas Memory.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kansas suffrage

Between 1896 and 1900, the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association (KESA) published four poems and one article by writer and women’s rights advocate Charlotte Perkins Stetson (later Gilman) in their official paper, the Kansas Suffrage Reveille. While Gilman has achieved an exalted position in the cannon of American literature, many of her poems and articles survive today only because libraries and archives preserved copies of obscure little papers like the Reveille. The Kansas Suffrage Reveille is now available on Kansas Memory.

Born in New England in 1860 and descended from the influential Beecher family, Charlotte Perkins married Charles Stetson in 1884. In 1888, after a nervous breakdown, Charlotte took her daughter and moved to California. She published “The Yellow Wall-Paper” in 1892 and a book of poems a year later. In 1900, she married Houghton Gilman.

Gilman’s visit to Kansas in 1896 coincided with the publication of KESAs new monthly paper, which promoted Gilman regularly. Gilman spent most of June in Kansas speaking in Kansas City, Topeka, Holton, Madison, Eureka, Howard, Winfield, Concordia, and Yates Center. From Kansas she traveled to Montreal where she sailed for Liverpool.

In the January 1897 issue of the Reveille, editor Katie Addison noted “Every suffrage club in the state should have Charlotte Perkins Stetson’s book of poems. They are constantly kept at headquarters. 50 cents per copy.” Indeed, the new organ for the KESA regularly featured reports on Gilman (as Charlotte Perkins Stetson) and promoted

her publications which could be purchased from the KESA headquarters.

In 1897, the Kansas Agricultural College in Manhattan (now Kansas State University), offered Gilman a position as a teacher in economics. In her autobiography, Gilman recounts how flattered she was to receive the offer since she had never been to college herself. But she declined the position due to poor health.

A list of Gilman’s writings published in the Kansas Suffrage Reveille under the name Charlotte Perkins Stetson follows:

A woman – in so far as she beholdeth , Vol. I, No. 6, August 1896

Woman Suffrage and the West , Vol. II, No. 4, June 1897

A Prejudice , Vol. III, No. 10, October 1898

Feminine vanity! O ye gods! , Vol. IV, No. 8, August 1899

O, sister woman! You were created man’s equal , Vol. IV, No. 10, September 1899

Kansas Suffrage Reveille

The Kansas Equal Suffrage Association (KESA) helped win voting rights for women in Kansas municipal elections in 1887 and an equal suffrage amendment to the state constitution in 1912, making Kansas the eighth state to allow full suffrage for women.

Between these two victories, a populist movement rose and fell, a progressive reform movement began, and the U.S. declared war on Spain. Meanwhile, KESA continued to organize. From 1896 to 1900, KESA published the Kansas Suffrage Reveille in an effort to improve communication on suffrage issues between the state organization and local suffrage groups.

The fifty-five issues published attempted to unify the efforts of the local auxiliaries by encouraging them to adopt national standards and practices, report their membership and pay dues. It reported on local, state, and national events and organizations. It improved communication between KESA and other state and national organizations. It also organized petitions and letter-writing campaigns, published suffrage poetry and ran a variety of advertisements.

The State Archives and Library division of the Kansas Historical Society holds fifty-three of the original fifty-five issues published. All fifty-three issues of the Kansas Suffrage Reveille are now available on Kansas Memory. A complete text version of this title is being prepared but is not yet available.

For additional sources on KESA choose the category Community Life - Clubs and organizations - Reform/Advocacy - Kansas Equal Suffrage Association. For additional sources on woman’s suffrage in Kansas choose the category Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Suffrage – Women.

Longren aviation photographs

On September 2, 1911, A. K. Longren successfully flew an airplane in a field southeast of Topeka, Kansas. Longren built the aircraft himself in Topeka making him the first person to manufacture within Kansas a successfully-flown aircraft. The complete Longren photo album is now available on Kansas Memory.

Select the category People - Notable Kansans - Longren, Albin K. for additional Longren materials on Kansas Memory. Select the category Business and Industry - Aviation for additional materials on the aviation industry in Kansas.

Finding the Leavenworth Constitution

In 1877, Charles S. Gleed was a young man in his early twenties living in Lawrence, Kansas. He was a student at the University of Kansas and an employee of various newspapers. In January of that year he wrote the secretary of the recently founded Kansas Historical Society (est. 1875), Franklin G. Adams. Gleed stated that he worked for the Kansas Collegiate and was the Kansas correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. He asked Adams to keep him informed of the Society’s activities and new acquisitions so he could report on them in his news articles.

Then, the following May, Gleed wrote an astounding letter:

Franklin G. Adams Esq.

Dear Sir –

I forward to you by to-day’s mail what I suppose to be the original draft of the “Leavenworth Constitution.” I procured it of Mr. J. G. Schmucker of this city who found it in a house once occupied as a residence by Martin F. Conway [president of the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention], corner of New York and Berkeley streets, East Lawrence. This document (as compared with Wilder’s Annals [Annals of Kansas, 1875]) is complete down to the Article on Banks and Currency. The remainder – one article, the Schedule, and the signatures – is torn off.

Mr Schmucker rented the Conway house in 1867, and found at that time a large number of “Pub. Docs,” manuscripts, papers etc., etc., most of which he distributed to persons whom he judged to be most nearly the rightful possessors. He has since kept the Constitution until turning it over to me for the benefit of the State Society.

You will observe by reference to the “Annals”, even if you should have forgotten it yourself, that your own name comes next to Mr. Conway’s [as signatories of the constitution] and that further down the list appears such names as P. B. Plumb, C. H. Branscomb, T. D. Thatcher, S. N. Wood, J. K. Goodin, I. T. Goodnow, Thomas Ewing Jr., James H. Lane, and many others most of whom are unknown to me except by reputation. Possibly you will be able to recognize the chirography [penmanship/handwriting] of some of the articles. If so it will add interest to the scroll.

Hoping to have helped a little in the work of the Society, I remain Very Respctfully,

Charles S. Gleed.

Adams, obviously elated to have received the document, replied on June 16:

Chas. S. Gleed, Esq.,

My Dear Sir:

I have now in the possession of the State Historical Society the original enrolled copy of the Leavenworth Constitution found by you and so considerately and disinterestedly forwarded by you to the Society, some time since, through Hon. Sidney Clarke. Mr. Clarke on reaching Topeka was taken sick, and on recovery was suddenly called away to Washington, which accounts for your not having received acknowledgement sooner. I went last evening and found the document. It is undoubtedly the original enrolled constitution, and a very valuable relic. The grateful thanks of the Society are most certainly due to you for your kindness in placing it among the collections of early Kansas history now being gathered up.

Yours very truly,

F. G. Adams.

At the time of its creation, the separate pages of the Leavenworth Constitution were pasted together and rolled into one long scroll – and it still exists in this state today. And the last two articles, schedule, and signatures are still missing from the original – just as Gleed described in his letter. The original Leavenworth Constitution is now available on Kansas Memory, including a complete transcription. To see all four constitutions drafted for Kansas, select the category Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Government records – Constitutions.

The Leavenworth Constitution was the most radical of the four constitutions drafted for Kansas. It prohibited slavery, allowed black men to vote, and provided for some protection of the rights of women. Kansas voters ratified the Leavenworth Constitution on May 18, 1858 but the U.S. Senate did not act to approve the document. For more information on the Kansas constitutions, see the online exhibit “Willing to Die for Freedom.”

Civil War newspapers

You can now search (for free) a few Civil War-era Kansas newspapers online at the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America website, chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. The Kansas Historical Society digitized the papers with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). This is the first of 12 batches that will become available by June of 2011.

This batch of 6,829 pages includes the following Kansas newspapers: The Oskaloosa Independent
(issues from July 1860-December 1865); White Cloud Kansas Chief (issues from September 1860-July 1872); Weekly Kansas Chief (published in Troy, issues from July 1872-May 1883); Marysville Big Blue Union (issues from March 1862-May 1866); and Smoky Hill and Republican
Union (published in Junction City, issues from September 1861-November 1864).

These particular newspapers were chosen because of their coverage of state and national events leading up to Kansas’ statehood and ultimately, the Civil War. Kansas will commemorate its 150th anniversary of statehood January 29, 2011. The next group of Kansas newspapers is expected to be uploaded to the Chronicling America website in September. In all, the Historical Society will digitize 100,000 pages of Kansas
newspapers during this project.

Take Our Fair Posters Tour

Summer means festivals of music, food, and culture. And there is no older blend of those than Kansas Fairs. I love the sights, sounds, experiences, and smells of the fair. The images on Fair posters are works of art designed to appeal to people like me. Here's a brief sensory tour of some of our Fair posters. After this taster, you can thumb through all our Fair posters on Kansas Memory and learn about the history of Kansas Fairs from our Cool Things article.

THE SOUNDS

The imagery of these posters evoke the sounds that I love to hear at the Fair. I love the way that different types of music overlap as you wander from state to stage and the constant hum of people and activity that create a sense of energy and community. Also, I often get distracted in the exhibit halls by the noises of gadgets and equipment or livestock.

The top image of this poster depicts many sounds of the Fair. You can imagine the conversation of the crowd,the noise of the machine at left, the music of the carousel in the back, the grunts of pigs and whiney of horses at the lower right, and the occasional roar of the crowd from the race track in the background.

The multiple images in this poster provide a wealth of sounds. You can hear the whiney of horses in the central image, and at the left music from a marching band drifts over the fair grounds. The animals at the right moo, baa, and oink. At the top you can imagine all of the sounds of the horse races: the panting of horses, rattle of sulkies, thunder of horse hooves, and shouts of encouragement from thier riders.

THE EXPERIENCES

The Fair is your opportunity to pet animals, play with gadgets, go on carnival rides, and participate in contests. These Fair posters illustrate these participatory aspects of the Fair.

Feeling competitive? This poster emphasizes some of the contests and races you can participate in or watch. But if competition's not your thing, this poster informs you that you can also examine new equipment (at left), ride the carousel (at right), and see animals.

This dynamic poster crams in a lot of Fair experiences. The backdrop features several welcoming exhibition halls. The backdrop also depicts the refreshment tent. Two men in discussion at the left are a reminder that the Fair is a place where business transactions take place. At the right is a small boy awestruck by a large pig. The jockey and his horse at the center allude to the ongoing horse races at the Fair.

