Alexander Braun oral history
Creator: Keckeisen, Sara J. (Sara Ellen Judge)
Date: 2006
An oral interview with Alexander Braun conducted by Sara Keckeisen. He was born July 10, 1923 in Wernersdorf the Ukraine the son of Peter and Katharina (Braeul) Braun. After World War II, Mr. Braun fled west from the former Soviet Union. Eventually he immigrated to Canada (1949) on contract with the Canadian Government to work as a miner in Northern Quebec. After years of persistent attempts, in 1953 he was able to come to the United States from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, to join his wife and her parents in Kansas. Alexander worked in auto body repair. He later was employed by the Kansas Neurological Institute (KNI) and the State of Kansas as a Master Electrician before his retirement in 1991. These are long clips. The first clip is sixty-three minutes, the second is seventy-three minutes. A searchable transcription of the interview is available by clicking on Text Version below.

Amelia Earhart
Date: May 20, 1932
A photograph showing Amelia Earhart at the controls of a modified Lockheed Vega taking off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, for her transatlantic flight.

Amelia Earhart
Date: May 20, 1932
A photograph of Amelia Earhart taking off in a Lockheed Vega from an airport in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, for her solo transatlantic flight.

Amelia Earhart
Date: May 20, 1932
A photograph taken at the Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, airport (left to right) Marjorie Warren, E. Kunhardt Warren, Amelia Earhart, and William A. Robinson, holding a motion picture camera. Earhart was preparing for her solo flight across the Atlantic.

Amelia Earhart
Date: May 20, 1932
A photograph of Amelia Earhart taking off in a modified Lockheed Vega from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, for her transatlantic flight.

Amelia Earhart
Date: May 20, 1932
A photograph of Amelia Earhart, George P. Putnam and Bernt Balchen at the Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, airport. Earhart was preparing for her solo transatlantic flight.

Amelia Earhart as a nurses' aid
Date: Between 1900 and 1919
This is a photograph of Amelia Earhart as a nurses' aid in Canada.

Colton's North America
Creator: J. H. Colton & Co.
Date: 1861
Map of North America identifying countries, states, territories, cities, and rivers. 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.

Compliments of the Great Rock Island Route
Creator: Rock Island Railroad Company
Date: 1890
This is a Rock Island Railroad promotional advertisement in the form of a monthly calendar detailing the various major routes of the line. The first image shows a photographic transparency of the poster taken in the 1960s when the poster was still in good condition. The second image shows a recent scan of the original poster and the resulting deterioration over the last forty years.

Dorothea Dix correspondence
Creator: Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887
Date: undated, circa 1826-1963 (bulk 1853-1860s)
Dorothea Dix's papers consist of correspondence from Miss Dix to various people, as well as some correspondence in which Miss Dix was concerned, but not directly involved. Dix was an advocate for social welfare, particularly supporting the establishment and maintenance of mental hospitals for the mentally ill, disabled, or poor. She was instrumental in the proposed legislation of the "Bill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane." During the Civil War, Dix was appointed Superintendent of Army Nurses. Much of the correspondence concerns Dix's efforts to bring lifeboats and other help to Sable Island in Nova Scotia, an area known for shipwrecks and where many with mental illnesses were sent, sometimes against their will. These papers are part of the historic psychiatry material in the Menninger Archives.

Ephraim Nute to unidentified recipient
Creator: Nute, Ephraim
Date: February 24, 1859
Ephaim Nute of Lawrence provides an interesting description of the plight of one of the Doy party's fugitive slaves, captured and jailed at Platte City until his escape and dangerous flight back to Lawrence. "We have him now hid & are to day making arrangements to have him set forward tomorrow 30 miles to another depot. I think they (there are 2 others to go) will not be taken again without bloodshed." Nute also mentioned his involvement in the "Charley Fisher affair in Leavenworth." Fisher, a black fugitive, had actually come to Nute's house "disguised in female attire."

George H. Vibbert to Governor John St. John
Creator: Vibbert, George H.
Date: November 08, 1880
A letter from George H. Vibbert from St. Johns congratulating Kansas Governor St. John on passage of the Prohibition Amendment and requesting details of the vote.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, invitations to State events
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1929-1931
This file includes subject correspondence relating to invitations to State events. Events in the correspondence cover but is not limited to the Annual Imperial Council Session in Toronto, Canada, Falls City, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce banquet, and the League for Political Education for women members of Congress. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence.

