Billings & Bryant to John Brown, bill of sale for horse wagon
Creator: Billings & Bryant,
Date: Between 1855 and 1859
The state of Iowa frequently served as a relatively safe haven for abolitionist John Brown and his followers during the late 1850s, and Iowa City was on the famous Lane Trail which carried many free-state activists and settlers to and from Kansas. This document, from "Billings & Bryant," indicates that the partners had received $100 from John Brown as payment "in full for a heavy Horse Waggon" that they agreed "to ship immediately to J B Iowa City, Iowa; care of Dr. Jesse Bowen." Bowen was a member of the Kansas Central Committee of Iowa who later lived in Leavenworth, Kansas Territory.

David Burge to Thomas Johnson, Slave Bill of Sale
Creator: Burge, David
Date: May 24, 1856
This bill of sale was issued by David Burge to Thomas Johnson as a receipt for Johnson's purchase of an African American slave named Martha for $800. Thomas Johnson was a Methodist minister and the founder of the Shawnee Methodist Mission. Johnson County, Kansas Territory, was named for Thomas Johnson.

Edmund Jones to Hiram Hill, Jr., expense sheet
Creator: Jones, Edmund
Date: November 8, 1855
This expense sheet, signed by Edmund Jones, was apparently written by Hiram Hill. It includes amounts received by Jones during his oversight of the construction of Hill's house in Lawrence, the amount paid to Jones and Mr. Johnson (the plasterer), and the balance. The last column shows Hill's total expense for materials, labor, and land.

John Brown certificate of authenticity
Creator: Brown, John, 1800-1859
Date: March 24, 1859
A certificate of authenticity for the sale of a horse signed by John Brown. Brown claims the horse was taken near Fort Scott, Kansas Territory, during the Kansas/Missouri border conflicts in 1858 and that this was his riding horse during his activities in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. The transaction was executed in Cleveland, Ohio, between Brown and a Mr. A. K. Lindsley.

Kansas Adjutant General general correspondence
Creator: Kansas. Adjutant General's Office
Date: 1878
This correspondence was sent and received by the Kansas Adjutant General's Office. Hiram T. Benam served as Adjutant General from 1876-1878 and Peter S. Noble served from 1878-1883. It includes inquiries made from men "anxious for organization" hoping to enlist militias in the towns of Parsons, Independence, Iuka, Lawrence, and Hutchinson. The collection also includes bill of ladings from the Kansas Pacific Railway and Rock Island (Illinois) Arsenal. Frequent correspondence was exchanged with Willis Brown, cashier for the State Bank of Kansas in Seneca, Kansas, Scott Hopkins of the Kansas University Cadets, John T. Bradley, a lawyer from Council Grove and member of the Kansas Senate from 1876 to 1880, F.C. Merrill, a lumber dealer from Paola, and E.D. Rose, a hardware dealer from Holton.

Kansas Adjutant General miscellaneous correspondence
Creator: Kansas. Adjutant General's Office
Date: 1904
Correspondence sent and received by Kansas Adjutant General Samuel H. Kelsey. Correspondents include Major Frank W. Butler, Captain Frank G. Babcock, Perry M. Hoisington, Captain Albert J. Jones, Captain J.F. Lawson, Captain Thomas A. Mayhew, Major E.W. Wellington, Captain Wilton D. Snodgrass, General Wilder S. Metcalf, and Brigadier General Henry Blanchard Freeman. Adjutant General Kelsey requested information relating to appropriation from other state militia and received responses from Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Virginia, New York, Connecticut, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Illinois. Also included in this correspondence are several bills and receipts for services from Ottawa Gas and Heating Company, Franklin County Hardware Company, Topeka Transfer and Storage Company, and the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, among others.

Kansas Farmer Seed Wheat Club history collection
Creator: Kansas Farmer Seed Wheat Club
Date: 1913 - 1915
This collection consists of records from the Kansas Farmer Seed Wheat Club. It includes correspondence, index cards by county noting how much was deposited in each bank, what was outstanding and what had been paid, and other miscellaneous materials. The correspondence and other materials all regard the logistics of purchasing, shipping, and distributing the seed wheat, as well as monitoring how the crops fared and that loans were repaid. Frequent correspondents include Culver D. Yetter, secretary of the Kansas Farmer Seed Wheat Club, and Charles Manville Sawyer, state bank commissioner who became the first president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.