THE SMELLS

Ahh... the smell of popcorn, funnel cakes, and roasted meats layered in shimmering waves of summer heat. Even when the sun goes down the air remains heavy with the mingled scents of different foods. Now that's a Fair! There's also the entwined scents of perfumes, sun tan lotions, and bug sprays. Plus, the smell of livestock is just as prevalent today as it was during the first years of the Fair. But it's only been since the early 1900's that you are welcomed at the end of the day by the smell of car exhaust as you sit patiently (or maybe not so patiently) to leave the car park.

The smell of the Fair comes alive in the images from this poster. You can smell the grass of the pasture, the odors of livestock, gusts of dust and sweat from the races, and the belching smoke from equipment. The mouthwatering fragrance of piles of freshly ripened fruit and vegetables and the aroma of food and beverages from a picnic appetize.

This poster tantalizes your taste buds with a pile of fresh fruits and vegetables from the Fair. By including freshly cut melons, the artist conjures the smell of melon musk. The glossiness of the grapes makes them appear freshly washed and juicy. Presenting the produce heaped together represents abundance and plenty.

THE SIGHTS

"Step right up! You won't believe your eyes." I love all of the exciting things you can see at the Fair. There are elaborate displays and an assortment of contests and competitions. These posters try to inform and excite us about the things we can see at the Fair.

The literal centerpiece of this poster is the elaborate multi tiered Wheat and Produce Windmill sculpture. By depicting people examining new mechanical and agricultural equipment,and animals the image informs you that you can do the same. A sulkie race can be observed in the background and the image also shows that you can purchase things such as dairy products and soda. In addition, you can see and hear music from the concert band in the balcony and by ascending the stairway in the back to the balcony you can get a bird's eye view of the exhibits and see people as well as be seen by others.

The message imbedded in this poster is that the Fair is a grand visual feast. The imagery evokes Ancient Rome by positioning the by like a charioteer as he enters the fair's triumphal archway. This imagery is further supported by the flags of the race track in the background suggesting a Roman Coliseum. Tall structures like the smokestack and windmill as well as the elaborate knotting of the horses' tails create the impression that the Fair is a grand triumphal tribute.

This informative poster attempts to encapsulate the sights of the Fair. New agricultural equipment surrounds the race track while female horse riders, sulkies, and bicycles compete in races. Within the track are livestock, carriages, and a ball game. Above the Fair floats a hot air balloon complete with flags.

County Browsing

No matter where you live in Kansas, from the High Plains to the Ozark Plateau, from the Flint Hills to the Arkansas River lowlands, Kansas Memory hosts unique historic photos and documents on your county or region.

From the Kansas county map on the home page (kansasmemory.org) click on a county to see the current related materials.

The following are materials we have recently added to Kansas Memory that represent many Kansas counties:

1. County atlases or plat books (1900-1913) representing 80 counties

2. County organization records (1861-1912) representing 72 counties

3. Fair posters (1870s-1920s) representing 50 counties

4. Railroad depots (1860s - 1970s) representing 75 counties

We have also added significant photograph collections for the following counties:

1. Gray (Gray County and photographs - 287 images)

2. McPherson (G. C. Dresher Collection - 326 images)

3. Russell (L. W. Halbe Collection - 1531 images)

4. Sherman (Richard Gannon Collection - 87 images)

5. Wyandotte (Urbin I. Rudell Collection - 111 images)

We are currently working on photograph collections representing Douglas, Franklin, and Marshall counties.

Teacher workshop

The Kansas Memory two-day teacher workshop is sponsored by Security Benefit.

June 16 - 17 - Kansas Historical Society, Topeka

June 23 - 24 - ESSDACK, Hutchinson

- Learn how to use primary sources from Kansas Memory

- Create a lesson plan for your classroom

- Receive free curriculum materials

Grades 7 through 12 Kansas and U.S. history

No registration fee

Limited to 20 teachers per site

College credit through Baker University

One graduate credit hour - $50

To view a tentative workshop schedule

Some travel stipends available to participants more than 100 miles from workshop site.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops and ideas for a lesson topic

To see specific items from Kansas Memory selected for seventh and 11th grade Kansas history standards go to: kansasmemory.org, select "Teachers" from the main menu, and turn on the "teacher mode."

Lesson plans are due two weeks after the workshop. Selected lesson plans will be placed on the Historical Society's web site, kshs.org

How to apply

Write a 300-word essay describing where and what you teach, how you currently use primary sources in the classroom, and how you will benefit from this workshop. Deadline for submitting applications is May 17. You will be notified by email by May 21.

If you have questions or to submit your application essay, please contact Marcia Fox at mfox@kshs.org, 785-272-8681, ext. 416.

Support for this workshop is provided by Security Benefit.

Sherman County photographs

Eighty-seven photographs by an unknown photographer emerged in Sherman County, Kansas, in the early 1980s. Richard Gannon found the photographs in a building on his property and donated copies of the photos to the Kansas Historical Society. The photos reveal an intimate portrait of farming and ranching in Sherman County in the first two decades of the twentieth century. See the entire Gannon photo collection on Kansas Memory.

The photographs include images of sod houses and other residences, barns and outbuildings, many children and farm and ranching families, tractors and other farm machinery, horses and cattle, people doing farm chores, cowboys, and early automobiles and motorcycles. The John L. Veselik residence near Ruleton appears in many of the photographs and likely bears some relation to the photographer.

For additional materials on Sherman County select category Places—Counties—Sherman. Or browse our Kansas county map for materials on your own county.

Family History on TV?

Posted by museum curator Laurel Fritzsch

NBC and PBS have taken a risk that people are interested in family history. NBC’s new show “Who Do You Think You Are?” traces the family histories of TV and film celebrities. The show is similar to PBS’s “Faces of America” which also traces the family histories of famous Americans. The major difference between these shows is that NBC and PBS attract different audiences. PBS’s audience base tends to be predisposed to enjoy history programs, whereas NBC’s audience base is not. By taking advantage of people’s interest in celebrity news and gossip, NBC hopes that viewers with a desire for more details of celebrities’ lives will be attracted to the show.

This is great! Airing a show about family history on NBC exposes a wider variety of people to how interesting history can be. Those viewers could become interested in pursing their own family history and maybe even watch other history based reality shows.

On the other hand, these shows often don’t depict the leg work involved in digging up family history. There is no one magic document with all the information in it, and everything you want to know isn’t contained within ancestry.com. But isn’t putting together a story from all the scraps of evidence you find what makes researching family history interesting? Following each lead; from census to marriage record to military record, etc. allows you to experience the thrill of the chase, and occasionally the frustrations.

TV shows about family history may veil the hard work involved but I think the benefits outweigh any concerns. I don’t know if NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” is successful, but I hope that more networks will follow their lead and take the chance that the majority of people in the U.S. are interested in well presented history. If they do, we’ll start to see more history based reality shows on network TV.

While the Kansas Historical Society’s online archive Kansas Memory does not host genealogical sources for the most part (like census and vital records), it does include great sources for fleshing out your family history. County plat maps show the names of landholders, town plats, and patron directories. Business and residential directories include information on local residents, businesses, clubs, and organizations. Photographs offer visual documentation of many Kansas towns and rural communities. Also, see the KSHS (Kansas Historical Society) genealogy page for more information on tracing your Kansas ancestors.

What do you think? Will the “People Magazine” crowd watch these types of shows? Could history based reality TV shows on networks lead to an increased national interest in history and heritage? Leave a comment here or on our facebook page.

Carry Nation papers

Wielding bricks, hammers, and hatchets, Carry Nation and her brigade of prohibitionist “smashers” attacked illegal saloons in an effort to build a movement against such "joints." In Kiowa, Wichita, and Topeka (Kansas), Nation and her followers smashed saloon mirrors, windows, bars, and bottles and forced state and local leaders to confront anti-liquor laws that had been ignored for decades. But the force of her words could be just as blunt. Like the blow of a hatchet, Nation’s unequivocal demands broke through gender stereotypes and smashed traditional notions of public decency. Her fight to enforce prohibition would ultimately foretell the importance of women’s suffrage in electoral politics. The Carry Nation papers are now available on Kansas Memory.

Nation’s demands were often aimed at politicians. Jailed in Wichita in 1900, Nation wrote Kansas Governor William Stanley demanding he “please come at once” and claiming that she was “restrianned [sic] unlawfully of my liberty.” From a Topeka jail in 1901, she similarly wrote the Kansas attorney general stating “Now you come to see me. We have plenty of evidence against the Moser brothers.” And on a visit to Governor Stanley’s office, Nation’s forcefulness led Stanley to retort "You are a woman. But a woman must know a woman's place. They can't come in here and raise this kind of disturbance."

But if Nation’s public words reflect her saloon “smashing,” her private words reveal a thoughtful inner life. The Carrie Nation papers on Kansas Memory include considerable private correspondence between Nation, her family, and her supporters. A partial diary also reveals her inner thoughts, concerns, and economic and family challenges that partially motivated her public campaign against the saloon.

See the category People - Notable Kansans - Nation, Carry Amelia,1846-1911 on Kansas Memory for additional sources. For more information on prohibition in Kansas, see the category Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Prohibition and temperance.

If you have a favorite Carry Nation story, please share it by leaving a comment here or on our facebook page.

Irish Immigration

Posted by museum curator Laurel Fritzsch:

In 1870 the majority of immigrants to Kansas came from the British Isles, and particularly Ireland. In 1871 Thomas Butler, an Irish priest in Leavenworth, wrote this pamphlet encouraging Irish people to move to Kansas. Read the entire pamphlet on Kansas Memory.

The Irish have always immigrated to the U.S. to escape extreme poverty and a lack of opportunity. Irish immigration exponentially increased, however, as a result of the Great Potato Famine between 1845 and 1849. The impact of the famine on Kansas’ Irish population is documented by Father Butler in his discussion of the history of Catholicism in Kansas. He says that Catholic churches in the state increased from three in 1854 to forty-five in 1871.

In his pamphlet Butler appeals largely to the practical reasons to move to Kansas. Butler writes a favorable description of Kansas and emphasizes its economic, health, and cultural opportunities. He details how immigrants can acquire land and describes life on the prairie. He also describes the health benefits of Kansas’ climate, and comforts prospective immigrants with descriptions of well-established Irish communities in Kansas- particularly those in Leavenworth. Although Father Butler’s pamphlet focuses on the Irish in Kansas, it also provides a snapshot of the state in 1871.

Between 1873 and 1896 an economic depression in Britain and Ireland would have given Butler’s pamphlet particular relevance for Irish immigrants. Ironically, the depression resulted in part from cheaper and better grain being imported from the U.S. that was likely grown by Irish Americans.

