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 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.

A. 4th F. A. Gettysburg
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: 1919
Captain Hughes photographed this scene with cannons at Gettysburg National Military Park in 1919. He labeled the photo A. 4th F.A. Gettysburg. He would probably have still been stationed at Camp Holabird, Maryland, Motor Transport School at this time. James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available at the link below to Kansapedia.

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.

Abraham Lincoln raising the thirty-four star flag
Creator: Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg)
Date: February 22, 1861
This is an illustration showing President Abraham Lincoln hoisting the American flag with thirty-four stars upon Independence Hall, Philadelphia, February 22, 1861. Copied from Harper's Weekly, March 9, 1861.

A. C. Pettitt to Governor John St. John
Creator: Pettitt, A. C.
Date: May 22, 1880
In this letter, the State Executive Committee Chairman of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, speaking for the prohibitionists of his state, sends Kansas Governor St. John a hearty note of support for his efforts to suppress the "Liquor Traffic" in Kansas.

Admit Me Free flag
Date: 1856
In 1856 this cotton and wool flag was used by Walter Whitehead in a rally at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for Republican presidential nominee John C. Fremont. The oversized 33rd star and the words, "Admit Me Free" in the canton of the flag are in support of Kansas admittance as a free state. It was also used in the 1860 presidential campaign for Abraham Lincoln and other political campaigns.

A. H. Reeder to Franklin Crane
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: September 1, 1858
Andrew Reeder, former governor of Kansas Territory, wrote from Easton, Pennsylvania, to inform Franklin Crane of the eastern response to elections in Kansas, and the prospects for the Leavenworth Constitution. Reeder also discussed the value of Topeka lots and a request to donate one lot for a church.

A. H. Reeder to Franklin Crane
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: November 28, 1859
Andrew Reeder, former governor of Kansas Territory, wrote from Easton, Pennsylvania to Dr. Franklin Crane of Topeka. The letter discussed business interests in Kansas Territory and prospects for its admission to the union. Reeder also suggested it might be beneficial to replace place names, which had been established by the bogus legislature, that had pro-slavery connections.

A. J. Cogswell to Governor John St. John
Creator: Cogswell, A. J.
Date: April 28, 1880
In this letter from Silvara, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, A.J. Cogswell writes to Kansas Governor St. John asking for written sanction of "Abstinence from the use of alcoholic stimulants as medicine."

Album Patch quilt top
Date: between 1854 and 1856
This Album Patch quilt top is composed of multi-colored pieced calico blocks set on a white muslin ground. Inked names handwritten on the center of each block include Lyda Davis, Sarah Emminger, Ellen Wiestline, and Mary Swartz. White paper fragments with handwritten names are pinned to the center of some blocks. Dates written on the top include 1854, 1855, and 1856. This top probably was made in Pennsylvania and later brought to Kansas.

Alfred M. Landon as an infant
Creator: Neiler, J. P.
Date: 1887
This is a cabinet card showing Alfred M. Landon as an infant.

Alfred Mossman Landon and Helen Landon
Creator: Miller
Date: Between 1889 and 1891
This photograph shows Alfred Mossman Landon with his sister Helen.

Alfred Mossman Landon as a young boy
Creator: Miller
Date: Between 1895 and 1897
This is a cabinet card showing Alfred Mossman Landon as a young boy.

Alfred Mossman Landon at age six
Creator: O'Neal
Date: November, 1892
This is a cabinet card shows Alfred M. Landon at age six.

Altgeld's great speech
Creator: Altgeld, John P.
Date: 1898
A speech delivered by John P. Altgeld to the working men of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Labor Day, 1897. Altgeld's idea was that government ownership is the remedy for the nation's existing troubles.

Andrew Horatio Reeder to Franklin Crane
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: December 23, 1856
This letter by Andrew Reeder, former governor of Kansas Territory, was written from Easton, Pennsylvania, where both Reeder and Crane had lived before coming to Kansas. Reeder encloses payment for the taxes on his Topeka lots. He also reports that he has been in Washington, D. C. lobbying for the free-state cause and informs Crane of various issues being discussed in the capitol.

Andrew H. Reeder to John A. Haldeman
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: August 11, 1856
In this letter to John A. Haldeman, Andrew H. Reeder discusses the "sacking of Lawrence," the loss of papers related to the sale on lands that once belonged to Indians, and the use of Haldeman as his agent for his lots in Leavenworth, Kansas. As Reeder's letter indicates, the transition of Indian lands into the hands of white settlers was often quite difficult and added to tension levels in Kansas in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

Andrew H. Reeder to John A. Halderman
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: October 6, 1855
This 1855 letter to John A. Halderman from former territorial governor Andrew H. Reeder of Westport, Kansas Territory, describes a new assessment of $5 per share for the town of Tecumseh's 640 acre Wyandot Float. Reeder also discusses the erection of a court house with bricks that had been intended for a hotel.

Andrew H. Reeder to John A. Halderman
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: August 11, 1856
The former governor writes this letter from Easton, Pennsylvania, to his former secretary and attorney, John A. Halderman, in order to secure Halderman's services to retrieve some personal papers and settle some matters of business pertaining to town lots and shares. According to Reeder, "the Sheriff posse at the sacking of Lawrence broke open my trunk and stole the contents. The clothing is probably by this time worn out," and he is not concerned about other contents, with the exception of "some private papers" that someone had informed him could be retrieved. He asks Halderman to get the papers, which included "certificates of stock in Leavenworth, Tecumseh, Lecompton, Lawrence, Easton, Pawnee" etc., and then take care of business matters that are reflected therein. Reeder also asks Halderman "to attend to my Leavenworth lots" and explains in considerable detail about these matters.

Andrew H. Reeder to John A. Halderman
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: October 22, 1856
Former Kansas Territory Governor Andrew H. Reeder writes to John Halderman from Easton, Pennsylvania, regarding his business affairs and his desire to have Halderman act as his attorney and agent. Reeder also gives brief attention to the political situation in Kansas Territory and the nation, mentioning the congressional committee investigating the Kansas affairs, the "horrible state of things . . .in our unfortunate Territory," and his belief that, although James Buchanan would win the presidential contest in 1856, "the Republican party is bound to sweep the North within the next four years."

Andrew H. Reeder to William Hutchinson
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: August 25, 1856
This letter from Andrew H. Reeder to William Hutchinson describes Reeder's efforts to raise money for the Free State cause in his travels through the northern states.

Annals of Kansas, January - February, 1855
Creator: Wilder, Daniel Webster, 1832-1911
Date: January, 1855 through February, 1855
D. W. Wilder's "Annals of Kansas," published in 1886, provides a day-by-day chronicle of significant events in Kansas. These are digital images of Annals of Kansas entries for the territorial period of 1854-1861.

Annie Kennedy to Governor John St. John
Creator: Kennedy, Annie
Date: January 19, 1880
From New Brighton, Pennsylvania, comes a plea from Annie Kennedy for Kansas Governor St. John to visit her city and speak on temperance. Kennedy also lauds the efforts of temperance worker Mrs. E.B. Russell.