Adele Boehme Fine with her children
Creator: Brady
Date: 1905
Adele Boehme Fine with her children Harry, John and Margaret. As a teenager, Harry Fine, a recent graduate of Andover High School, Princeton, New Jersey, worked on the W. J. Tod Ranch near Maple Hill, Kansas, from October,1915 to June,1916. While working on the ranch, Harry wrote letters and postcards describing his experiences. The letters and postcards can be read on this web site at item 209185.

Assemblage
Date: 2001
Three paper dolls made to memorialize victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. Days after the event, students at Topeka Collegiate Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas, sent over 200 dolls to students at Viola L. Sickles Elementary School in Fair Haven, New Jersey. The dolls were a gesture of goodwill towards Fair Haven, which lost four residents in the attack. Each doll was handcrafted by students or faculty members at Topeka Collegiate and inscribed with a message. These dolls feature inscriptions from students named Brooke, who wrote, "I love NY," and Anika, who wrote, "I am sorry that your family dide [sic]."

Clergyman's pocket diary and visiting book belonging to Boston Corbett
Date: 1870-1877
Pocket diary belonging to Thomas P. "Boston" Corbett, the man who killed John Wilkes Booth following President Lincoln's assassination. Before moving to Cloud County, Kansas in 1878, Corbett was pastor of the Siloam (Methodist) Mission Church located at 328 Pine Street in Camden, New Jersey. The book contains a list of members, records of funerals and baptisms, and diary entries.

Commissioner of deeds : New Hampshire, New Jersey
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1869-1873 : Harvey)
Date: 1869 - 1872
A petition recommending J. B. Rand for the position as Commissioner for the State of Kansas in New Hampshire. A letter of application from George P. Kingsley for the opening as Commissioner of Deeds in New Jersey. Other correspondence are from applicants requesting the appointment to act as Commissioner of Deeds for Kansas in either New Jersey or New Hampshire.

Commissioners of Deeds : New Jersey
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1879-1883 : St. John)
Date: 1880
This folder on Commissioners of Deeds, Minnesota comes from the Correspondence series of the Governor St. John Papers. This includes a letter from Geo. P. Kingly informing Kansas Governor St. John his term in office has expired and requests to be reappointed as Commissioner of Deeds for Kansas in New Jersey.

Excelsior Watch Tin from Constitution Hall, 14DO321
Date: 1885-1929
This small tin once held parts for an Excelsior watch. The bottom of the tin is incised with "EXCELSIOR WATCH MATERIALS." The watch was manufactured by the New York Standard Watch Company of Jersey City, New Jersey and was recovered from Constitution Hall in Lecompton during excavations in 1988 by Kansas Historical archeologists and crew members.

Fraternal ribbon
Creator: Whitehead & Hoag Company
Date: 1900
Member ribbon from the 29th Annual Meeting of the Kansas State Dental Association in Topeka, May 3-5, 1900. Gold on white. Member badge at top and circular button with the State Seal at center. Made by the Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey.

Glasgow Ironstone China Maker's Mark from Constitution Hall, 14DO321
Date: 1863-1900
The base of this dish fragment shows the maker's mark from the Glasgow Pottery Co. of Trenton, New Jersey. The mark was typical circa 1884. The dish was recovered from Constitution Hall in Lecompton. The building was named a National Historical Landmark for its role in the 1857 Lecompton Constitution and is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The hall was constructed in 1855 and functioned in a variety of different roles. In the summer and fall of 1988 Kansas Historic Society archeologists excavated at the site, trying to trace construction history prior to renovation.

Glenn Cunningham, Jack Lovelock, and Bill Bonthron racing at Princeton University
Date: 1935
A photograph showing a race between Glenn Cunningham, Kansas University, in the lead, Jack Lovelock, New Zealand, in second place, and Bill Bonthron, Princeton University, third place. The race was the 1500 meter run at Princeton, 1935.