If you’re looking for an easy and enjoyable way to learn more about Irish history from this time period check out my top three books about Irish history below.

- “Trinity” by Leon Uris tells the story of Ireland from the potato famine of the 1840s to the Easter Rising of 1916 through the lives of three fictional families: native Irish, Unionist, and English.

- If you want to follow the history of Ireland beyond 1916 you can try the Irish Century Series by Morgan Llewelyn. The series covers the history of Ireland from 1916 to the end of the 20^thcentury though the fictional friends and family of Ned Halloran.

- “Brendan’s Voyage” by Tim Severin tells the real life story of Irishman Tim Severin’s attempt to verify rumors that a medieval Irish monk (Brendan) sailed across the Atlantic a thousand years before Columbus by building and sailing a boat identical to Brendan’s. It’s part history part adventure travelogue.

If you have any book suggestions on Irish History we’d love to hear them. So leave a comment here or on our facebook page.

Irish History and Film

Posted by musuem curator Laurel Fritzsch:

Irish immigrants and their descendants’ devotion to Ireland has created an enduring sense of Irish identity throughout the world. In no case is this more apparent than in the U.S. whose celebration of St. Patrick’s includes the saying “everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!”

Most Irish immigrants who settled in Kansas came between 1870 and 1900. Irish already settled in Kansas, like Leavenworth priest Thomas Butler, often encouraged their fellow countrymen to move to Kansas over other U.S. states. Read Butler's pamphlet on Kansas Memory. The Irish typically worked on the railroad, as farmers, and as coal miners.

Most notably through food, music and politics, first, second and third generation Irish Americans maintained ties to Ireland and influenced U.S. culture and politics. Writing in 1871, Father Butler writes that:

" [Irish Americans] have learned many of the traditions of 'the old land' from their Irish mothers, and their American love of Liberty fills them with enthusiasm for the welfare of Ireland."

During Ireland’s War of Independence (which became the civil war that continues today in Northern Ireland) many Americans provided financial support. Also, many Kansans with Irish ancestry traveled to Ireland to reconnect to their heritage. One Kansan who traveled to Dublin in the 1930s was newspaper editor William Allen White.

St. Patrick’s Day, Irish music fests, and films about Ireland continue to make Irish cultural identity a part of American cultural identity. So if you’re looking to celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day by settling into your couch instead of dancing the night away, tuck into any of my following top 5 favorite Irish films.

Your feedback is welcome, so if you want to argue for or against something on my list, please leave a comment here or on our facebook page.

1) The Wind That Shakes The Barley (PG-13)

This dramatic film follows two brothers first during the brutal fighting that occurs during War of Independence (1919-1921), and the controversial partial independence peace deal offered by Great Britain. The deal would be equivalent to the British offering independence for 7 of America’s 13 colonies. After the long years of intense fighting portrayed during the first portion of the film do the brothers decide that independence for part of Ireland is better than none and support peace, or that there should be independence for all or none and keep fighting? The acting, setting, and plot are all fantastic, and the film will help you understand how the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were created.

2) Waking Ned Devine (PG)

This comedy captures small town Irish life as townspeople cope with the death of local lotto winner Ned Divine. I know that doesn’t sound very funny but trust me, this film will get you laughing.

3) Bloody Sunday (R)

This drama was filmed in documentary style and charts the progress a peaceful protest march in Derry, Northern Ireland 1972 from the night before the march to the night after it. It nicely illustrates the confusion that characterized events during the “troubles.”

4) An Everlasting Piece (R)

This comedy is set in Belfast during the “troubles” in Northern Ireland. It is the story of a Protestant and Catholic who attempt to sell toupees together in Belfast. It does a nice job of capturing the troubles in Belfast while avoiding being depressing.

5) Omagh (PG-13)

This drama tells the story of a” Real IRA” car bomb that killed 31 people in 1998 in the small market town of Omagh, Northern Ireland. Shot in a documentary style, it is centered around a father's search for justice. It is a nice counterpoint to the film “In the Name of the Father” which tells the story of people wrongly accused of a bombing.

HE WAS ONCE A SLAVE

Benjamin "Pap" Singleton was an escaped slave who returned to Tennessee after emancipation and helped promote the migration of African Americans from the south to Kansas after the Civil War. Because of the efforts of Singleton and others like him, Kansas became a mecca in the late 1870s for former slaves who were unable to acquire land and make a living in the South. These migrants were called “Exodusters.” Singleton testified before the U.S. Senate on April 17, 1880, that he had helped organize the migration of nearly 7500 blacks to Kansas, mostly by circulating flyers throughout the south like the one pictured here, which is preserved in the Singleton scrapbook at the Kansas Historical Society (see our March 20, 2009 Kansas Memory blog for more information).

After the "Exodus" ended, Singleton lived for many years in Kansas City, Missouri, and was honored for his work to improve the lives of black people. It is unclear why, but over time, 1892 became accepted as his year of death, though the exact date and place was unknown. Fortunately, the recent digitization of vital records at the Missouri State Archives has made it much easier to locate early death information for Kansas City for genealogical and historical research. Those records show that Singleton actually lived until February 17, 1900. A search of the the Kansas City Star newspaper on microfilm at the Kansas Historical Society yielded this notice published on Sunday, February 18th:

"HE WAS ONCE A SLAVE
Death of an Old Negro Who Once Belonged to General Shelby.
Benjamin Singleton, a former slave, who always boasted that he was once owned by General Jo Shelby's father, died yesterday afternoon at 923 West Eighth street, at the age of 91 years. When Singleton was a boy he rode horses at country races. He was never a good slave because he was always running away from his master. After the war he was instrumental in getting a band of negroes to leave the South for the Northern states. He is said to have written a book of his slave days which is in the possession of the Kansas Historical society."

We're assuming that the "book" the newspaper mentions is the scrapbook that Singleton donated. And we're hoping, now that the date and place of Singleton's death is known, the mystery of where his grave is located can be solved as well.

Wild Bill Hickok family collection

In the 1980s, Ethel Ann Hickok, the last surviving niece of James Butler (“Wild Bill”) Hickok, donated fifty-four family letters and five photographs to the Kansas Historical Society. She donated two letters to historian Joseph G. Rosa. In total, the fifty-six letters document the adventures of the Hickok children in California, Kansas, Missouri and Dakota Territory among other places, and the Hickok family in Troy Grove, Illinois, between 1851 and 1904.

James Butler Hickok, eventually known as “Wild Bill” Hickok, is one of the most legendary and elusive figures in the history of the American West. Hickok’s legendary status as the West’s preeminent scout, lawman, gunfighter and gambler was built as much on myth as it was on fact. Wild Bill wrote five of the letters in this collection and many others give accounts of his activities, death and burial. Read the entire Hickok family collection with transcriptions on Kansas Memory.

For more on Wild Bill Hickok select the category People - Notable Kansans - Hickok, James Butler, 1837-1876 in Kansas Memory.

Wolf photo collection

At the end of the nineteenth century, photographer Henry L. Wolf created a photo portrait of Southwest Kansas that documents the farming culture in and around Garden City in Finney County. From rural fairs to the native prairie, Wolf’s photographs capture the life of this farming community against a stark landscape that Wolf himself described as “raw.” Select Collections - Photograph - Wolf, Henry L. to see the Wolf photo collection on Kansas Memory.

The son of an itinerant Baptist minister, Henry L. Wolf grew up and learned the photographer’s trade in Illinois. He moved to Eastern Kansas with his wife and two children in 1883 and for a time operated a traveling studio from town to town. In 1888, he moved his family to the sand hills south of Garden City where they farmed. Wolf opened a photo studio in Garden City that he operated with his son Max for thirteen years. He closed the studio in the early 1900s and the family moved to Manhattan, Kansas.

Kansas Historical Society staff scanned these images from a collection of 207 glass plate negatives donated to the Society in 1971 by Mrs. Max Wolf, the wife of Henry's son. Cracks noticeable in the images show where the emulsion is separating from the negative's glass base.

For additional Henry L. Wolf photographs select the category Collections - Photograph - Wolf, Henry L.

John Brown, Jr. collection

A recently acquired collection of letters written by John Brown, Jr. to his wife Wealthy Brown is now available on Kansas Memory. The thirty-three letters dating from 1861-1863 document his service as a Captain of Company K, 1st Kansas Cavalry (later the 7th Kansas Cavalry) during the early years of the civil war. Complete transcriptions of the letters are also available.

The letters are very descriptive of camp life. Among other things, Brown also discusses the problems of determining local residents' loyalty in the war on the Kansas Missouri border; he writes that he sent ten black soldiers to save a slave mother and children whose owner was planning to take them further south; and he describes the execution of a soldier named Driscol from Company H who stabbed another soldier, was court martialed, and shot.

Several of the letters include encrypted messages written in a numerical code or cipher. In his March 11, 1862, letter Brown prefaced the code by saying “I want to write you a few words in figures.” So far we have not discovered a key to the code.

For more information see the John Brown, Jr. collection. Additional materials on John Brown, Jr. are available on Kansas Memory by selecting the category People—Notable Kansans—Borwn, John, Jr.

Rudell photo collection

Around 1907, Bonner Springs, Kansas, seemed poised to be the next great health resort, rivaling the likes of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Or so some thought. City promoters were busy organizing the Bonner Springs Hotel and Bath House Co. and they hired a young photographer, Urbin Rudell, to help promote the idea. While Rudell sought to showcase the town’s abundance of natural remedies: pure air, healing mineral waters, romantic surroundings, and a wealth of foliage, he also captured the city’s humble beginnings and industrial development. When a fire ravaged Bonner Springs in 1908 and the proposed bath house was never built, the dreams of a health resort eventually disappeared, but Rudell’s photos did not. The Rudell photograph collection is now available on Kansas Memory.

Urbin Rudell (1878-1966) was born in Lanape, Leavenworth County, Kansas, in 1878 and later moved to Wyandotte County where he attended school. He started taking photographs when he was about 15 years old and was largely self-taught. He moved to Bonner Springs in 1907 and carried mail between the post office and Union Pacific depot for more than twenty years.

Urbin’s daughters, Mildred Bundy and Ella Mae Mitchell, preserved more than 100 of their father’s glass plate negatives. They donated the collection to the Kansas Historical Society in 2007. While Rudell’s photographic career spanned more than fifty years, the Rudell collection only includes photos taken between 1907-1912.

