Coronado's route to Quivira, 1541
Creator: Ritchey, William E
Date: 1903
This map of Kansas Territory in 1856 shows Coronado's route to and from Quivira in 1541. The Santa Fe Trail is annotated in red. On the reverse is a newspaper article with a map drawn by George Allen Root showing Coronado's route to Quivira and giving distances between points. There is a note from W[illiam] E Ritchey, Harveyville, Kansas, July 9, 1903, to A. R. Greene, Special Inspector, Department of the Interior requesting that Greene mention Ritchey's work in an article that will be published by the Kansas Historical Society. The location of a number of Indian reservations are shown on the map.

Die Indianer der Vereinigten Staaten
Creator: Hunnius, Ado, 1842-1923
Date: 1870-1900
This item contains an article on the Indians of the United States written by Carl Julius Adolph Hunnius. Known as Ado to his friends and colleagues, Hunnius was a Civil War veteran, Indian Wars veteran, artist, writer, and long time resident of Kansas. The article, printed entirely in German, contains information compiled by Hunnius on the Native American tribes in the United States. Details include the branch of the tribe (Stamm), place of residence (Wohnsitz), county, and the total number of men, women and children (Manner, Weiber, und Kinder) for each tribe. The information provided in the article was taken from the offical reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. The article also mentions that there were a total of 100,000 civilized Indians, 135,000 half-civilized Indians, and 81,000 "Wild" Indians.

Eastman's map of Kansas and Nebraska territories showing the location of the Indian reserves according to the treaties of 1854
Date: Between 1854 and 1856
This map shows the locations of the new or reduced lands of Indian tribes according to the treaties of 1854. With the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, the former Indian Territory was opened to white settlement, and the government looked for ways to relocate the native tribes who had made their homes in Kansas. To create more land for white settlement, George Manypenny, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, negotiated treaties with Indian tribes that ceded much of the Indians' lands to the government. This land could then be sold to white emigrants. Naturally, these events helped to exacerbate existing tensions between settlers and Native Americans, contributing to the Indian Wars that occupied the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War.

History of Kansas and emigrant's guide
Creator: Chapman, J. Butler
Date: 1855
The title page of the printed volume indicated that it contained "a description geographical and topographical--also climate, soil, productions and comparative value with other states and territories, including its political history, officers-candidates-emigrant colonies-election, abolition, squatter and pro-slavery contentions and inquisitions; with the prospects of the territory for freedom or slavery." Mr. Chapman was a resident of the territory and the information in the booklet was compiled by traveling through Kansas Territory in 1854. The description covers most of the territory and includes information about Native American tribes and lands.

Joseph Harris to James C Quire
Creator: Harris, Joseph
Date: March 26, 1870
A letter written by Joseph Harris to James C. Quire. Harris a farmer in Paola Township, Miami County, Kansas writes to his nephew James C. Quire, who possibly lived in Ohio. The letter describes the development of Paola, Kansas and provides information on land, transportation, and business opportunities. In the letter, Harris mentions the Indian trade and a Miami village located 10 miles from Paola.

Kansas Territory versus Joseph Conant for taking Indian property
Date: 1859
This arrest warrant and indictment, filed 1859, relate to the case of the United States vs. Joseph Conant. Conant was accused of cutting down and taking trees worth a total of five hundred dollars from Miami tribal land between February and June of 1859. He was indicted during the adjourned May term of the Third District Court of the Kansas Territory in Fort Scott. During the mid-19th century, the Miami tribal lands in Kansas were in present-day Linn and Miami counties.

Map Showing the Progress of the Public Surveys in Kansas and Nebraska
Creator: United States. Surveyor General of Kansas and Nebraska
Date: 1861
Map showing the progress of the public surveys in the Kansas and Nebraska territories. This map accompanied the Annual Report of the Surveyor General, Mark W. Delahay, issued on September 2, 1861. This map is provided through a co-operative project between the Lecompton Historical Society and the Kansas Historical Society. Partial funding was provided by the Ross and Margaret Wulfkuhle Charitable Trust and the Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area. Copies of this map are available for viewing at both the Kansas Historical Society and Lecompton Historical Society.

Map Showing the Progress of the Public Surveys in the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska
Creator: United States. Surveyor General of Kansas and Nebraska
Date: 1857
Map showing the progress of the public surveys in the Kansas and Nebraska territories. This map accompanied the Annual Report of the Surveyor General, John Calhoun, issued in October 1857. This map is provided through a co-operative project between the Lecompton Historical Society and the Kansas Historical Society. Partial funding was provided by the Ross and Margaret Wulfkuhle Charitable Trust and the Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area. Copies of this map are available for viewing at both the Kansas Historical Society and Lecompton Historical Society.