Hand-painted vase
Creator: Ceramic Arts Company
Date: between 1897 and 1898
The Ceramic Art Company produced this vase between 1897 and 1898 in Trenton, New Jersey. The company, now known as Lenox, began in 1889 as a partnership between Walter Scott Lenox and Jonathan Coxon. Functioning more as an art studio than a factory, they employed a small group of artists. This vase was part of the company's offering of undecorated shapes, produced for use by professional and amateur china decorators.

Harry Boehme Fine
Date: 1915
A photograph of Harry Boehme Fine. As a teenager, Fine, a graduate of Andover High School, Princeton, New Jersey, worked on the W. J. Tod Ranch near Maple Hill, Kansas, from October, 1915 to June, 1916. While working on the ranch, Fine wrote letters and postcards to his family describing his experiences. The original letters and postcards can be read by entering item 209185 in the Kansas Memory search box.

Harry Fine correspondence
Creator: Fine, Harry
Date: October 1915-June 1916
These postcards and letters were written by Harry B. Fine to his parents, Mr. And Mrs. John B. Fine, Princeton, New Jersey, while he was working on the W. J. Tod Ranch, Maple Hill, Kansas. Harry worked on the ranch from October of 1915 to June of 1916. While working on the farm, Harry wrote letters describing his experiences on the ranch. He had just graduated from Andover High School in New Jersey at the age of 15. His father, John, felt that he was too young to start college and thought that a little work experience would do the boy good. The letters describe the year in the life of a teenager who is away from home and in unfamiliar surroundings for the first time. He provides detail about his chores and the people with whom he works.

Hoof Nippers from the Plowboy Site, 14SH372
Date: 1866-1955
These hoof nippers were collected from the Plowboy site in Shawnee County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. Nippers were used to trim the hoof wall and to pull horseshoe nails out. The nail pullers are located at the end of the handles. Both nippers are 8" long. One was made Rich Co. and the other by Heller and Bros of New Jersey. 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.

John Burchard Fine
Date: Between 1920 and 1929
A photograph of John Burchard Fine, father of Harry Fine. As a teenager, Harry Fine, a graduate of Andover High School, Princeton, New Jersey, worked on the W. J. Tod Ranch near Maple Hill, Kansas, from October, 1915 to June, 1916. While working on the ranch, Fine wrote letters and postcards to his family describing his experiences. The original letters and postcards can be read by entering item 209185 in the Kansas Memory search box.

John Clifford video interview on experiences in World War II (transcript)
Creator: Clifford, John
Date: August 28, 2007
John Clifford was inducted into the United States Army in 1941 and served until 1946. Clifford wanted to be a writer before being drafted into the Army in 1941 and pursued various efforts related to writing--before, during, and after the war. He was stationed at Fort Monmouth, Ne Jersey, as a clerk and at Camp Crowder, Missouri. He met his wife to be at a USO dance in Joplin, Missouri. He served in hospitals in New Guinea and the Philippines. Interviewed by Pattie Johnston on Aug 28, 2007, Clifford talked about military experiences in the Second World War. He was born in Sprinfield, Illinois, November 19, 1918. After the war, he attended Emporia State Teachers College on the G.I. Bill. After a couple of different jobs, he joined the staff of Centron Films in Lawrence and worked there for 23 years. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the community institutions receiving grants. The transcript of the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Watkins Community Museum of History (Lawrence) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Ladies of Orange, N.J. to Thaddeus Hyatt
Creator: Ladies of Orange, New Jersey
Date: October 20, 1856
This letter, written by the ladies of Orange, N.J., informed Thaddeus Hyatt of their donations for the free state inhabitants of Kansas, including foodstuffs, a variety of clothing and sewing material. This is an excellent example of how women in New England supported the free state cause.