The Urbin Rudell photo collection is available on Kansas Memory. For more information on Wyandotte County choose the category Places - Counties - Wyandotte.

Halbe photo collection

Working at his father's candy shop in 1908, 15-year-old L. W. Halbe of Dorrance, Kansas, discovered a small box camera among the shelves. Curious, he began to take pictures and thus embarked upon a four-year stint as a commercial photographer. In the process, Halbe produced a visual record of rural and small-town life in the pre-World War I Midwest that has few equals.

From 1908 to 1912, Halbe created more than 1500 images of agriculture, businesses, machinery, homes, recreation, and people in and around Dorrance, resulting in a remarkable portrait of Kansas during the transition from the 19th to the 20th century. KSHS staff have scanned each image directly from the original galss plate negatives making Halbe's entire photograh collection available on Kansas Memory for the first time.

The Halbe collection on Kansas Memory is available at L. W. Halbe collection.

Mosley Donation

If you are interested in the Civil War, you will want to look at a pristine tintype of Sergeant John P. Mosley. He was a member of Company D, 13th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry and later assigned to duty with the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry. While serving with the 2nd Kansas Colored, he was wounded, left on the field, and taken prisoner by the Confederates at the Battle of Jenkins Ferry, Arkansas. Mosley died at Princeton, Arkansas, while a prisoner of war on May 9, 1864. Also, accompanying the tintype is a letter written by John M. Cain, Captain Co. G and formerly 1st Lieutenant Co. B, 83rd US Colored Infantry, late 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry to Charles L. Mosley, McFall, Gentry County, Missouri, reporting the death of Sergeant John P. Mosley. The original tintype and letter are in the State Archives & Library Division.

Allen Mosley, Prior Lake, MN, John Mosley’s great great grandson donated the tintype and letter. The two items were passed down through the family, and Allen Mosley received them from his mother.

I am the acquisitions co-coordinator, and I work with people interested in donating materials to the State Archives & Library. Everybody has a story to tell, and I want to hear about your family’s materials that relate to Kansas.

Nancy Sherbert

“Libraries are not made, they grow”. Augustine Birrell

Blind Tigers

In 1908, the Wyandotte [Kansas] city court arrested and convicted the state’s Assistant Attorney General C. W. Trickett for unlawfully receiving fees in exchange for services. Many believed Kansas breweries and saloonkeepers conspired against Mr. Trickett in this case for his enforcement of the prohibitory law on intoxicating liquor. Attorney General Fred Jackson agreed. By overturning the conviction, Jackson signaled the beginning of a new, though temporary, chapter in the ongoing struggle for prohibition in which laws long ignored would be enforced and the “blind tigers” (illegal saloons) once allowed to flourish would be closed. A prohibition era Brewery Album is now available on Kansas Memory.

Fred Jackson’s crackdown on illegal liquor marked a clear break from the past. Although Kansas was the first state to pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors in 1880, the law was only loosely enforced. Carry Nation’s infamous hatchet crusades beginning in 1900 sought greater enforcement of the laws and contributed to a growing intolerance of saloon culture that led to additional state regulations and national prohibition by 1920.

The Brewery Album held by the Kansas Historical Society provides a rare look at some of these "blind tigers" and the liquor and beer culture in northeast Kansas during prohibition under state law. W. R. Lafferty of Oakland, California, donated the album in 1970.

An interior view (upstairs) of the Hall of Fame in Topeka with "Fritz" Durien and Bob Hensler.

Front view of the Hall of Fame after Fritz [Durien] went to Germany and a pop stand was started, Topeka.

Fritz Durien and his warehouse treasury in his Hall of Fame, Topeka.

Returning empty kegs was an every day scene when the joints were open.

The John Walruf Brewery at Lawrence was the last of the big brewery interests in Kansas to fight prohibition.

For more sources on the prohibition era in Kansas, select the category Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Prohibition and Temperance.

Big Dam Foolishness

Family historians often visit Kansas looking for their ancestor's homestead. The lure of cheap or free land guaranteed that many families had ancestors who lived in Kansas in the 19th century, though they might not have stayed long. One day, I helped a family go through land records to pinpoint the location of great-grandfather Johnson's 40 acres near Randolph, Kansas. We located the land on an old plat atlas of Riley County, Standard Atlas of Riley County, 1909 then went to a modern road atlas for directions and found, instead, a big lake--a reservoir called Tuttle Creek.

Nearly all the original surface water in Kansas is in the form of creeks and rivers. After the record-breaking floods of 1951, the Army Corps of Engineers proceeded with a plan to build a network of major reservoirs on rivers across Kansas and other Missouri River basin states, for flood control and to hold water that can be released during the dry summers to artificially raise the river levels for barge shipping. From 1948 to 1981 the Army Corps completed 21 major dams on Kansas waterways, drastically altering the landscape that the 19th century farmers had homesteaded. Tuttle Creek alone covered 12,350 acres

Construction of the Tuttle Creek dam began in 1952 and the government began acquiring the surrounding farmland. The project faced heavy opposition from local landowners. It displaced 3000 people and 10 towns: Stockdale, Randolph, Winkler, Cleburne, Irving, Blue Rapids, Shroyer, Garrison, Barrett, and Bigelow. This Big Dam Foolishness Sign posted in Randolph, Kansas and this letter, written by Ruby M. Johnson to Governor Arn in July 1951, illustrate the unsuccessful local opposition to the dam. The dam began full operation July 1, 1962.

Governor Hayden interviews

Former Kansas Governor Mike Hayden discusses his childhood, military service, and Kansas politics in two interviews conducted by Bob Beatty and Mark Peterson of the Political Science Department, Washburn University, Topeka.

The video interview took place at Cedar Crest in Topeka on November 24, 2003.

The audio interview was conducted in Topeka on September 29, 2008.

For more interviews with former Kansas governors, select the categories Collections - Audio-visual and Government and Politics - State Government.

Benjamin Singleton's scrapbook

The mass migration of African Americans from southern states to Kansas at the end of Reconstruction (1877) is commonly known as the Exoduster movement. To many migrants, promoter and organizer Benjamin “Pap” Singleton [1809-1892], of Tennessee, fathered the migration. On March 26, 1889, Singleton donated his scrapbook on the movement to the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS). At that time Singleton was living in Kansas City, Missouri. While this book has been called the “Singleton scrapbook” for more than a century, in its current form the book is not entirely of Singleton’s making. This post will explain why. The complete Singleton scrapbook is now available on Kansas Memory.

According to KSHS accession records, the scrapbook contained fifty-nine pages and was described as the “scrapbook of Benjamin Singleton, the originator of the Negro exodus to Kansas, containing much information relative to the immigration, 1878- .” In 1950, KSHS microfilmed the scrapbook to ensure its preservation and improve access to it. Sometime between 1889 and 1950, additional materials were added to the scrapbook and the whole was given a new binding. Most of the additional materials did not come from Singleton. Accession numbers written on items at the time of their acquisition provide clues to the origins of these additional items. Eight items included as part of the scrapbook today were donated prior to 1889 by other donors (not Singleton). One additional item came from Singleton earlier in 1883. An acquisitions calendar follows:

1. 1879, April 3. Alonzo De Frantz (also De France) donates seven circulars of the Tennessee Real Estate & Homestead Association. One item from this collection was later included as an insert in the Singleton scrapbook.

The 1880 U. S. census shows that De Frantz was a thirty-five year old mulatto born in Mississippi with a mother from Ohio and a father from France. He was a barber in Topeka with a wife and three children.

2. 1880, March 24. Frank Root donates seventy-eight miscellaneous circulars and handbills. Five items from this collection were later included as inserts in the Singleton scrapbook.

Frank A. Root was a Kansas newspaper publisher and historian. In 1880 he was living in Topeka. A forty-two year old white, Root was born in New York and lived with a wife and five children. Among the newspapers Root published were the Atchison Daily Free Press, Waterville Telegraph, Seneca Courier, Holton Express, Kansas Farmer, and North Topeka Times.

3. 1880, March 30. Alonzo De Frantz again donates four Tennessee emigration circulars. Two of these circulars were later included as inserts in the Singleton scrapbook.

4. 1883, July 21. Benjamin Singleton donates two posters advertising a celebration of his seventy-fourth birthday in Hartzell Park, Topeka. One poster was later included in the Singleton scrapbook. Part of that item appears to be missing.

5. 1889, March 26. Singleton donates his original scrapbook.

For more information on Benjamin Singleton see Exoduster Flier. Additional materials on the Exoduster movement are available on Kansas Memory by selecting the category People -- African Americans -- Exodusters.

New feature: search-browse feeds

By subscribing to a category or search feed, you can now receive updates of new content on a specific subject.

First, conduct a word search or category browse that returns the results you want.

Then click the RSS icon in the dialog box located above your search results.

Last, select a feed reader from the subscription menu and click “Subscribe Now.”

Any new content added to Kansas Memory that satisfies your query will automatically appear on your feed. Reviewing your feed periodically from your favorite feed reader, web browser, or mobile-device will keep you abreast of new digital collections relevant to your research.

Kansas emergency relief movie

Kansas Governor Harry Woodring created the Kansas Federal Relief Committee in July of 1932 to obtain and administer federal emergency loans made available to states through Herbert Hoover’s Emergency Relief and Construction Act of 1932. President Franklin Roosevelt expanded on this act with the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) in 1933, leading the Kansas committee to change its name to the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee (KERC). Under the direction of Kansas’s new governor, Alf Landon, the KERC managed direct and work relief programs in Kansas including emergency education, transient relief, rural rehabilitation, drought relief, and a slew of public works projects including the construction of farm ponds and lakes, and the renovation and construction of public buildings, roads, and quarries. A movie made by the KERC in 1936 to highlight its accomplishments is now available on Kansas Memory as the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee accomplishments movie.

Chapter 11 documents women's work projects including the Pittsburg Sewing Rooms, the Wabaunsee African American Ladies' Exhibit, the Wichita Weaving Institute, and the Leather Coat Factory in Kansas City. This chapter lasts eight minutes.

Chapter 4 documents the creation of lakes through the water conservation program including the Bourbon County Lake, Paola City Lake, Atchison County Lake; Whiting City Lake, Holton City Lake, Wellington City Lake, Jetmore State Lake, Pleasanton City Lake, Anthony City Lake, Graham County Lake, Decatur County Lake, Yates Center City Reservoir, and Woodson County Mission Lake. This chapter is divided into two clips and lasts twenty-five minutes.

