1856 One-Cent Coin from the Canville Trading Post, 14NO396
Date: 1856-1872
This one-cent coin was found at the Canville Trading Post in Neosho County near the Osage Reservation and was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1994. The obverse of the coin shows Liberty with braided hair surrounded by stars and the date 1856. The reverse side shows an oak leaf wreath surrounding the words "ONE CENT." Large one-cent coins were discontinued in 1857 and replaced with smaller one-cent coins of the size we use today. The Canville Trading Post was established in 1847 by A. B. Canville. When the Osage reservation land was ceded to the United States in 1870, the Osage left for Oklahoma and Canville followed in 1872.

1867 flood, Fort Hays, Kansas
Date: June 08, 1867
This photograph represents buildings that survived the flooding on June 8, 1867 in Fort Hays, Kansas. At the time of the flood, the buildings standing in the photograph had been built approximately five months prior. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

1876 Penny from the Kaw Mission, 14MO368
Date: 1876
The 1876 penny was recovered during excavations at the 2018 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Kaw Mission. The penny, sometimes called an Indian Head cent or Indian Head penny shows Liberty with a head dress on the obverse side. The reverse side shows an oak wreath and shield surrounding the words "ONE CENT." The Mission was built over the winter of 1850 - 1851 by the Methodist Episcopal Church South as a school for boys in the Kaw (or Kansa) tribe. The site was acquired by the state of Kansas in 1951 and it was listed in 1971 to the National Register of Historic Places.

1878 Penny from the Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, 14LN337
Date: 1878
This penny dates to 14 years later than the Battle of Mine Creek, but still can help archeologists understand activity or disturbance at the site. The site was the location where on October 25, 1864 Union and Confederate forces fought one of the largest cavalry battles in the Civil War. The penny, sometimes called an Indian Head cent or Indian Head penny shows Liberty with a head dress on the obverse side. The reverse side shows an oak wreath and shield surrounding the words "ONE CENT."

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.

1880 Liberty Head Half Eagle from Fort Hays, 14EL301
Date: 1880-1889
This coin was recovered during excavation at historic Fort Hays in Ellis County. The $5.00 coin is 90% gold and 10% copper. Minted in 1880, the coin has a Liberty or Coronet head on the obverse side and an eagle with shield on the reverse side. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and is a State Historic Site.

1895 fire, Hays, Kansas
Date: March 30, 1895
This photograph represents the aftermath that burned fifty-five buildings in Hays, Kansas on March 30, 1895.

1990 Excavations at Cottonwood Ranch, 14SD327
Date: 1990
These images were taken at the Cottonwood Ranch site in Sheridan County during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 1990. The ranch was established by Abraham Pratt from Yorkshire, England, in 1878 to raise sheep. The 1990 excavations were exploring an outbuilding that was constructed around 1890 and removed after storm damage in 1911. Shown are a general progress show looking north, two volunteers processing soil flotation, progress shot looking to the southeast, a Daisy Fly Killer along side of one in its original packaging, exposed foundation of the ranch house, and an aerial view of the site.

.38 Short Colt Cartridge from the Grinter Place, 14WY316
Date: 1867-1900
This cartridge casing is a ".38 Short Colt" and was recovered from Grinter Place State Historic Site in Wyandotte County. This was an early metallic pistol cartridge often used in conversions of the popular Colt 1851 Navy .36 revolver, a popular sidearm during and immediately after the American Civil War. The .38 Short Colt was superseded by other .38 calibers soon after it was introduced and is now very uncommon. Grinter Place is a two-story brick home overlooking the Delaware Crossing on the Kansas River, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Moses and Annie Grinter, the latter was a member of the Lenape (Delaware) tribe, owned and operated a ferry and trading post there.

7th Cavalry Camp, Fort Hays, Kansas
Date: 1867
These two photographs represent different views of the 7th Cavalry Camp near Fort Hays, Kansas. In one photograph, men can be sitting in a field outside tents. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

7th Cavalry parade, Fort Hays, Kansas
Date: 1867
This photograph represents an evening parade by the 7th Cavalry near Fort Hays, Kansas. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

A
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1879-1883 : St. John)
Date: 1879-1883
This file includes letters on topics such as agriculture, the American Institute of Christian Philosophy, bondsmen, and acknowledgement of receipts. In the first letter to Kansas Governor St. John the person requests the governor speak to the Legislature to adjust measures in securing the Fort Hays reservation as a school for the promotion of agriculture. There is a letter from Joe Anderson of Kansas City, Kansas requesting that Governor St. John be a bondsman for the Olathe Asylum. Other letters in this file discuss appointments, advocacy for temporary amendments, as well as other matters.

A and miscellaneous B
Creator: Rottluff, Blanche
Date: between 1939 and 1985
This is folder 36 of the Rottluff Family papers collection. The papers relate to the establishment of present-day Bonner Springs, Kansas. This file comes from box 1 of the collection.

