1880 census of Farmer Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 1, 1880 through June 2, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Farmer Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

1880 census of Nicodemus Township, Graham County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 8, 1880 through June 23, 1880
This census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of both white and black settlers in Nicodemus Township in Graham County, Kansas. This township had been settled by African Americans in 1877 along the south fork of the Solomon River.

1880 census of Rock Creek Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 11, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Rock Creek Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

19th Annual Convention of the National Association of Colored Women
Date: July 21-26, 1935
This panorama shows attendees of the convention of the National Association of Colored Women held July 21 to July 26, 1935. The signs on the building read "Mount Zion Temple" and "Mt. Zion Settlement School of Music, Kathleen Forbes." This appears to be Mt. Zion Congregational Church on E. 55th Street and Central Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, where the organization held its 19th annual convention in 1935. Two women to the left side of the photo wear nursing uniforms. Three other women hold signs reading "Con" (presumably Connecticut), "Illinois," and "Ohio."

1st Kansas Colored Infantry flag
Date: between 1862 and 1864
Blue silk regimental flag of the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, the first African American regiment from a northern state in the Civil War. Recruitment began August 1862, although they weren't mustered into Federal service until January 13, 1863. They saw their first action at Island Mound, Missouri on October 29, 1862. The flag bears the names of eight battle honors. In 1864 the regiment was redesignated the 79th United States Colored Regiment.

$200 Reward! for runaway slaves
Creator: Williams, G.D
Date: June 7, 1860
Wanted poster offering a reward of $200 for the capture of two slaves from Saline County, Missouri. It includes the names and descriptions of the two slaves.

20th Century Mothers Club
Creator: Dandridge, Deborah L., 1946-
Date: around 1950
These photographs show two group portraits of members of the 20th Century Mothers Club in Wichita, Kansas.

23rd Regimental Band, Kansas
Date: 1898
This is a group of formal portraits of the members of the 23rd Regimental Band. The band began in 1890 as Jackson's Dispatch Band of Topeka, Kansas, then enlisted during the Spanish-American War as the regimental band for the all-black 23rd Kansas Volunteer Infantry. The captions give their name, musical instrument, and hometown. Lieutenant Colonel James Beck was the regimental commander of the 23rd Regiment. The band was commanded by 2nd Lieutenant and Adjutant, Samuel T. Jones, and directed by Professor George W. Jackson. First row, left to right: Sergeant Elijah E. Davis, E flat trumpet, Kansas City, Kansas; Charles A. Brown, Quartermaster Sergeant, Solo B flat cornet, Topeka; Samuel T. Jones, 2nd Lt & Adjutant, Kansas City, Kansas; Professor George W. Jackson, band master, solo slide trombone, Topeka; Andrew W. Washington, 1st Principal Musician, baritone, Kansas City, Kansas; Samuel M. Holt, Principal Musician & C.T. 2nd Tenor Slide Trombone, Wathena. Second row: Unknown, E flat clarinet, Topeka; Thomas Jackson, 1st B flat clarinet, Topeka; Horace G. Wilder, piccolo, Wichita; Dana Moore, drum major, Kansas City, Kansas; Albert Buford, flute, Wichita; Leander W. Northington, solo B flat cornet, Topeka; Henry R. Davis, 1st B flat cornet, Parsons. Third row: Charles D. Rhodes, 2nd B flat cornet, Bonner Springs; Z. Van Ewing, B flat cornet, Leavenworth; Thomas P. Shelton, solo alto, Kansas City, Kansas; William Vaughn, 2nd Alto, Topeka; Jasper Thornton, 1st tenor slide trombone, Atlanta, Georgia; Robert Parks, 2nd tenor slide trombone, Ft. Scott. Fourth row: Hollie E. Searcie, baritone, Topeka; Lester F. Kennedy, 1st tenor, Kansas City, Kansas; William A. Brooks, B flat bass, Topeka; Simeon E. McCarroll, tuba, Topeka; Prentice Griffin, tuba, Fort Scott; Marcus J. Owens, snare drum, Topeka; Wallace Bernal.