Chapter 6 documents transient services including the Eskridge Transient Camp, Wabaunsee County; and the Gardner Transient Camp, and Transient Hospital, Johnson County. This chapter is divided into two clips and lasts twenty minutes.

Chapter 12 documents recreational projects including parks in Wichita, Topeka, Manhattan, Chanute, Galena, Independence, Sterling, and Kansas City, and the Oswego Swimming Pool, Paola Athletic Field, and Wichita stadium. This chapter is divided into two clips and lasts fifteen minutes.

Chapter 5 documents the creation of farm ponds and shows the Elrick Smith farm in Barton County; the H.B. Stout and F.L. Oliver farms in Harper County; the Earl Davis farm in Stevens County; and the F. T. Ashcraft farm in Kingman County. This chapter lasts two minutes.

Additional materials on the New Deal in Kansas are available by selecting the category Thematic Time Period—Great Depression and Dust Bowl, 1929-1941. For more information on specific relief projects see the KERC bulletins Public Welfare Service in Kansas. For a history of the New Deal in Kansas see Peter Fearon’s “Kansas History and the New Deal Era,” Kansas History 30 (Autumn 2007): 192-223.

Peffer's scrapbook

In May of 1912, the famed ex-Populist senator from Kansas, William Peffer, lay on a couch in Christ’s Hospital, Topeka, Kansas, dictating to a stenographer. With only a short time to live (he would die on October 6), Peffer was combating negative portrayals of the Populist movement by recording the “true” history of Populism for posterity. But his attempts to dispel misconceptions of the agrarian revolt stand in contrast to his efforts to preserve caricatures of the movement. Through scrapbooking, Peffer helped to preserve the very political cartoons that misrepresented him and his party in the colorful pages of the satirical Puck (Cleveland-Democrat) and Judge (Republican) magazines. Volume two of Peffer’s scrapbook is now available on Kansas Memory. For additional material on the Populist Party in Kansas, select the category Government and Politics - Reform and Protest – Populism.

Elected to the U.S. Senate by Kansas on a Populist Party ticket, William A. Peffer served only one term from March 1891 to March 1897. Peffer collected at least enough colorful political cartoons to fill three books. The cartoons appeared primarily in satirical weeklies such as Puck and Judge and most of them were published during his term in the senate. William’s son Douglas M. Peffer donated the first volume of Peffer's scrapbook to the Kansas Historical Society in 1921. Douglas donated two additional volumes in 1933 shortly before his February 1934 death in Frezno, California.

Victor Gillam’s “A Mighty Poor Exchange: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous” laments the exchange of political giants like William McKinley and George Edmunds for prairie populists like Peffer and “sockless” Jerry Simpson. Published in Judge, April 25, 1891.

Bernhard Gillam’s “Most Ripe” shows James Campbell, Shelby Cullom, Russell Alger, David Hill, President Cleveland, Arthur Gorman, and William Peffer salivating over the 1892 presidency. Published in Judge August 8, 1891.

C. J. Taylor’s “The ‘Peanut’ Hagenbeck and his ‘Senatorial Courtesy’ Animal Show” depicts Peffer in a circus ring commanded by New York Senator David B. Hill with other Senators who were against President Cleveland’s attempt to lower protective tariffs. Puck centerfold published February 7, 1894.

Volume two of Peffer’s scrapbook is now available on Kansas Memory. For additional materials on William Peffer and Kansas populism, select the category Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Populism. For more information on the Populist Party in Kansas read An Essay on Populism.

Sources:

Roger Fischer, “Rustic Rasputin: William A. Peffer in Color Cartoon Art, 1891-1899,” Kansas History 11 Winter (1988-1989): 222-239.

“Loses Legs to Write History; Ex-Senator Peffer, Populist, Gains a Few Weeks and Works On,” Special to the New York Times (June 1, 1912): 22.

Strike!

In 1919, A. M. Fury managed the Robinson Grain Company in Palco, a small town in northwest Kansas. On December 18, he wrote Kansas governor Henry Allen of Topeka to say that his threshing operation would cease if he did not receive a shipment of coal soon. Many such letters reached the governor’s office that December from city mayors, teachers, and other residents all across the state. Just weeks before, 10,000 coal miners in southeast Kansas went on strike seeking better working conditions. Failed negotiations led the state to seize the mines and raise an army of volunteers and National Guardsmen to operate them. While the strike underscored the state’s dependence on coal and the mostly foreign-born labor force that mined it, it also led to the creation of an arbitration board that enraged labor organizations across the country and drew opposition from the US Supreme Court. Additional sources on the southeast Kansas coal strike of 1919 are available on Kansas Memory by selecting the category Business and Industry--Mining and quarying--Coal.

In this letter, Kansas governor Henry Allen of Topeka writes Adjutant General Charles Martin instructing him to take whatever means necessary to operate the coal mines in southeast Kansas with voluntary labor.

This document includes the names of some of the men reporting to work in the southeast Kansas coal fields during the state takeover of the mines.

In this letter, Colonel Hoisington, of the 4th Infantry, Kansas National Guard, informs the Kansas Adjutant General of supplies and costs related to the use of volunteers during the 1919 coal strike in southeast Kansas.

This photograph shows a national guardsman patrolling a southeast Kansas coal mine during the coal strike of 1919.

A.M. Fury of the Robinson Grain Company in Palco, Kansas, writes to Governor Henry Allen, of Topeka, requesting a car of threshing coal.

J. J. Bulger, counselor for the Wichita Trades and Labor Assembly, writes state senator O. W. Sparks, of Galena, Kansas, concerning pending legislation that would create an industrial court to mediate relations between labor and industry.

See Business and Industry--Mining and quarying--Coal for additional sources on the 1919 southeast Kansas coal strike and coal mining in Kansas generally. See Business and Industry--Labor or Government and Politics--Reform and Protest--Labor movement for additional sources on labor history in Kansas.

The Governor's Records

The archives of Kansas governors’ records held by the State Archives at the Kansas Historical Society are a great resource for primary sources on important issues in Kansas history. The Kansas State Archives houses the records of nearly all Kansas governors – a collection of materials totaling thousands of boxes. When compared to the collection's total volume, only a very small number of these records are currently available on Kansas Memory, but that number is steadily growing.

A few of these records have been featured in previous blog posts, like the Exoduster letters kept by Governor John St. John, the “slacker” file kept by Governor Arthur Capper, or the record of death sentences kept by governors from 1872-1908. To browse the many additional documents from governors’ records already available on Kansas Memory, select the category Collections - State Archives - Governor's Records. A few examples follow.

An anonymous Kansas resident writes the wife of Governor John Anderson Jr. of Topeka concerning a proposed atheist colony near Stockton, Kansas. The author expresses her opposition to the colony and regards it as a plot of communist Russia. August 20, 1963. Governor's records, Anderson, Box 37, Folder 7.

Governor Andrew F. Schoeppel of Topeka announces that Axis prisoners of war held at the "Camp Phillips Internment Camp" are available as laborers for farm or construction work. May 18, 1943. Governor's records, Schoepple, Box 64, Folder 6.

Robert W. Brown of Hill City, Kansas, writes Governor John Carlin of Topeka concerning Carlin's veto of a bill reinstating capital punishment. Brown expresses his disappointment with the governor's veto. April 4, 1979. Governor's records, Carlin, Box "Constituent Serices."

John L. Minck of Palo Alto, California, writes the Kansas Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, concerning the Board's decision to remove the teaching of evolution from the state's science curriculum. August 24, 1999. Governor's records, Graves, Box 7 (Constituent Services: Issues), Folder "Evolution."

The Southwest Regional Director of President Herbert Hoover's Employment Commission, J. F. Lucey, writes Governor Clyde Reed of Topeka to request that railroad companies operating in Kansas return all transient Mexican laborers to Mexico and give preference to American laborers. November 18, 1930. Governor's records, Reed, Box 3, Folder 8.

In this letter, P. J. McBride, the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, responds to Emma Grimm's letter to Governor Arthur Capper. Grimm had expressed her displeasure with the enforcement of the child labor law in her hometown of Sabetha, which had forced her 10-year old son Theodore to leave his job as a grocery delivery boy. December 12, 1917. Governor's records, Capper, Box 10, Folder 3.

H. C. Ericsson, special investigator into illegal liquor sales, reports his findings directly to Governor Walter Stubbs of Topeka. This report regards Ericsson's visit to Pittsburg, Kansas. The report lists five "places" at which he was able to purchase liquor or beer. March 27, 1911. Governor's records, Stubbs, Box 10, Folder 3.

Mrs. G. Monroe, of Topeka, Kansas, writes Governor John Martin, also of Topeka, requesting he veto a bill that would give women equal suffrage in municipal elections. Monroe claims women do not want additional rights and suggests that women should not participate in political affairs. February 11, 1887. Governor's records, Martin, Box 30, Folder 2.

The colored citizens of Winfield, Kansas, send Governor Henry Allen of Topeka a resolution condemning the racial discrimination then occurring in Kansas and the United States. October 6, 1919. Governor's records, Allen, Box 2, Folder 9.

To browse the many additional documents from governors’ records already available on Kansas Memory, select the category Collections - State Archives - Governor's Records. See Governors for more information on our archives of Kansas governors' records.

Cowboy Band

Hear the phrase “cowboy band” and you might think of singing cowboys like Gene Autry or maybe a western string band beating out jigs and reels on fiddles and guitars for a country dance. But in Dodge City in the 1880s the cowboy band was a whole different animal. Sporting cornets, tubas and other horns, the Dodge City Cowboy Band brought cow culture to the brass band craze of the late 19th century and drew both praise and criticism for its popularity. In its promotion of Kansas cattle interests, the band spread new myths about cowboys' genteel respectability and perpetuated old myths of cowboys as desperadoes. Selected materials on cowboy bands are now available on Kansas Memory.

This 1889 roster shows the band with twenty-three members and standard brass/wind instrumentation for the period, including many horns we would hardly recognize today.

This 1886 group photo shows the band flanked by its management with two young boys in the foreground. Notice how prominently members display their guns.

This photo shows some members of the Dodge City Cowboy Band on a round-up in Indian Territory, possibly in the 1890s. The photo may have been a publicity stunt meant to prove that band members were "real" cowboys.

Additional materials on cowboy bands are available by searching "cowboy band." See Community Life - Arts and Entertainment - Music - Musicians - Bands for more materials on bands in Kansas. See Business and Industry - Occupations/Professions - Cowboys for more materials on cowboys in Kansas.

