Austin Smith to Jedediah Smith
Creator: Smith, Austin
Date: September 24, 1831
This letter is from Austin Smith to his father, Jedediah Smith, Sr. In the letter, Austin informs his father of the death of his brother, Jedediah Strong Smith, who was killed by Comanche Indians on May 27, 1831, near the Cimarron River.

Axe Head from Fool Chief's Village, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
This axe head was recovered from Fool Chief's Village, a Kansa village in Shawnee County that was the site of the 2012 Kansas Archeology Training Program, though excavations continued through 2012 and 2013. As this axe shows evidence of battering on the top, it may have been used as an anvil. The axe head was cleaned by electrolysis which passes an electrical current through a liquid solution to separate the rust from the artifact.

Bedpan from Fool Chief's Village Cache, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
This nearly complete bedpan was recovered from a cache pit at the Fool's Chief village excavations. Fool's Chief village was a Kansa village in Shawnee County occupied from 1830 to 1844. The cache pit was located inside a bark house. The cache pit contained this ceramic bedpan, in addition to a covered dish, knives, hoes, an ax, barrel bands, vermillion, mussel shell and a chain and hook that had been carefully stored for future use.

Belinda C. Miles to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: 1832-1834
These six letters were written to Lewis Allen Alderson from his sister-in-law, Belinda C. Miles. Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Belt Style Axe from Fool Chief's Village, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
This is a belt style axe recovered from a midden (refuse heap) in Fool Chief's Village. Fool Chief's Village, a Kansa village in Shawnee County, was the site of the 2012 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school, though excavations continued through 2012 and 2013. Belt style axes were common English and French fur trade items and were forged from a single band of iron folded in half and hammer welded together at the blade. An opening was left at the bend of the fold for the handle of the axe. As this axe shows evidence of battering on the top, it may have been used as an anvil.

Bridle and Headstall from Fool Chief's Village, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
This bridle and headstall were recovered from excavations in 2012 at Fool Chief's Village, a large Kansa village in Shawnee County. The headstall is a decorative piece that has been altered with drilled holes. Both artifacts were recovered from a midden (a refuse heap) area at the site. They were both cleaned by electrolysis which passes an electrical current through a liquid solution to separate the rust from the artifact.

Cary A. Trimble to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: 1831-1833
These four letters are from Cary A. Trimble in Ohio to Lewis Allen Alderson in Virginia. Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Catherine B. Dart to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: 1832-1833
Several letters written by Catherine B. Dart to Lewis Allen Alderson and his wife, Lucy. Lucy died in February 1833. Lewis Allen Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Ceramic Vessel from Fort Zarah, 14BT301
Date: 1800-1869
The broken sherds of this vessel were recovered at the site of Fort Zarah in Barton County. They were reconstructed by the donor who used plaster (the darker material as shown here) to fill in for the missing pieces. It was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2014.

C. G. Taylor to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: November 1832-September 1833
These two letters were written to Lewis Allen Alderson by his friend C. G. Taylor. In one of the letters, Taylor addresses Alderson's sister, Belinda C. Miles. Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Charles Arbuckle to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: November 1831-August 1832
These four letters are from Charles Arbuckle to Lewis Allen Alderson. Arbuckle writes from Alderson's hometown of Lewisburg, West Virginia. In the letters, Arbuckle encourages Alderson to propose to Miss Lucy B. Miles, whom Alderson marries the day after he graduates from the University of Ohio in 1832. Arbuckle states that "an amiable woman next to religion is man's greatest consolation" but he seeks to remain a bachelor himself. Arbuckle also attended the Staunton Convention leading up to the election of 1832. Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Charles Lewis to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: August 19, 1830 - May 22, 1832
Several letters addressed to Lewis Allen Alderson from his brother-in-law Charles Lewis. Alderson was studying at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881. Notes from his sister, Polly Alderson Lewis, are included in the letters.

Charles T. Sherman to Lewis Allen Alderson
Creator: Sherman, Charles Taylor, 1811-1879
Date: June 20, 1831
In the letter to Lewis Allen Alderson, Charles Taylor Sherman, the oldest brother of General William Tecumseh Sherman and Senator John "The Ohio Icicle", explains to Alderson that he believed that Native Indians owned the best land in the state of Ohio. However, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was beginning to change that, as it required most Native Indians to move to the newly created Indian Territory that was located west of the Mississippi.