Ormond W. Wright
Creator: Mc Michael
Date: Between 1860s and 1870s
This carte-de-visite shows Ormond W. Wright, (1850-1937). Wright, a Presbyterian minister from New Jersey, migrated at the age of twenty-seven to Dodge City, Kansas. His mission to the wild and lawless cow town was to provide spiritual guidance to its rough and rowdy citizens. Wright's Sunday services were delivered with kindness and compassion to parishioners in the town's dance halls and saloons. His easy going manner quickly earned him the respect and the trust to solicit the necessary funds to build Dodge City's first nondenominational church. The Union church built between 1875 and 1876, offered the citizens of Dodge City a place for worship and social gatherings. Some of the town's most prominent citizens like Wyatt Earpt and Bat Masterson were deacons of the church. The success from the Union church soon prompted the town's need for a second church. On May 26, 1878 under Rev. Wright's leadership, the Presbyterian church was recognized as the first organized denomination in Dodge City. Rev. Wright served as the church's minister until he returned, in 1882, to New Jersey. After a brief illness Wright resumed his spiritual journey by becoming the minister of the Presbyterian church in Barnegat, New Jersey. For thirty years he served the congregation and the community of Barnegat until his passing in 1937. The congregation honored his years of service, by renaming the church the Wright Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Phonograph record
Date: between 1900 and 1905
Edison Concert wax cylinder phonograph record in round lidded box. The box reads in part, "Edison records echo all over the world. National Phonograph Co., New York, U.S.A. Concert. Made at the Edison Laboratory, Orange, N.J. Copyright 1900." Applied paper label on lid reads, "7846. A Meeting of the Ananias Club at Pumpkin Center. Funny Talk by Cal. Stewart." Used by the William Pearson Wilson family with their Edison Concert Phonograph (1984.39.1).

State Flags
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: February 1915
This file includes correspondence and postcards; correspondence from Secretary of States describe the colors, fabric, dimensions, and symbolism of their state flag. The postcard, if provided, shows the graphical design of each state flag. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by state. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Arthur Capper correspondence.

Topekan Lee Dodson of the Newark, New Jersey, Bears
Date: 1949
Lee Dodson is shown in this photo postcard from 1949, when he played for the Newark Bears minor league baseball team. Dodson was a right-handed power pitcher from Topeka. As a youth, he played in Topeka High's intramural league and the American Legion's Junior Baseball program. After serving in the Army during World War II, Dodson pitched professionally in the minor leagues from 1946 through 1950. In 141 minor league game appearances, he earned 37 wins against 35 losses, and had an ERA of 3.76. Besides Newark, Dodson pitched for the Chanute Owls, Topeka Owls, Kansas City Blues, Muskegon Clippers, and Beaumont Roughnecks. After the minor leagues, he pursued a career in education, serving for many years as the Dean of Students at Washburn University. Throughout his adult life, Dodson was a leader in Topeka's baseball community. Over the years, he founded and managed several leagues, and managed and coached countless teams. He also was co-founder and president of the Topeka Baseball Federation. Known as Topeka's 'Mr. Baseball,' Lee Dodson died in 2013 at the age of 89. Digital reproduction of the postcard was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.

Toy cowboy figure
Creator: Barclay Manufacturing Company
Date: 1937
This hand cast hollow lead cowboy figure wields a flexible lasso of a cloth wrapped wire. It was made in 1937 by the Barclay Manufacturing Company which specialized in hollow cast toy figures. Because they were often sold at five and dime stores they are often referred to as dime store figures.

U.S. 40. The main street of America
Creator: U.S. 40 Highway Association, Inc.
Date: 1920s
This pamphlet by the U.S. 40 Highway Association promotes U.S. Route 40 as the trans-continental highway from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California. At the pamphlet's creation, the highway had not yet been completed and reached to eight miles west of Topeka, Kansas. Raymond M. Sawhill of Glasco, Kansas, was the secretary of the local organization. The pamphlet contains a map of the route and there are charts listing the distance between all the cities through which the highway would pass. The charts also list the population of each of the cities. This pamphlet proposes a northern and southern route through the middle and western portions between Manhattan, Kansas, and Limon, Colorado.

William Walker to John M. Armstrong
Creator: Walker, William
Date: May 21, 1846
In this letter to John M. Armstrong, William Walker discusses recent developments among the Wyandotts, including the coming and going of clergymen, the fate of "frost bitten boys," and negotiations between the Wyandotts and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.