Map Showing the Progress of the Public Surveys in the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska
Creator: United States. Surveyor General of Kansas and Nebraska
Date: 1860
Map showing the progress of the public surveys in the Kansas and Nebraska territories. This map accompanied the Annual Report of the Surveyor General, Ward B. Burnett, issued on October 1, 1860. This map is provided through a co-operative project between the Lecompton Historical Society and the Kansas Historical Society. Partial funding was provided by the Ross and Margaret Wulfkuhle Charitable Trust and the Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area. Copies of this map are available for viewing at both the Kansas Historical Society and Lecompton Historical Society.

Map of Eastern Kansas
Creator: Jewett, J.P. & Company
Date: 1856
A map of Eastern Kansas by E.B. Whitman and A.D. Searl, General Land Agents, Lawrence, Kansas. The map illustrates a portion of Eastern Kansas which depicts trading posts, post offices, missions, government forts, Indian villages, roads, trails and Indian boundaries. The Indian boundaries that are featured included: the Kickappo, Pottawatomie, Kansa, Sax and Fox, Shawnee, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Iowa, Delaware, Wyandotte, Piankashaw, and the Wea. The map includes illustrations of the Eldridge House in Lawrence and the Constitution Hall in Topeka. The land discussed above was originally given to Native Americans following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830.

Map of Kansas, with parts of neighboring states and territories
Creator: Hunnius, Ado, 1842-1923
Date: 1870
This map was drawn by Ado Hunnius at the request of Major General J. M. Schofield. It was compiled under the direction of 1st Lieutenant Henry Jackson of the 7th U.S. Cavalry in March 1870. It includes the location of forts in Kansas, southern Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and northern portions of Indian Territory (Oklahoma), as well as noting natural features (rivers, hills, etc.), trails, and Indian reservations.

Map showing the progress of the Public Surveys in the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska
Creator: United States. Surveyor General of Kansas and Nebraska
Date: 1859
Map of Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory created to accompany the annual report of Surveyor General, Ward B. Burnett. The map identifies cities, rivers, and Indian reservations. This map is provided through a co-operative project between the Lecompton Historical Society and the Kansas Historical Society. Partial funding was provided by the Ross and Margaret Wulfkuhle Charitable Trust and the Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area. Copies of this map are available for viewing at both the Kansas Historical Society and Lecompton Historical Society.

Mitchell's Sectional Map of Kansas
Creator: Middleton, Strobridge & Co.
Date: 1859
A sectional map of eastern portions of Kansas Territory. The map was compiled from the field notes in the Surveyor Generals Office by David T. Mitchell, a U. S. Surveyor and Land Agent in Lecompton, Kansas. Towns, county boundaries, and Indian reservations are identified on the map. This map is provided through a co-operative project between the Lecompton Historical Society and the Kansas Historical Society. Partial funding was provided by the Ross and Margaret Wulfkuhle Charitable Trust and the Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area. Copies of this map are available for viewing at both the Kansas Historical Society and Lecompton Historical Society.

Names and numbers of Indian tribes which must have possessions in the Indian Territory
Creator: McCoy, Isaac, 1784-1846
Date: November 1, 1832
Isaac McCoy, a Baptist missionary and surveyor, compiled this list of Indian tribes and their estimated populations. McCoy advocated Indian removal to western lands because he believed that the white man's influence on natives was corrupting. On this chart he listed about 45 tribes from all over the eastern United States. Only some of these tribes were relocated to Indian Territory (present-day Kansas). "Do" is an abbreviation for "ditto."

Plan of the Public Surveys in Kansas & Nebraska
Creator: United States. Surveyor General of Kansas and Nebraska
Date: 1856
Map showing the plan of the public surveys in Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory as submitted by the Surveyor Generals Office in Wyandott, Kansas Territory on October 20, 1856. This map is provided through a co-operative project between the Lecompton Historical Society and the Kansas Historical Society. Partial funding was provided by the Ross and Margaret Wulfkuhle Charitable Trust and the Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area. Copies of this map are available for viewing at both the Kansas Historical Society and Lecompton Historical Society.

Reverend T.H. Kinsella to J.V. Kelly
Creator: Kinsella, Reverend T.H.
Date: October 08, 1923
This item, sent to J.V. Kelly by Reverend T.H. Kinsella, contains information on the Jesuit Mission at Kickapoo, Leavenworth County, Kansas. Kinsella addresses Catholic missionary life in the West, and the first efforts of such missionaries in the Indian Territory/Kansas Territory. Established in 1836 by Father Van Quickenborne, Kinsella explains that Kickapoo "had streets and stores of many kinds, a blacksmith's shop and a sawmill." Kinsella's letter also includes details on St. Mary's Mission, the influx of newcomers after 1854, Catholic work in Leavenworth, Kansas, and the flooding of the town of Kickapoo.

