1851 Colt Navy Revolver
Creator: Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company
Date: between 1851 and 1852
1851 Colt Navy Revolver with engraved cylinder. Six shot, .36 caliber single action steel revolver with walnut grips. William F. Arny reportedly gave this Colt Navy revolver to John Brown in 1856 in recognition of his efforts for the Free State cause. According to Arny, Brown returned the revolver to him when he learned that Arny did not support his methods. Arny came to Kansas in 1857 and was involved in the Free State movement, serving as a delegate to the Grasshopper Falls Convention and as a member of the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. He was also elected to the first State Legislature. Arny donated the revolver to the Kansas Historical Society in 1879. Alternatively, it is possible that the revolver was one of fifty purchased by John Brown supporters back East and sent to him in Kansas. Because he was keeping a low profile, Brown couldn't receive the shipment and the revolvers were distributed to Kansans who might be able to use them to support the cause. Brown later attempted to retrieve the weapons with little success. Arny may have received this revolver and kept it until the time of donation.

1853 - Sac and Fox Agency
Creator: Green, Charles R.
Date: September 1, 1853
This item lists tribes under the Superintendency of Indians Affairs in St. Louis headed by B.A. James and Colonel Alfred Cummings. In particular, the item lists the Ottawas, Chippewas of Swan Creek, and the Black River Sacs and Foxes.

An act to legalize certain marriages therein named
Creator: Washington, Chief James
Date: April 8, 1851
This item, approved by Wyandott Chief James Washington, provides a list of people married within the Wyandott territory in the spring of 1851.

Celina Ferrell's album
Date: Between 1855 and 1858
A souvenir album from Garland Thompson Ferrell to his wife, Celina Ferrell. Celina and Garland T. Ferrell were the parents of Ferrell Ranch founder Lloyd Bascom Ferrell. The album contains prose, inscriptions, decorative cards, locks of hair, and a few loose letters from later dates, one being from her son, Lloyd Bascom Ferrell.

Ceramic Pipe from the Quindaro Site, 14WY314
Date: 1850-1859
This ceramic pipe was recovered during excavations at the Quindaro townsite in 1986. It was first associated with a feature at the site that was discovered to be a late 19th to early 20th century farmstead. However, as it was recovered deeply buried in a trench the Archaeologist determined that it dated from the 1850s. The pipe has a faint mark, perhaps a maker's mark, on either side of the stem. A small amount of charcoal-like residue is at the base of the pipe bowl's interior, though there are no other signs that it had been smoked.

Certificate of Indenture
Creator: Rottluff, Blanche
Date: 1851
This is folder 43 of the Rottluff Family papers collection. The papers relate to the establishment of present-day Bonner Springs, Kansas. This file comes from box 2 of the collection.

Coins from the Plowboy Site, 14SH372
Date: 1853-1918
These coins were collected from the Plowboy site in Shawnee County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. The Plowboy site was home to the Kansa, the Potawatomi, and Euro-Americans. At various times, the site contained a farm, a trading post, and a post office with nearby military trails, Mormon routes, a railroad and the California-Oregon trail. On the top row is a shield nickel minted in 1873 and a wheat penny minted in 1916. On the bottom row are two half-dimes with a seated Liberty with stars and arrows, both minted in 1853, and a mercury dime minted in 1918.

Constitution Hall, Lecompton, Kansas
Date: 1852
This photograph represents an illustration of the State-House, more commonly known as Constiution Hall, in Lecompton, Kansas from Henry Howe's "Historical Collections of the Great West". Lecompton Constitution Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Place in 1971, and as a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

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.

Coxcomb and Currents quilt
Creator: Stark, Elizabeth E.
Date: 1853
Elaborately quilted red and green appliqué quilt in Coxcomb and Currents pattern (also known as Flowering Almond). Embroidered at center in pale blue with maker's name and date: "ELIZABETH STARK 1853." Stark was born in Ohio in 1833, married John Whitlow in 1857, and came to Kansas with her young family around 1868. Elizabeth spent the majority of her life in Topeka, living well into the 20th century. This quilt was passed down to her daughter, Lillian Whitlow Johnson.

Cup
Date: between 1800 and 1920
Hand-wrought communal iron drinking cup with attached chain. The cup was attached to a rock by the Sulphur Spring public spring near Fort Scott around 1800 and saw continuous use until communal drinking cups were banned by the Kansas State Board of Health in 1909. The cup was replaced by a sanitary drinking fountain on November 1, 1911. Dr. Samuel J. Crumbine, Director of the Board of Health, used the cup in his public health and sanitation campaigns, and it was later displayed at the Paper Cup and Container Institute in New York.