Interview on experiences in World War II
Creator: Jones, Loretta Virginia
Date: 10 January 2007
Jones enlisted in the Women Marines in 1944 and served until 1945 in the Air Base Group 2. Interviewed by Benjamin Henning on Jan 10, 2007, Jones talked about military experiences in the Second World War. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the nine community institutions that received these grants. The transcript from the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Frank Stull American Legion #152 (Ness City) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Isaac Aldebert McNown
Date: Between 1861 and 1866
Here are two photographs of Isaac Aldebert McNown, 1841-1931. One was taken in the 1860s and the other in the 1920s. He was born in Rawdon, Quebec, Canada, the son of John and Jane Bagnell McNown. Isaac married Margaret Steele, and shortly after their marriage, they moved, by covered wagon, to a location southeast of Wichita, Kansas. He purchased several hundred acres of farmland and became a successful farmer.

Jermain Wesley Loguen to John Brown?
Creator: Loguen, Jermain Wesley
Date: May 8, 1858
Rev. J. W. Loguen, the Syracuse abolitionist and U.G.R.R. superintendant, wrote to John Brown in Canada regarding his plan to "go to the Mountains," and asked whether or not Harriet Tubman, among others, was with him.

Joesph Romig to George W. Martin
Creator: Romig, Joseph
Date: May 13, 1907
In this letter to George W. Martin of the Kansas State Historical Society, Moravian missionary Joseph Romig, who was a missionary in Franklin County, Kansas, from 1862-1871 and 1900-1905, discusses historical events related to Moravian missionaries. In particular, Romig discusses the history of the "Christian" Indians who lived in the area that became Kansas Territory in 1854. In addition, Romig discusses the Chippewas and their chief Francis McCoouse, a French Canadian who "was one of twenty one delegates who visited their Great Father King George of England."

John Alexander Logan Best, World War I soldier
Date: 1917
Around 1919, the Kansas State Historical Society and the American Legion solicited biographical information from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th infantry divisions) and the families of those who died in service, notably from the Gold Star Mothers. Each veteran or family member was asked to provide letters, photographs, a biography, and military records. This file contains information on John Alexander Logan Best, 10th Canadian Battalion. John died in 1917 from injuries he received in battle.

John Brown, Jr., correspondence
Creator: Brown, John, 1821-1895
Date: February 14, 1861-November 29, 1863
John Brown, Jr., wrote these letters to his wife Wealthy Brown during the early years of the Civil War. He enlisted and served as a Captain of Company K, 1st Kansas Cavalry (later the 7th Kansas Cavalry). Colonel Charles Jennison headed this regiment. It appears his wife and son John were living in Ohio, probably Ashtabula. The letters start while Brown is on a recruiting trip in Canada and Michigan. Many of the letters in January 1862 are written from Camp Jackson and Camp Johnson near Morristown, Cass County, Missouri. Brown's letters from February and March 1862 were written from Humboldt, Allen County, Kansas. Brown writes from Camp Wendell Phillips near Lawrence from most of April and May 1862. The last few letters are written from Madison, Indiana, on his way home to Ohio. The letters are very descriptive of camp life and names of many of the men in his company are mentioned. Several letters mention associates of his father's such as William Partridge and Richard Hinton. Almost every letter mentions how much he misses his family. Native American scouts are also mentioned by Brown as valuable to the war effort. Brown discusses the problems of determining local residents loyalty in the war on the Kansas Missouri border in his letter written January 21, 1862. In the letter dated January 26, 1862, and continued on the 27th, Brown writes that he sent ten black soldiers to save a slave mother and children whose owner was planning to take them further south. In his letter dated March 9, 1862, Brown describes the execution of a soldier named Driscol from Company H who stabbed another soldier, was court martialed, and shot. Brown sent a letter of resignation, because of his continued poor health, to Gen. James Blunt in May 1862. NOTES ABOUT THE IMAGES: Brown frequently made notes in the margins. To make it easier to read these images, the pages with these notes are included twice--first with the original orientation and then again rotated ninety degrees to aid in reading the note. A letter from Hannibal, Missouri, is dated December 7, 1861, but the content of this latter and subsequent letters makes it apparent that this letter was written sometime in January 1862 but before the letter dated January 11, 1862. The images for this letter are placed in the correct order for content but will seem out of order chronologically based on date. The last letter in the group is missing its first page however the content, about primarily family matters, makes it apparent it was written in late 1861 or early 1862. The text version is one file that presents the letters in chronological order, except for the the exceptions noted above. It is necessary to scroll to the appropriate date. SEVERAL PAGES IN VARIOUS LETTERS ARE WRITTEN IN A NUMERIC CODE. This code, between John Brown Jr. and his wife, encrypt private messages between the couple. A key to the code and transcriptions of the coded letters can be found filed with the original letters. The code key and transcriptions are available at the repository upon request. Access is restricted to these particular letters; researchers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, or provide written permission from same, to see those transcriptions.