For more information on the Dodge City Cowboy Band see Clifford Westermeier's article "The Dodge City Cowboy Band." Kansas Historical Quarterly v19 n1 (February 1951) : 1-11.

Weather stories

The Forces of Nature exhibit currently on display through January 9th at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka showcases our state’s extreme weather conditions--including tornados, droughts, floods, and fires--and how Kansans have responded to them. The exhibit features an audio booth where visitors can record their own Kansas weather stories. Five of these stories are now part of the Historical Society's permanent historical collections and are featured here on Kansas Memory. Click on the audio icons below to listen to the stories. For more audio and video recordings on Kansas Memory see Collections--Audio-visual.

Topeka resident David H. Fisher, Jr. relates his experience during the June 8, 1966, tornado in Topeka.

A fireman in Mullinsville, ten miles west of Greensburg, in Kiowa County, Ron Clayton describes his experience as a first responder to the May 4, 2007, EF5 tornado that destroyed Greensburg.

Thomas Holmquist describes a 2007 flood on his farm in Saline County near Smolan.

Marlysue Esping-Holmquist, wife of Thomas Holmquist, farms in Saline County near Smolan. She describes the history of their farm and the chance involved in its allotment in a flood plain near Dry Creek in 1868.

Teresa Bachman of El Dorado gives a first hand account of the June 10, 1958, tornado in El Dorado. The tornado killed thirteen people and destroyed or damaged more than 100 homes.

Additional audio recordings will appear on Kansas Memory as we add new content. Use the category Type of Material--Audio or Collections--Audio-visual to check back for new audio uploads.

Slackerism

When a flag appeared near the home of Phil Crab of Ada, Kansas, in 1918, it wasn’t in celebration. The flag read SLACKER and meant to shame Mr. Crab into a donation to support the war, a request he had earlier refused. When some residents threatened to paint his house yellow, a series of threats and allegations ensued between Crab and local patriots that ultimately involved Governor Arthur Capper. Though Ada was a small town on the western edge of Ottawa County in north central Kansas, it was not immune to the patriotic fervor and anti-German hysteria sweeping the country. With America’s entry into WWI, many people sought to root out the “anti-American” elements in their midst and in doing so uncovered deep divisions in their communities that may, or may not, have had anything to do with patriotism. Governor Capper’s “slackers” file is now available on Kansas Memory.

In this May 4, 1918, response to J. M. Best of Clyde, Kansas, Governor Capper outlines his approach for dealing with persons suspected of being disloyal to the United States government, an attitude he called “slackerism.” Best wrote the governor to inform him of disloyal citizens in his community.

Secretary to the governor, Charles Sessions, of Topeka, writes this July 6, 1917, letter to U.S. District Attorney Fred Robertson at Kansas City to request he send secret service agents to Wilson, Kansas, to investigate suspected German sympathizers.

Oliver Omunhenke of Haigler, Nebraska, writes this May 22, 1918, letter to Governor Capper to complain about threats from persons requesting a wartime donation to the Red Cross. He explains that he cannot afford such a donation and wrote of the group “If I did not write a check in 15 minutes they would attend to me.”

In this May 25, 1918, letter to Governor Capper, Dr. Charles Butcher, a veterinarian in Russell, Kansas, states that accusations against him by another resident were made “maliciously and revengefully” and have nothing to do with his loyalty to the U. S. government. He states “I will give to the Red Cross in due time just as soon as these Parisites [sic] quit trying to sting me.”

The entire “slackers” file from Governor Arthur Capper’s records in the Kansas State Archives is now available on Kansas Memory. For additional materials on WWI select the category Military--Wars--World War I.

For a more detailed analysis of this issue, see James C. Juhnke, “Mob Violence and Kansas Mennonites in 1918.” Kansas Historical Quarterly, Autumn, 1977 (Vol. 43, No. 3), pages 334 to 350.

Ledger art

When the London Circus came to Lawrence, Kansas, on July 30, 1879, its most conspicuous guests were six Northern Cheyenne Indians: Wild Hog, Old Man, Blacksmith, Left Hand, Run Fast, and Meheha. The audience started at first sight of these men, and two women grabbed their children and rushed out of the tent. Seated in a row, a guard at each end, the six Cheyenne men puzzled over elephants, lions, tigers, and camels, laughed at the antics of clowns, and drank lemonade. But this moment of levity was a rare instance in a long train of unfortunate events. While in jail awaiting trial for their involvement in the “last Indian raid in Kansas” the previous fall, these men would leave an intriguing record of their people and culture at a devastating time in their tribe’s history. Select sources on the Cheyenne people and Native Americans in Kansas are now available on Kansas Memory.

The "raid" occurred in September 1878 when a band of some 300 Cheyenne, led by Chiefs Dull Knife and Little Wolf, fled sickness and starvation on a reservation in Indian Territory [now Oklahoma] for their homeland north of Kansas. On their flight through the state, forty settlers were killed and a great deal of property was stolen or destroyed. After surrendering to military authorities in Nebraska, seven of Dull Knife's followers were turned over to civilian authorities and taken to Dodge City, Kansas, to stand trial. The Dodge City jailers gave the prisoners notebooks, pencils, crayons, and paint to create ledger art – the drawing of pictographs on the pages of ledgers – a common practice among Native American men as Indians were being moved onto reservations by the federal government in the 1870s and 1880s.

The Kansas Historical Society holds two of these ledgers. The first came as a donation in 1922 from Sallie Straughn of Denver, Colorado. Mrs. Straughn was matron of the Dodge City jail in 1878 during the Cheyenne’s incarceration when her husband, John W. Straughn, was the Dodge City jailer. This notebook includes drawings of people in patterned blankets and headdress, men on horses, and animals.

The second notebook came as a donation in 1939 by Dora A. Clayton, also of Denver, Colorado. Her husband, James Clayton, was clerk of the Indian Claims Commission created by the Kansas legislature in 1879 to investigate the losses resulting from the 1878 raid. The drawings in this notebook are especially captivating with rich colors and textures, balanced arrangements, and stark forms; including people, hunters on horseback, various animals, and decorative tipi.

Both books are supposed to have been drawn by the Cheyenne prisoners during their incarceration in the Dodge City jail. The trial venue was later moved to Lawrence, Kansas, and the men were ultimately acquitted. Some acounts give the names as listed above, other accounts list the men as Wakabish, Maniton, Old Cow, Left Hand, Wild Hog, Old Man, and Muskekan, or Wild Hog, Run Fast, Frizzly Head, Young Man, Old Man, and Crow. Some accounts refer to six men, others to seven.

See People--American Indians--Tribes--Cheyenne to access additional sources on Cheyenne Indians in Kansas. See Native American Ledger Art and Modern Ledger Art for more information on this practice.

Sources:

Kansas State Historical Society, Twenty-Third Biennial Report, 1921-1922 (Topeka: Kansas State Printer): 50-51.

Kansas State Historical Society, Twenty-Fourth Biennial Report, 1923-1924 (Topeka: Kansas State Printer): 90.

Kansas Historical Quarterly, 10 (1941): 211.

Dora Clayton to KSHS, 6 August 1939, Administrative Correspondence, State Archives, Kansas State Historical Society.

Video

Two new video selections are now available on Kansas Memory. Bob Beatty, Political Science Department, Washburn University, produced both videos as part of the Kansas Governors Recorded History and Documentary Project (Dr. Bob Beatty and Washburn University, 2005). The videos present raw footage of interviews conducted by Beatty with former Kansas governors.

The first presents an interview with Governor John Anderson discussing his experience as governor of Kansas from January 9, 1961 to January 11, 1965. The interview is the basis for Beatty's article "'For the Benefit of the People': A Conversation with Former Governor John Anderson, Jr.," Kansas History, v30 (Winter 2007/2008).

The second presents an interview with Governor William Avery discussing his experience as governor of Kansas from January 11, 1965 to January 9, 1967. The interview is the basis for Beatty's article "'You have to like people': A Conversation with Former Governor William H. Avery," Kansas History, v30 (Spring 2007/2008).

Additional videos will appear on Kansas Memory periodically as we upload new content. Use the category Type of Material--Film and Video to check back for new video uploads.

Better Searching

The KSHS staff are very excited to announce a new feature to Kansas Memory: Integrated Search and Browse.

This new feature allows you to search for a term, or choose a category from our category browser, and then continue to refine your results by adding search terms or choosing more categories.

Additionally, when you use our search engine, we'll try to suggest a few categories that may help you find what you're looking for. Keep an eye out for those, they'll be right above your search results.

Feel free to try it out.

Joplin's lost trunk

For decades ragtime aficionados have been searching for a lost trunk supposedly containing unpublished music manuscripts by Scott Joplin. Edward Berlin, author of King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era, suggests Joplin may have lost the trunk in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1903. Selected sources on Pittsburg and other cities and towns in Kansas are now available on Kansas Memory under the category Places--Cities and Towns.

Here’s the story. Joplin, the African American composer of the Maple Leaf Rag (1899) and other popular piano rags, had recently finished composing his first ragtime opera, A Guest of Honor. The year was 1903.

Joplin was on a Midwestern tour with his Ragtime Opera Company scheduled to play shows in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. A misfortune in Springfield, Illinois, possibly left Joplin without money to continue. But Berlin suggests Joplin may have continued the tour to recoup his losses. A poor showing at the Pittsburg [Kansas] Opera House, which Joplin was scheduled to play on September 17, may have left him unable to pay his hotel bill resulting in the confiscation of his trunk. According to Joplin’s wife Lottie, the trunk contained photos, letters, and unpublished manuscripts of a Guest of Honor and other music. Joplin never recovered the trunk. This photo shows the Pittsburg Opera House at left.

Berlin’s scenario is hypothetical, but it is a plausible explanation to a mystery that has confounded researchers for decades. Other accounts have placed the trunk in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, around the same time. This photo shows the Pittsburg National Bank located on the corner opposite the Pittsburg Opera House.

More than any other composer, Joplin raised instrumental ragtime, with its foundation in itinerant piano players and African American folk melodies, to the level of classical music and launched a craze for syncopation that dominated popular culture in the early 1900s. Still, Joplin’s success was continually dogged by the racial prejudices of his time and the stereotype of the blackface minstrel, as represented in this photo of Haverlaff’s Minstrels performing in a White Cloud, Kansas, opera house. James Scott and Brunson S. ("Brun") Campbell were but two Kansas ragtimers who had a close relationship with Joplin.