United States Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, St. Louis, Missouri. Volume 17, Accounts
Creator: United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Central Superintendency
Date: 1843-1853
This volume contains records of current accounts of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, at St. Louis, Missouri. David D. Mitchell held this position from 1849-1853. Expenditures are recorded for several sub-agencies, including Fort Leavenworth, Upper Missouri, Council Bluffs, Great Nemaha and Osage River, and the various Indian tribes in each region. These expenditures included salaries for blacksmiths and interpreters, annuities, and provisions. Partial funding for the digitization of these records was provided by the National Park Service. Volumes 16 and 17 are bound together.

United States Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, St. Louis, Missouri. Volume 31, Diary
Creator: United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Central Superintendency
Date: 1826-1831
William Clark kept this diary during his tenure as the Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis, Missouri. The diary consists primarily of meteorological data, steamboat arrivals, arrivals and departures of Indians, and a few notes of deaths, accidents, and marriages. A searchable, full-text (PDF) transcription is available under "External Links" below. Partial funding for the digitization of these records was provided by the National Park Service.

United States Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, St. Louis, Missouri. Volume 9, Correspondence
Creator: United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Central Superintendency
Date: 1847-1855
This volume contains correspondence sent by the Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency in St. Louis, Missouri from 1847-1855. The correspondence was sent by the Superintendents of Indian Affairs to the Commissioners of Indian Affairs. During this period the superintendents included Thomas H. Harvey, David D. Mitchell, and Alfred Cumming; the commissioners included William Medill, Orlando Brown, Luke Lea, and George Washington Manypenny. Topics of discussion focused on the appropriation of federal funds for treaties, the hiring and firing of Indian agents, and the transportation and storage of goods and supplies. Partial funding for the digitization of these records was provided by the National Park Service. A searchable, full-text (PDF) transcription is available under "External Links" below.

United States versus Abijah Bayles for taking Indian property
Date: crime December 15, 1859 to May 1860; indictment May 1860
This arrest warrant and indictment relate to the case of the United States vs. Abijah Bayles for the taking of Indian property from Miami land in Lykins County (now Miami County), Kansas territory between December 15, 1859 and May 1860. Bayles was indicted by the United States District Court of the Kansas Territory, Third District, during the May term of 1860 for taking rails, boards, timber, and clapboard shingles from the property of a Miami tribesman called Deaf Billy. The arrest warrant is dated May 25, 1861 and was returned by the U.S. marshal on June 3, 1861, stating the defendant could not be found. Bayles was charged with a similar crime in 1859 (see item 444761).

United States versus Abijah Bayles for taking Indian property
Date: crime February 1, 1859; indictment May 1859
These legal documents relate to the case against Abijah Bayles for cutting down and taking trees worth five hundred dollars between February and May of 1859 from land owned by the Miami tribe. The Miami land was located in Lykins County (now Miami County) and Linn County, Kansas Territory. Bayles was indicted during the 1859 May term of the United States District Court of the Kansas Territory, Third District. Bayles was arrested on May 4, 1860 and released on bond May 7. During the Kansas territorial period, the increase in settlers led to conflict with tribes that were promised permanent lands in Kansas following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

United States versus Andrew Delf for settling on Miami Lands
Date: 1858 - 1860
These legal documents relate to the case of the United States vs. Andrew Delf. Delf was accused of settling on lands that belonged to the Miami Tribe on January 8, 1858 in the Kansas Territory. During the mid-19th century, the Miami Lands were located in Lykins (present-day Miami) and Linn counties. Delf was indicted by the Third District Court in Fort Scott, Kansas Territory during the October court term of 1858.

United States versus Belt Beshear (Basheer) for taking Indian property
Date: 1859-1860
These legal documents relate to the case of the United States vs. Belt Beshear (Basheer) for taking Indian property. Beshear was accused of cutting down and taking trees from Miami tribal land in the Kansas Territory between January 1 and May of 1859. Beshear was indicted by the U. S. District Court for the Kansas Territory, Third District during the May term of 1859. In the mid-19th century, The Miami tribal lands were located in Lykins (present day Miami) and Linn counties. During the Kansas territorial period, the increase in settlers led to conflict with tribes that were promised permanent lands in Kansas following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

United States versus Belt Brashear for taking Indian property
Date: May 1860
These legal documents relate to the case of the United States vs. Belt Brashear. Brashear was accused of stealing nails worth two hundred dollars on March 1, 1860 from Miami tribal lands in the Kansas Territory. During the mid-19th century, the Miami tribal lands in the Kansas were located in Lykins (now Miami) and Linn counties. Brashear was indicted during the May term of the U. S. District Court of the Kansas Territory, Third District, in Fort Scott.

United States versus Bitterman for selling liquor to the Indians
Date: November 1859
These legal documents relate to the case of the United States vs. Bitterman (first name unknown) for selling liquor to members of the Miami tribe in November of 1859 on Miami tribal lands in the Kansas territory. The documents include three indictments for Bitterman issued by the U. S. District Court for the Kansas Territory, Third District during the November court term. In the mid-19th century, The Miami tribal lands in the Kansas Territory were located in Lykins (present day Miami) and Linn counties.