Abbie Bright
Date: 1870
Abbie Bright at age 22 photographed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Abbie Bright correspondence
Creator: Bright, Abbie, 1848-1926
Date: 1861-1903
Abbie Bright was born on a farm near Danville, Pennsylvania, on December 17, 1848. She had three brothers, Dennis, Hiram and Philip, all of whom enlisted in the army when the Civil War broke out. Abbie had three sisters, Rebecca, Peninah, and Mary, all of whom aided the war effort. In 1870 Abbie traveled to Indiana and Kansas to visit Hiram and Philip and wrote an account of her trip in a diary (also available on Kansas Memory as record unit 223662). While in Kansas she acquired 160 acres as an investment. This series of correspondence includes letters describing the brother's wartime activities. There are also letters to and from other individuals who were involved in the Civil War. These writings make a significant contribution to Civil War research. Other letters pertain to Philip and Abbie Bright's westward migration. Philip moved to Wyoming, Kansas, Texas, and Arizona but died in 1873 and the letters at that time mostly concern his death. The 1902 and 1903 correspondence apparently regards the sale of Abbie's land in Kansas. A complete transcription is available by clicking on "Text Version" below.

Abbie Bright diary
Creator: Bright, Abbie, 1848-1926
Date: 1868-1921
Born in Pennsylvania in 1848, Abbie Bright traveled to Kansas in 1870 as a young woman and her diary is primarily an account of this trip. It gives excellent accounts of daily life and settlement activities. The "diary" is actually composed of two different manuscripts and both are presented here. The first is an eighty-six page loose-leaf diary with consistent entries from September 2, 1870 - December 20, 1871. The second is a bound composition book with 129 written pages. This book begins with a childhood reminiscence written in Iowa in 1914 (p1-23), followed by a reminiscence of her Kansas trip written in Iowa in 1921 (p24-36) that covers Aug 23, 1870 - Jan 30, 1871. The book then includes some recipes dated 1868-1871 and a receipt dated 1884 (p37-41), and finally consistent diary entries from February 2, 1871 - December 21, 1871 (p41-129). A complete, revised transcription of both manuscripts is available by clicking on "Text Version" below. A previous, annotated transcription that combines the 1870-1871 entries from both manuscripts was published in the Kansas Historical Quarterly in 1971 and is available through a link below.

Abbie Bright miscellaneous items
Creator: Bright, Abbie, 1848-1926
Date: 1870-1878
These documents comprise the miscellaneous series in the Abbie Bright collection. The series includes an undated drawing of the camp of the Fifteenth Regiment on Elk Fork; notes of W[illiam] Ross dated 1870 on frontier life in Kansas; and an 1878 land patent written out by J. A. Williamson, Washington, DC, to the late Philip Bright.

Abelard Guthrie
Abelard Guthrie was a member of the Wyandot tribe through his marriage to his wife Quindaro Nancy. He was elected as the Wyandot delegate to Congress in 1852. He was involved in the development of the town of Quindaro and had business dealing with numerous early territorial settlers.

Abelard Guthrie to Hiram Hill
Creator: Guthrie, Abelard
Date: January 18, 1859
Abelard Guthrie wrote from Quindaro, Kansas Territory, to Hiram Hill in Massachusetts. Guthrie reported that there had been "considerable progress" in Quindaro lately: a railroad was being constructed, telegraph wires were hung, and a factory and foundry had been established. Guthrie told Hill that if Hill would forget the Kansas Avenue grading disagreement and repay him his debt, Guthrie would travel to Washington to obtain a railroad grant.

Abelard Guthrie to Hiram Hill
Creator: Guthrie, Abelard
Date: November 11, 1858
Abelard Guthrie, a member of the Quindaro Town Company, wrote from Quindaro, Kansas Territory, to Hiram Hill in Massachusetts, rebutting Hill's accusations that he had acted in bad faith regarding certain enterprises of the Town Company. Guthrie stated that he had intended to begin the grading work on Kansas Avenue and other roads, but had found that the Company's funds were depleted; he suspected a swindling. He defended himself in light of other land purchases and business transactions and expressed extreme frustration at his bleak financial situation.

A, B: Helen Clark to Blanche Rottluff
Creator: Rottluff, Blanche
Date: 1985
This is folder 10 of the Rottluff Family papers collection. The papers relate to the establishment of present-day Bonner Springs, Kansas. This file comes from box 3 of the collection.

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.

Absalom White territorial loss claim
Creator: Strickler, Hiram Jackson
Date: 1859
Report of H.L. Strickler, Commissioner to Audit Claims of Citizens of the Territory of Kansas, contained in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set of congressional and executive documents. Absalom White filed claim #246 for the loss of an arm as a result of being struck by a bullet at a battle with southerners near the H. T. Titus [probably Henry C.] home in Douglas County. The arm was subsequently amputated. The claim was not allowed on the grounds that White was "engaged in rebellion and making unwarranted attack on the person and property of a private citizen." Each claimant had to submit an itemized list and have two witnesses attest to the losses claimed. Even though many of these claims were approved for payment, no funds were ever appropriated or distributed.