While we do not hold Joplin’s lost manuscripts (regrettably), selected materials on Pittsburg and other cities and towns in Kansas, music, and African American history are available on Kansas Memory.

Sources: Edward Berlin, King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).

Frontier Doctor

In mid-December, 1905, a Professor E. H. S. Bailey of Lawrence, Kansas, received an express shipment from Topeka. The bundle contained two bottles of vanilla extract, multiple packages of ham sausage, Vienna sausage, Bologna sausage, corned beef, dried chipped beef, potted ham, potted tongue, veal loaf, beef loaf, and one bottle of water. A letter explaining the shipment jokingly noted “These I trust will arrive in time for your Christmas dinner. Of course we desire to have you make a careful analysis of them before proceeding with your dinner party… [Very truly yours], S. J. Crumbine, Secretary [Kansas Board of Health].” This and other letters by Samuel Crumbine are now available on Kansas Memory.

A pioneer in the field of public health, Dr. Samuel Crumbine of Dodge City, Kansas, used equal doses of humor and pragmatism to halt the spread of communicable diseases. His public health campaigns often used humorous illustrations, verses, and slogans to warn against unhealthy practices, but thier message was deadly serious. His campaign against houseflies urged screening windows and doors and used the slogan, "Swat the Fly."

Other targets of his campaigns were the common drinking cup or dipper and the exposed roller towel, often used on railroad trains and in other public areas. His success in this area was illustrated by the adoption of disposable paper cups and towels. Crumbine also warned against misleading labels on food and drugs. He became secretary of the Kansas Board of Health in 1904 and served approximately twenty years.

Selected letters by Samuel Crumbine are now available on Kansas Memory. For additional Crumbine materials on Kansas Memory go to People--Notable Kansans--Crumbine, Samuel Jay, 1862-1954.

Black Blizzards

During the 1930s, Frank Conard and other trick photographers poignantly captured the surreal character of the natural disasters then plaguing the southern Great Plains through a series of humorous, exaggerated postcards. Their giant grasshoppers and other pests dwarfed the human world and underscored the “larger than life” character of such plagues. But when it came to dust storms, they did not need tricks (or humor) to convey the magnitude of the tragedy. Rising what seemed thousands of feet above the ground, monstrous clouds of dust rolled over the Plains between 1932 and 1936, blotting out the sun in midday and earning the nickname “black blizzards.” Conard and others photographed these clouds, leaving us a vivid reminder why the region became known as the Dust Bowl. Selected documents on the Dust Bowl in Kansas are now available on Kansas Memory.

Black Sunday occurred on April 14, 1935, when a ferocious dust storm bowled through western Kansas. Pauline Winkler Grey, of Meade County, describes her preparation for the storm, the sixty miles per hour winds, and standing in her living room in “pitch blackness” at midday in one volume of the Pioneer Stories of Meade County.

Like many people during the Dust Bowl, these Liberal, Seward County, residents wear face masks to help them breath during a dust storm. In an oral interview, John Stadler, of Stevens County, recounts how the masks would get so full of dust that you would have to take them off and beat out the dust.

This article from the Topeka Capital prints excerpts of a letter from teacher Gertrude Fay Doane of Winona, Logan County. Doane describes her experience with a dust storm during a school day. She tells how school closed early during the storm and the very next day school closed early again so the students could attend a rabbit drive.

The Kansas Historical Society holds many materials documenting the Dust Bowl in Kansas. A select number of these sources is now available on Kansas Memory.

The Weapon

In 1912, Effie Frost was living in Verdi, Kansas, a rural village in southeast Ottawa County. Her home was in Junction City but she stayed in Verdi as a missionary to local residents who favored pool halls over churches. She even organized a Sunday school for the children to improve church attendance. Despite her efforts, the pool hall thrived and church attendance suffered. Then Kansans approved a proposition to give women the vote. Like many women, Effie understood that winning the vote was more than an accomplishment; it was an opportunity. Documents on women’s suffrage in Kansas are now available on Kansas Memory.

On November 6, Effie wrote Lucy B. Johnston, president of the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association, about the recent election. “Now that we have the weapon,” Effie wrote, “I pray that we may… use it in destroying all vice breeding places… [like] Pool Halls and such things.” Effie understood that what she could not change by Christian influence alone women could change together if they applied their values at the ballot box.

Echoing these sentiments, Genevieve Chalkley of Lawrence declared “women are now a factor” at the Women’s Kansas Day Club meeting, on January 30, 1913. Her speech “After the Ballot – What Next?” implored women to use their vote to “humanize our people” and push for “progressive laws” that would soften the impact of an increasingly urban and industrial America on the family. Women’s clubs, like this one, played a vital role in achieving women’s suffrage in Kansas and they would prove equally important in determining how women used the vote.

By 1914, the Kansas Good Citizenship League (successor to the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association) endorsed a series of measures calling for greater attention to childhood and adult education, health care for women and children, and community and financial support for women and children in need. Women did not achieve national suffrage until 1920 with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Selected documents on women’s suffrage in Kansas are now available on Kansas Memory.

New printing feature

Our new printing option delivers a pdf document that formats the item and description for easy printing. Now you can print multi-page items, like this rare Populist pamphlet, in its entirety with only a few clicks.

Just choose the print button on the item page, then select the sections you wish to print.

This feature requires the use of Adobe® Reader® software or another pdf viewer.

Omar Hawkins exhibit

A special exhibit featuring the photographs of Kansas photographer Omar Hawkins is now on display at the Kansas Museum of History. The exhibit, Backward Glance: Images from Marshall County, is also available to view online at Kansas Memory.

Based in Marysville, Kansas, Hawkins captured scenes of his town and the surrounding communities in the early twentieth century. The images reveal the quaint pleasures of small town America and the emergence of the automobile, among other scenes.

Capital punishment, 1870-1907

At noon on August 9, 1870, at the county jail yard in Leavenworth, the State of Kansas hanged convicted murderer William Dickson in a public execution before a large audience, including many children. State law forbid such public displays and the resulting controversy inaugurated a curious thirty-five year episode in Kansas history (1872-1907) in which death sentences were handed down but never ordered. Selected documents on capital punishment in Kansas are now available on Kansas Memory.

Following Dickson’s hanging, the 1871 Kansas legislature passed a bill revising the state’s punishment for murder but it failed to become law. In 1872 the legislature succeeded with Senate Bill 18 which made two major changes. It confined the convict to the state penitentiary for one year pending execution and it transferred the power to order the execution (the signing of a death warrant) from the trial judge to the governor.

But the law did not compel the governor to sign the death warrant, and from 1872-1907 no governor ever did. From governors James Harvey (1869-1873) to Edward Hoch (1905-1909) and the eleven other governors in between (be they Republican, Democrat, or Populist) all chose not to sign death warrants. Although the courts issued many death sentences during this period, the governors’ refusal to sign the warrants effectively banned all state authorized executions.

The law did require the Governor's Office to keep records of all death sentences and copies of all death warrants. The State Archives at the Kansas Historical Society holds these records in two bound volumes: “Death Sentence Warrants, 1872-1908” and “Record of Death Sentences, 1872-1906.” Both books were created by the Governor’s Office.

Dickson’s would be the last state-authorized execution in Kansas for more than seventy years, the next occurring in 1944 (Kansas repealed capital punishment for murder in 1907 but reinstated it in 1935). Although the state’s moratorium on legal executions lasted from 1872-1935, at least ninety illegal hangings or lynchings occurred during that period.

As Kansas continues to struggle with the question of capital punishment, the State Archives & Library at the Kansas Historical Society holds many documents demonstrating the history of the death penalty in the state. Selected documents of the principal changes and events related to capital punishment in Kansas are now available on Kansas Memory.

Letters of hardship and difficulty

One of the great things about a digital repository like Kansas Memory is that it gives us the opportunity to feature materials that might not be noticed otherwise. A letter written by a poor farmer around 1900 just does not command the kind of interest and attention that letters by John Brown or Carry Nation do. Materials that reflect the lives of regular, everyday folk can be easily overlooked or under appreciated. Here are a few letters of regular people from different walks of life. They come from various collections but all of them reveal people coping with some type of hardship or difficulty.

This 1938 letter from tenant farmer Edna Heim describes the total loss of 125 acres of crops after a hailstorm. The farm was located in Smith County, Kansas, near Kensington. Mrs. Heim is writing farm owner Clarice Snoddy of Topeka. The letter comes from the Manuscripts Collection, Clarice Snoddy Papers, which includes many letters from the Heims describing daily farm operations and the environmental and economic hardships they faced.

This 1916 petition by Mexican railroad workers in Hutchinson, Kansas, appeals to the Mexican Consul for protection from threats of violence by local Americans. The threats followed the killing of sixteen Americans by Pancho Villa at Santa Isabel, Mexico. This letter is part of the State Archives, Records of Governor Arthur Capper, General Correspondence.

In this 1880 letter, from freedman Richard West in Barton Station, Alabama, West pleads with Kansas Governor John St. John to help him and others migrate to Kansas. West describes the hardships he faces as a black farmer and his, and others’, desire to leave the South. This letter is one of many letters Governor St. John received from potential Exodusters and is included in the State Archives, Records of Governor John St. John, Correspondence Received, Immigration – Negro Exodus.

In this 1914 letter, Legless Andrews, a self described “legless airnaut” from Kansas City, Missouri, writes the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic at Topeka, Kansas, offering to perform balloon accessions and parachute leaps for an upcoming celebration. This letter comes from the Manuscripts Collection, Kansas Grand Army of the Republic, Administrative Records, Correspondence.

Mrs. Isabella Barnes of Liberal, Kansas, writes this 1906 letter to Governor Edward Hoch concerning her wish to wear men's clothing. Mrs. Barnes describes being abandoned by her husband and the hardships she has faced since that time. She says she would like to wear men's clothing to help her obtain suitable employment and avoid unwanted insults from men. This letter comes from the State Archives, Records of Governor Edward Hoch, Correspondence Received.

For access to more letters on Kansas Memory, select the Objects and Artifacts - Communication artifacts - Documentary artifact - Letter category, then click additional categories to further refine those results. See Guides and Finding Aids for more information on our various document collections, including Governor's Records.

Doctor Brinkley

In the annals of Kansas history no episode better proves the axiom “truth is stranger than fiction” than the bizarre story of Dr. John Brinkley. From goat glands to country music, Doctor Brinkley consistently challenged established notions of decency and prompted greater scrutiny of both medical practice and radio broadcasting. A growing number of Brinkley-related materials are available on Kansas Memory.