8,000 students affected, state officials see no trouble adjusting schools to new rule
Creator: Topeka Journal
Date: May 17, 1954
This article discusses how the state of Kansas will work to conform to the ruling made in the Brown v. Board of Education decision on May 17, 1954. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that the segregation of schools based on race was unconstitutional. Many cities in Kansas, including Topeka, Atchison, Salina, Wichita, and Pittsburg were already working to integrate their schools. Topeka had an estimated 625 African American students who would be affected by the court's ruling, and the article lists the numbers for other cities and towns in the state.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th anniversary
Date: 1986
Shown in this photograph in Senator Billy McCray (1927-2012) who served in public office from 1966 to 1993 speaking at the 9th & 10th Cavalry's 116th anniversary in Wichita, Kansas.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary
Date: 1986
This photograph shows a Chaplain addressing the 9th & 10th Cavalry at their 1116th Anniversary in Wichita, Kansas.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary
Date: 1986
Sergeant at Arms Riley Banks is shown addressing the 9th and 10th Cavalry at their 116th Anniversary held in Wichita, Kansas in this photograph.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary
Date: 1986
This photograph shows Senator Eugene Adams addressing the 116th Anniversary of the 9th and 10th Cavalry.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary
Date: 1986
Shown in this photograph is United State Air Force Lieutenant Colonel M. Jordan addressing the 9th & 10th Cavalry's 116th anniverary in Wichita, Kansas.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary
Date: 1986
Two men and a woman are shown sitting at a table in evening dress at the 9th & 10th Cavalry's 116th Anniversary banquet in Wichita, Kansas. The man seated at the far right is identified as Charles Scott.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary
Date: 1986
Photograph of Chief Warrant Officer George Johnson holding an award at the 116th reunion of the 9th and 10th Cavalry in Wichita, Kansas. George was given the award for receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross award in 1965 for his service in the Vietnam War. Johnson served in Korea and Japan from 1962 to 1965 and was transferred to Vietnam where he was the first African American to receive the award.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary
Date: 1986
This photograph shows men standing on stage at the 9th and 10th Calvary's 116th Anniversary in Wichita, Kansas.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary
Date: 1986
Shown in this photograph is a speaker for the 9th & 10th Cavalry's 116th anniversary banquet in Wichita, Kansas. On the reverse of the photo it calls the speaker the "Parlimentian" which may have been misspelling to represent a parliamentarian, a member of parliament.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Anniversary, Buffalo Soldier's awards
Date: 1986
This photograph shows Senator Billy McCray (1927-2012) who served in public office from 1966 to 1993 presenting awards at the 116th anniversary of the 9th and 10th Cavalry for Buffalo Soldiers. Buffalo Soldiers were part of the 10th Cavalry Regiment established in 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th anniversary dinner
Date: 1986
This photographs shows a dinner for the 9th & 10th Cavalry's 116th anniversary event in Wichita, Kansas in 1986.

9th & 10th Cavalry 116th Reunion, Wichita, Kansas
Date: 1986
This photographs shows one of the guest speakers at the 9th & 10th Cavalry's 116th reunion in Wichita, Kansas in 1986.

Aaron D. Stevens to Jennie Dunbar
Creator: Stevens, Aaron D.
Date: December 3, 1859
From his jail cell at Charles Town, Virginia, abolitionist Aaron Dwight Stevens, 1831-1860, wrote his dear friend, Jennie Dunbar, regarding his actions and prospects ("Slavery demands that we should hang for its protection") and that he regretted nothing except that he would not live to "see this Country free." Stevens, reported to be one of abolitionist John Brown's bravest men, used the alias Captain Charles Whipple while following Brown. Stevens was convicted of treason and conspiring with slaves for his part in Brown's October 16, 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and was hung at Charles Town on March 16, 1860.

Aaron Jackson, prisoner 9686
Creator: Kansas State Penitentiary
Date: March 14, 1901
This photograph shows inmate, Aaron Jackson, prisoner #9686. He was received at the Kansas State Penitentiary on March 14, 1901 from Shawnee County, Kansas for larceny.

About Nicodemus, The Daily Journal
Creator: Lawrence Daily Journal
Date: April 30, 1879
This article from the Lawrence Daily Journal discusses a newspaper article from the Chicago Tribune written during the Exoduster Movement in 1879 providing a brief history of the black community of freed people at Nicodemus, Kansas settled in 1877. Nicodemus is now a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.

Abraham Lincoln to Mark W. Delahay
Creator: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Date: May 14, 1859
Lincoln regretfully declines an invitation to attend the Osawatomie convention on May 18, 1859, which was to formally organize the Republican Party in Kansas. Lincoln warns against "the temptation to lower the Republican Standard [in whatever platform the convention might adopt] in order to gather recruits. "In my judgment," Lincoln continues, "such a step would be a serious mistake" that "would surrender the object of the Republican organization-- preventing the Spread and Nationalization of Slavery." This two-page, handwritten copy of a letter sent by Abraham Lincoln to Mark Delahay was probably given to the Kansas Historical Society by Delahay's daughter, Mary E. Delahay, in the early 1900s.