A selection of papers from Orville Chester Brown (1811-1904). Brown was a pioneer, founder of Osawatomie, Kansas, and ardent abolitionist. In October 1854, he came to Kansas to improve his health. He established the town of Osawatomie in Lykins (now Miami) County, which he named for the nearby Osage and Pottawatomie creeks. In June 1856, "free-state" (antislavery) men murdered pro-slavery advocates in what became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre. In retaliation pro-slavery forces sacked Osawatomie on August 30, 1856. Brown's home was burned to the ground in the raid, and his son, Spencer Kellogg Brown (1842-1863), was captured and taken to Lafayette County, Missouri, for several weeks. Spencer is the subject of much of the collection after 1860 and took an active role in the conflict. After leaving Kansas in 1861 for Buffalo, New York, Orville Chester Brown traveled extensively through the Northeast lecturing and raising money to support free-state forces in Kansas.