Brinkley's medical practice in Milford, Kansas (1917-1930s), championed the beneficial effects of goat glands when transplanted to humans.

While in Milford, he established radio station KFKB (i.e. Kansas First, Kansas Best) in 1923 to entertain his patients and promote his medical practice. Roy Faulkner (a.k.a. the Lonesome Cowboy) frequently appeared on Brinkley’s station.

Brinkley's several bids for governor of Kansas in the 1930s drew on the popularity of his medical practice and radio broadcasts.

Following the revocation of his medical and broadcasting licenses in Kansas, Brinkley relocated to Del Rio, Texas. There, among other things, he operated the cross-border radio station XERA in Villa Acuna, Mexico, powerful enough to dominate airwaves all across the Great Plains. Brinkley’s promotion of early country music acts, such as the Carter Family, introduced a national audience to music originally intended only for southern whites.

The international nuisance created by Brinkley's border radio station prompted the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (or Treaty of Havana) of December 13, 1937, a use agreement on international airwaves involving Canada, Cuba, the United States, Haiti, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

Here at the State Archives & Library, we hold John Brinkley's personal papers donated to the Kansas Historical Society by his widow, Mrs. Minnie Brinkley of Del Rio, Texas, in 1977. We also hold the research collection of Gerald Carson, author of The Roguish World of Dr. Brinkley. Additional Brinkley materials are also available on Kansas Memory.

Exoduster letters

In 1879 and 1880, freedmen (former slaves) from the South sent Kansas Governor John St. John around 1,000 letters seeking information on a possible migration to Kansas; a migration generally known as the Exoduster movement. Governor St. John responded to many of those letters. This epistolary exchange between Kansas’ highest official and the freed people of the South documents the hardships, hopes, and misconceptions of southern blacks at the end of Reconstruction. On a more mundane level, it provides insight into the letter writing customs at that time.

Most of the letters are seeking to corroborate rumors of free land in Kansas and incentives thought to encourage African American settlement in the state. Community and religious leaders penned many of the letters on behalf of larger groups of people, such as small communities or churches.

Though the envelopes of the letters have not survived, many were likely addressed to “John St. John” instead of the “Governor of Kansas.” Isaiah Montgomery explains: “note that I address you without prefixing title in order that the letter may not attract undue attention. Nothing is too hard to suspicion of this Country where it has been the custom for a century or more to ransack the mails to prevent the circulation of documents breathing the spirit of freedom.”

Upon receiving a letter, the Governor’s Office summarized its contents on a memo, noting the author’s name and date, and pasted the memo to the back of the letter. Staff filed the letters first by subject (i.e. “immigration – Negro exodus”) and then in chronological order. St. John or his secretary would then pen a response and “press” a copy of the reply into a letter press book. Pressing involved wetting copy paper (often referred to as “onion skin”) with water, interleaving letters between these wet leaves, and applying pressure to the whole until ink from the letters transferred to the copy paper. Too much or too little water could result in a poor copy.

Since many correspondents wrote the governor back after receiving his letters, it is obvious that many of the governor’s letters reached their intended audience. But did the governor intentionally conceal his title/office on the envelope as some of the letters request? Again Isaiah Montgomery: “Please address an answer (as early as convenient) with no mark on the Envelope to denote that it comes from the Capital or any official.”

Here at the State Archives & Library, we hold both the original letters sent to Governor St. John and copies of his responses “pressed” into letter press books. Some of the letters and responses are already available on Kansas Memory. We intend to add more of this correspondence to the site in the near future. See Governors for more information on our archives of Kansas governor's records.

William Clark discovery

Occasionally in the media we all hear reports of someone discovering a lost copy of a founding document at a flea market, an unknown manuscript of a famous author at an estate sale, or a priceless painting set out with the garbage. Movies like National Treasure heighten our interest in the possible existence of such undiscovered treasures. So while browsing shelves of tattered volumes at a used bookstore or thrift shop, who can help but let their imagination run a little wild?

The Kansas Historical Society has made a few chance discoveries of its own. A particularly interesting one dates back to 1886. One day, John Speer, a director of the Historical Society, passed a used bookshop in Lawrence, Kansas, and saw a stack of large, old books piled up on the sidewalk. Looking over the volumes, he immediately recognized their importance: they were the ledger books of William Clark (of Lewis and Clark, "Voyage of Discovery" fame) while Clark was Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis, Missouri (1810s-1830s).

Without speaking to the shopkeeper, Speer caught the first train to Topeka to see Judge Franklin G. Adams, secretary of the Historical Society, and tell him of the discovery.

Adams and Speer took the next train back to Lawrence. At the bookstore, Adams casually reviewed the volumes. He then approached the bookseller and, in an indifferent way, inquired about the price. The bookseller indicated he was planning to sell the books to the paper mill and thought he should get at least as much as the mill would give him. The two settled on a price of $33.00 (about one dollar per volume). Adams and Speer packed up the books and shipped them to Topeka to be added to the Historical Society’s collections.

The twenty-nine bound folio volumes discovered that day include the records of William Clark and other Superintendents of Indian Affairs, including field notes and plats of Indian lands, 1830-1836; treaties and other agreements between the U.S. and various tribes, 1831-1838; and other records of the Missouri (1807-1821), Central (1822-1851), and St. Louis (1851-1855) Superintendencies of Indian Affairs. The collection also includes records of the Missouri Fur Co., 1812-1817, of which Clark served as a director. See William Clark for more selections from these volumes in Kansas Memory. For a more detailed description of the collection see the William Clark Papers.

How the books came to be at the Lawrence bookstore is still a mystery. After Clark’s death in 1838, the St. Louis office relocated several times before settling in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1869. When the office finally closed in 1878, General John Henry Hammond was assigned to inventory the papers and send them to Washington, D.C. Were the books purchased earlier in St. Louis as some sources suggest? Or did they follow the office to Lawrence in 1869 but fail to be shipped to Washington, D.C. in 1878?

Sources:

William Connelly, “Indian Office Manuscripts,” August 26, 1929

Kansas City Times, “Kansas Owns a Missouri Historical Treasure,” March 17, 1947

Transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society, v3 (1886) 49-51

Ernest Staples Osgood, ed., “Introduction,” The Field Notes of Captain William Clark, 1803-1805 (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1964) xxxii-xxxv

Henry Worrall music collection

Kansas seems an unlikely place to discover a link between the refined parlor music of the 19^th century and the country and blues guitar styles of the rural South in the early 20^th. But in 2006, researchers and archivists here at the Kansas Historical Society uncovered the importance of a relatively unknown manuscript collection donated to the Historical Society in 1968 by the family of Kansas artist Henry Worrall.

When Henry and Mary Worrall moved to Topeka, Kansas, from Cincinati, Ohio, in 1867, Henry was already a noted artist. In Kansas, Worrall became a prolific and renowned illustrator and decorator. His artistic creations would capture some of the most iconic imagery of early life in Kansas and the American West. For more on this topic, see Robert Taft’s 1946 article on Worrall in the Kansas Historical Quarterly.

But Worrall was much more than a visual artist, he was also an accomplished musician who composed and arranged popular music for solo acoustic guitar. During the 1850s, Worrall shared the same publisher as Stephen Foster, the Cincinnati music publisher W. C. Peters and Sons, where Worrall published his most famous works “Sebastopol” and “Spanish Fandango.” These tunes became quite popular and were included as standard pieces in guitar instruction manuals from the 1850s through the 1920s.

While the rest of the country had mostly forgotten about the parlor music after the introduction of Ragtime (1890s) and Jazz (1920s), white and black musicians of the rural South continued to play the parlor pieces and adapt them to their own regional styles. Southern musicians borrowed tunings, picking styles, and chord changes from the parlor pieces for use in the development of nascent country and blues music. Among southern rural guitarists of the 1920s, the titles of Worrall’s most popular tunes became synonymous with favored open tunings, “Vastopol” (Sebastopol) for D Major and “Spanish” (Spanish Fandango) for G Major.

Henry Worrall’s quite unintentional influence on southern rural music of the early 20^th century is evident in the music of a variety of performers from Sam McGee’s “Drummer Boy” and Mississippi John Hurt’s “Spanish Fandango,” to Elizabeth Cotton’s “Sebastopol” and John Renbourn’s “Sebastopol Revisited.”

All of the materials in this collection derive from Henry Worrall's personal music collection. Some manuscripts bear a stamp that reads "H. Worrall, 807 Kansas Ave., Topeka, Kas." These materials passed to Henry's wife, Mary Elizabeth Harvey Worrall, at the time of his death in 1902. Mary subsequently presented this material to her children. A note on several of the items reads "Presented by mama the 9 of March 1903, 715 Polk St. Topeka." The children of Henry and Mary presented the material to their children in turn. Mrs. Anton W. Worrall, wife of Anton Worrall of Kansas City, MO, and grandson to Henry and Mary Worrall, donated the collection to the Kansas Historical Society on October 31, 1968. See the Henry Worrall collection for more information on these materials. Additional Worrall materials on Kansas Memory may be viewed by searching Henry Worrall.

Welcome

Welcome to the Kansas Memory Blog. We'll use the blog to discuss the documents, photographs, and artifacts included on Kansas Memory and the many additional features the site offers. Posts will appear every week or two and will showcase a specific item or feature. Your comments and responses are appreciated.

For this initial post, I’d like to draw your attention to the My Bookbag feature.

All registered users have access to a bookbag and it is very easy to use. When browsing the collections, if you see an item you would like to save or share, just click the Save to Bookbag button on the item page

and add that item to your bookbag. You can write notes to yourself or others about the items in your bookbag. You can create folders to manage multiple items and keep notes on those folders.

You can also mark your folders public or private so you can share them with other users, or keep them to yourself. The Share button on any item page will show you the bookbags holding the item.

Selecting Users from the menu at the top of the screen

allows you to browse the viewing history and bookbags of other users. You can view my bookbag under user mchurch where I feature favorite items I’ve selected for the site (see my “favorites” folder). The Historical Society’s quarterly journal, Kansas History, has a bookbag featuring some of the photographs from each issue. The user name is KansasHistory. If you think of unique or interesting ways to use your bookbag, let us know.

We encourage you to comment on this post. If you have questions about this or other features on the site, please email us at kansasmemory@kshs.org. The next post will provide insight into a specific item from the Kansas Memory collection.