Deeds from the James Stanley Emery Collection
Date: 1856-1887
These deeds from the James Stanely Emery collection document a real estate purchase from James S. Emery for $500. Nathaniel S. Higgins of Fair Haven, Massachusetts is purchasing half of an undivided lot (Number 30) and the stone or concrete building currently occupied by Emery on Massachusetts Street in Lawrence. If Emery is able to acquire share number 97 of the town of Lawrence from the government, however, the sale will not take effect. James Stanley Emery was born in Franklin County, Maine in 1826. Educated at Waterville College, he was admitted to the bar in New York in 1854. He was involved with the New England Emigrant Aid Company, coming to Kansas with the second party of immigrants, and generally in free state activities in Kansas to ensure that it became an anti-slavery state when it entered the Union. Through the following years, he worked in numerous states for the cause. Emery was a member of the Leavenworth constitutional convention and served on the Kansas Legislature in 1862 and 1863. He was a lawyer and worked as a journalist for the New York Daily Times. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Emery U.S. District Attorney for Kansas in 1864. In 1891 he was president of the Kansas State Historical Society. Emery died in Lawrence in 1899.

Eagle Wreath Military Button from Fort Scott, 14BO302
Date: 1842-1853
This brass military button was recovered from the Fort Scott National Historic Site during excavations conducted there between 1968 through 1972 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists. The brass two piece button has a wire loop shank. The button front depicts an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows above with a wreath below and a large "U. S." in the middle. The button back has the wording "United States." The button is ligne 30 in size and likely represents a coat or jacket button. When Fort Scott was built it was on the western military frontier, but is now located within the city limits of Fort Scott.

Edward James Mitchell to Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Creator: Rottluff, Blanche
Date: 1852
This is folder 44 of the Rottluff Family papers collection. The papers relate to the establishment of present-day Bonner Springs, Kansas. This file comes from box 2 of the collection.

Engraving of and information about Lucy Stone
Creator: Illustrated News
Date: 1853
An engraving of Lucy Stone, one of the more noted and radical feminists, shown wearing bloomers. The engraving, which appears in the Illustrated News, May 28, 1853, was taken from a daguerreotype made by Mathew Brady. She journeyed to Kansas with her husband, Henry B. Blackwell, in April, 1867, to help launch the impartial-suffrage campaign.

Ferrell family scrapbook
Date: Between 1850 and 2007
This scrapbook contains photographs, family history, genealogy, and newspaper clippings regarding the Ferrell family. Family members include but are not limited to Garland Thompson Ferrell, Lloyd Bascom Ferrell, Garland Peter Ferrell, Sr., Garland Peter Ferrell, Jr., Tarsy Salome Myers, and Celina Webster Sexton.

George Washington Martin
Date: Between 1850 and 1860
This photograph, a copy from a daguerreotype, shows George Washington Martin, 1841-1914. Martin migrated to the Kansas Territory in 1857 from Pennsylvania settling in Lecompton, Kansas where he worked with the pro-slavery paper the Lecompton Union, later becoming the National Democrat. Martin continued to establish himself as a newspaper editor and publisher founding the Junction City Union. Actively involved in the community, Martin held several public offices from mayor of Junction City to serving in the Kansas House of Representatives. In 1888 he moved to Kansas City, Kansas, establishing the Daily Gazette newspaper. Martin was the managing editor of the newspaper until 1899 when he is elected secretary of the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS). Martin held this position for fifteen years and was appointed secretary emeritus of KSHS in February 1914. He passed away on March 27, 1914 in Topeka, Kansas.

Henry B. Douglass
Date: 1852
This a photograph showing Henry B. Douglass who was born March 9, 1827 at West Point, where his father David Bates Douglass was Professor of Engineering. Henry Douglass graduated from West Point in 1852, and was promoted to Bvt. Second Lt. and assigned to the 7th Infantry. He was stationed at Fort Dodge, Kansas.

Horse, Mule, and Oxen Shoes from Fort Atkinson, 14FD305
Date: 1850-1854
Several different styles of shoes were recovered from Fort Atkinson in Ford County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2015. Shown here are two smaller mule shoes ("U"-shaped), a veterinary shoe (nearly a complete circle), two horse shoes (for different sized horses), and an ox shoe. Fort Atkinson, occupied for only four years, was located along the Santa Fe Trail.

Horseshoe
Date: between 1800 and 1870
Large horseshoe of hand-wrought iron. This shoe was found on the Santa Fe Trail west of Council Grove, Kansas.

Horseshoe
Date: between 1800 and 1870
Small horseshoe (hind shoe, or possibly mule shoe) of hand-wrought iron. This shoe was found on the Santa Fe Trail at or near Council Grove.

Iron ladle
Date: between 1800 and 1880
Large iron ladle made of hand-wrought iron. This ladle is known as a "cucharon." It was used to ladle food from a kettle (caso).

Iron skewer
Date: 1880
Long hand-wrought iron skewer. This skewer is known as an "espeton." It is a multi-purpose tool used to stir fire or roast ears of corn, buffalo meat, or beef over an open fire.

Ironstone Plate from Quindaro, 14WY314
Date: 1834-1859
This portion of an ironstone plate was recovered from the Quindaro town site and reconstructed by archeologists. The oriental flowblue pattern dish was manufactured by Podmore, Walker and Co of Tunstall, England.

Iron trivet
Date: between 1800 and 1880
Hand-wrought iron trivet with three legs. This trivet is known as a "tinamaiste." It was used to support a caso (kettle) over a campfire. As is typical for this form, the trivet is pieced together from scrap. The ring and two wide legs are made from old wagon tires; the thin leg from two scraps of horseshoes welded together.