Christiana Polke McCoy
Creator: Thomson
Date: Between 1830 and 1839
This is a photograph of Christiana Polke McCoy (1778-1851), the wife of Isaac McCoy. They were married October 6, 1803 when Isaac McCoy was 20 years old and Christiana Polke was 16. The McCoys had 14 children; however, only four survived to adulthood. Isaac McCoy became a Baptist minister and missionary to the Indians, and Christiana spent 30 years aiding her husband in his work. In 1830, McCoy came to Kansas where he established a series of Baptist missions throughout the new Indian Territory. In 1832, after a few months at the home of his son-in-law, Dr. Johnston Lykins, he patented a tract of land and built a home, called "Locust", which is the site of St. Luke's Hospital. Her last home was built for her by her son, John Calvin McCoy, on Pearl Street in the "new Town of Kansas" (Kansas City), overlooking the Missouri River. Christiana died in 1851 and is buried in the Union Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.

C. L. V. Bureau to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: January 1832-November 1832
These seven letters are addressed to Lewis Allen Alderson. They were written by his friend C. L. V. Bureau in Gallipolis, Ohio. Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Colonel A.C. Pepper to Robert Simerwell
Creator: Pepper, Abel C., 1793-1860
Date: April 11, 1833
In this letter to Robert Simerwell, Indian Agent Colonel A.C. Pepper tells Simerwell that he is preparing to lead a band of Native Indians led by Quea-Quea-Tah, west in the early part of June 1833, and that the Native Indians "express a wish" that Simerwell accompany them on their journey. Pepper also states that Simerwell should talk with the Native Indians in his area to see if they are interested in moving west with the others and, if so, to meet at Logansport, Indiana on June 10, 1833.

Copper kettle
Date: between 1800 and 1880
Large cylindrical copper kettle with handles. This kettle is known as a "caso." It is like ones used for general cooking on the Santa Fe Trail. It was a common practice to rivet patches on such vessels. The green sulphate corrosion was often scraped off to be used as a coloring agent in paint or dye or as an additive in medicinal compounds.

Covered Dish from Fool Chief's Village Cache, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
This dish and its lid, both missing their handles, were recovered from a cache pit at the Fool's Chief village excavations. Fool's Chief village was a Kansa village in Shawnee County occupied from 1830 to 1844. The cache pit was located inside a bark house. The cache pit contained this octagonal dish and lid decorated in a red, green, blue and black floral motif, in addition to a bed pan, knives, hoes, an ax, barrel bands, vermillion, mussel shell and a chain and hook that had been carefully stored for future use.

Covered Dish from Fool Chief's Village Cache, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
This dish and its lid, both missing their handles, were recovered from a cache pit at the Fool's Chief village excavations. Fool's Chief village was a Kansa village in Shawnee County occupied from 1830 to 1844. The cache pit was located inside a bark house. The cache pit contained this octagonal dish and lid decorated in a red, green, blue and black floral motif, in addition to a bed pan, knives, hoes, an ax, barrel bands, vermillion, mussel shell and a chain and hook that had been carefully stored for future use.

Crooked Knives from Fool Chief's Village, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
These knives were found in 2012 at the Fool Chief's Village, a Kansa village site in Shawnee county. Archeologists think these "crooked knives" were traded to the Kansa already in their unique shape. They were likely used for woodworking, such as in the manufacturing of bowls or spoons.

Ebenezer Buckingham to Lewis Allen Alderson
Creator: Buckingham, Ebenezer
Date: March 06, 1832
A letter from Western Theological Seminary student Ebenezer Buckingham to his friend Lewis Allen Alderson. In the letter, Buckingham discusses friends of his who were studying to be missionaries to the Native Indians, as well as his own desire to devote his time to the missionary vocation.

English Gunflints from Fool Chief's Village, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
These six gunflints are just a few of those recovered during excavations at Fool Chief's Village, a Kansa village in Shawnee County. These gunflints were all quarried and manufactured in southern England. The top row of gunflints were likely used in a pistol and both have a single dorsal arris. Those on the bottom row have two dorsal arrises. Fool Chief's Village was the site of the 2012 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school, though excavations continued into 2013.

Exhibit of cattle and other articles sold by the Cary Mission from April 1829 to September 1, 1830
Creator: Simerwell, Robert, 1786-1868
Date: September 1830
This item lists the livestock and items sold by the Carey Mission, Michigan Territory, prior to the closure of the mission in early September of 1830 following the passage of the Indian Removal Act.

Field notes of the survey of the Cherokee Lands
Creator: McCoy, John Calvin, 1811-1889
Date: September 21, 1837
This item contains the details of land surveys conducted by John C. McCoy on Cherokee Lands in 1836 and 1837. McCoy's field notes contains details such as the types of trees, topography, size and course of streams, soil condition, etc. According to the first entry, McCoy began the survey "in accordance with the instructions of Isaac McCoy" and "commenced at the N.W. corner of Quapau Lands on the East bank of the Neosho. River and run thence up with the meanders of the same."

George Alderson to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: March 5, 1829-July 16, 1831
Two letters written by George Alderson to Lewis Allen Alderson. Lewis Allen Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.