John Henry Kagi to Adda
Creator: Kagi, John Henry
Date: May 15, 1858
John H. Kagi, one of John Brown's most trusted lieutenants, wrote from St. Catherine, Canada, to inform his friend, albeit in "figurative" language, about the change in their plans--"all depends upon caution."

John Michael (Mike) Hayden
Date: 2006
A photograph of Mike Hayden, Secretary of Wildlife and Parks and former Kansas Governor, with a lake trout he caught at Cranberry Portage, Manitoba, Canada. Hayden was born in Atwood Kansas, and received his bachelor's degree in wildlife conservation from Kansas State University and a master's degree in biology from Fort Hays State University. During the Vietnam War, he was an infantry company commander in the U.S. Army. Hayden spent 13 months in Vietnam, where he received the Soldier's Medal, two bronze Stars, and the Army Commendation Medal. He began his career in public service as a state representative, serving from 1972 to 1986. In 1983 and 1985, he was elected speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives. Hayden was elected Kansas Governor in 1986. After leaving office in 1991, President George H. W. Bush named Hayden to be the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife. From 1993 to 2001, Hayden served as President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. In 2002, he returned to Kansas to accept a position as Secretary of Wildlife and Parks.

Map of North America from the latest authorities showing the proposed railroad routes from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans
Creator: J. H. Colton & Co.
Date: 1854
Map of North America detailing the proposed railroad routes across the United States and routes to Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Cuba, and Jamaica. A table of geographical statistics and a table of distances, as well as an illustration of Pyramid Lake in California, are included. 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.

Meridian Highway International
Creator: Nicholson, John Charles, 1862-1942
Date: March 7, 1928
This letter and accompanying map promote the use and expansion of the International Meridian Highway that began in Winnipeg, Canada, and ended in Mexico City, Mexico. The road follows the 6th Principal Meridian through the Great Plains area of the United States and is officially called U.S. Highway 81. The letter and map provide an update on road construction and indicate which sections of the road were paved, gravel, or earth. The letter argues that this highway should be designated the official segment of the Pan American Highway through the United States, and that the highway should be extended all the way to Argentina in South America. John C. Nicholson was president of the Meridian Highway Association with offices in Newton, Kansas.

Meridian Highway International
Creator: Nicholson, John Charles, 1862-1942
Date: 1927
This map promotes the use and expansion of the International Meridian Highway that began in Winnipeg, Canada, and ended in Laredo, Texas. There were plans to extend it through Mexico City, Mexico, but at the time of publication that portion of the highway was not open. The road follows the 6th Principal Meridian through the Great Plains area of the United States and is officially called U.S. Highway 81. The map indicates which sections of the road were paved, gravel, or earth. John C. Nicholson was president of the Meridian Highway Association with offices in Newton, Kansas.

Meridian Highway to be paved road
Creator: Nicholson, John Charles, 1862-1942
Date: 1919
This circular, by John C. Nicholson, describes the history and present conditions of the Meridian Highway. Nicholson advocates for the highway's expansion and for the expansion and improvement of the federal highway system of which it is a part. Nicholson was among the organizers of the highway in Salina, Kansas, in 1911. He claimed it was the first north-south highway completed across the United States. The pamphlet also includes examples of Meridian Highway road signs. Nicholson was president of the Meridian Highway Association with offices in Newton, Kansas. The Meridian Highway ran along the 6th Principal Meridian and was later called U.S. Highway 81.