A. Roenigk to George W. Martin
Creator: Roenigk, Adolph, 1847-1938
Date: April 08, 1907
A letter from Adolph Roenigk of Lincoln, Kansas, to George W. Martin, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. Reonigk tells of his friend, Ferdinand Erhardt, and of Erhardt's service and friendship to the late Senator Plumb.

Cyrus Leland letters
Creator: Leland, Cyrus, 1841-1917
Date: 1862-1864
These letters were written by Cyrus Leland, primarily, during his time in the Civil War. Leland served in the 4th Kansas and later the10th Kansas Infantry, after the 3rd and 4th Kansas were consolidated to form the 10th. Many of the letters concern his efforts to be appointed as an aide-de-camp to General Thomas Ewing, Jr, and another mentions Preston Plumb and his actions during a charge by William Quantrill. Leland writes letters from Kansas City, Leavenworth, St. Louis, Rolla, and other places the regiment went. In a letter from Kansas City, MO, dated June 29, 1863, he asks his mother to send him $25 and to make him two white shirts. He also writes that he is staying at the Union House, along with some female prisoners. On stationery printed with "Headquarters District of the Border," he writes that General Schofield "has issued an order preventing the military of either Missouri or Kansas from crossing the state line without permission." A short letter written in pencil on October 12, 1863, about a military engagement near Booneville, Missouri, presents a contrast of letters written in the field to those written at Headquarters. Another letter written October 18, 1863, from "Camp near Carthage, MO, describes the capture of thirty Confederate troops. The letter written November 14th, 1863, describes an incident at a dance near Neosho, MO, that end with shooting. Leland ejected a soldier from "Blunts scouts" that was "a little more noisy than the rest" but when the soldier returned to Fort Scott, he told people he had been bushwhacked. Leland was from Troy, Doniphan County, KS. After the war, he served several terms in the Kansas House of Representatives.

Free State Hotel ball invitation
Date: 1859
An invitation to a ball held on January 29, 1859, at the Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas Territory, with proceeds going toward refurnishing the hotel "and in some degree retrieving the loss sustained by Col. Eldridge in the destruction of the Eldridge House on the 21st day of May, 1856." Music would be performed by the Lawrence Cornet Band.

General staff roll of officers on duty at Sugar Mound
Date: December 19 and 21, 1857
This staff roll of regimental officers of the First Regiment, Kansas Militia, lists officers present in a skirmish at Sugar Mound, Kansas Territory, on December 19 and 21, 1857. Major General James Lane is included among the officers listed. The list appears to be incomplete, as age, stature, and equipment notes for each man are provided only on the list's first page.

History of Kansas newspapers
Creator: Kansas State Historical Society. Department of Archives
Date: 1916
The subtitle of this publication is "A History of the Newspapers and Magazines Published in Kansas From the Organization of Kansas Territory, 1854, to January 1, 1916." This history includes biographical sketches and some portraits of prominent editors. The bulk of the book contains listings of all of the newspapers published in the state, organized by county and then towns within that county. This listing begins on page 137. Newspapers that were being published in 1916 include the name of the editor/publisher, the frequency, how long it had been published, and notes about any predecessor papers. The information for each county also includes a list of all discontinued newspapers from that county. Each county listing begins with the date it was organized, the origin of the name, and some basic statistics. This volume is an excellent source on the early newspaper history of Kansas. A detailed index begins on page 323. The Kansas State Historical Society was founded by Kansas newspaper editors and its newspaper holdings represent an almost comprehensive collection of the newspapers published in all parts of Kansas, most of which are available on microfilm through interlibrary loan.

James L. McDowell correspondence
Date: 1860-1892
This item contains letters to James L. McDowell. Correspondents include Edmund G. Ross, Alexander Caldwell, Thomas Carney, Senator Preston Plumb, General Thomas Ewing, members and staff of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, individuals working for the Kansas State Fair Association, staff of the Department of the Interior - General Land Office, and others. The letters from Thomas Carney focus on topics such as the Fugitive Slave Law, the Kansas militia, and Missouri border trouble. McDowell held a number of public positions in his lifetime, from notary public to city mayor to U.S. Marshal and major-general of the Kansas militia (including organizing to defend the state during Price's Raid in 1864) to postmaster for Leavenworth. He was also actively interested in agriculture, helping to organize the first and later state fairs for Kansas.

Kanzas News, Vol 1, no. 1, page 1
Creator: Plumb, Preston B., 1837-1891
Date: June 6, 1857
This is the front page of the very first edition of the "Kanzas News," edited by Preston Plumb and printed in Emporia, Kansas Territory. The lead article is about the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court and it includes excerpts from the May edition of "Putnam's Monthly." The article documents the reaction of free staters to the Dred Scott decision, which was decided by the Supreme Court in March, 1857. Because he had lived on free soil for several years and had been refused the opportunity to buy his freedom, Dred Scott sued his owner, Irene Emerson, in an attempt to gain his freedom through the courts. The Supreme Court determined that Dred Scott, and all other African-descended slaves, were property and not legal citizens of the United States. Slaves could not, therefore, sue the federal government for redress. The court decision also annulled the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Scott would remain a slave. Emerson's second husband, abolitionist Calvin C. Chaffee, returned Scott to the Peter Blow family, his original owners in Missouri, who voluntarily freed Scott shortly thereafter on May 26, 1857.

Leavenworth Constitutional Convention journal
Date: April 1, 1858
On Thursday afternoon, April 1, the delegates began considering the proposed constitution in its entirety. When they reached Article II, the elective franchise, Hampton P. Johnson of Leavenworth, "moved to insert the word 'white' before the word 'male'." Jim Lane's motion to refer the matter to a special committee failed, as did B.B. Newton's motion to table "the whole subject"--yeas 35, nays 41. The yeas and nays were recorded. Among those voting to table, and thus to stifle the effort to add the word "white," were Lane, Ritchie, Preston B. Plumb, Thacher, and Amasa Soule.

Leavenworth Constitutional Convention journal
Date: March 31, 1858
During the course of the convention's business on Wednesday, March 31, 1858, the delegates took up the article on "elective Franchise reported back from Committee on Phraseology." Samuel N. Wood's motion "to strike out the word 'male'" failed, 21 to 35, but interestingly, the yeas and nays were recorded. The votes for the unsuccessful effort to insert the word "white" were also recorded.

Lincoln, Sherman, McKinley and others on silver
Date: 1896
This pamphlet does not list an author but quotes a number of politicians and others about their views related to the unlimited coinage of silver. This was one of the major beliefs of the Populists as a way to increase the money supply. Kansans quoted in the pamphlet include John J. Ingalls and Preston Plumb.

Preston Bierce Plumb
Creator: Prince, George, 1815-1905
Preston Bierce Plumb participated in various antislavery events in Kansas Territory. He was involved with the Kansas Volunteers for the Protection of the Ballot Box and was a member of the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. Plumb was one of the founders of Emporia in Breckenridge County, Kansas Territory, and he started "The Kanzas News" newspaper in Emporia.

Preston Bierce Plumb
Date: Between 1880 and 1890
This black and white photograph shows Preston Bierce Plumb, (1837-1891). Plumb a newspaper editor and publisher from Berkshire, Ohio, migrated, 1856, to the Kansas territory. A supporter of the Free State movement and founder of Emporia, Kansas, in 1857, Plumb was one of Kansas' prominent leaders. In 1858, he was a delegate to the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. Three years later, in 1861, Plumb was elected as a Republican to the Kansas House of Representatives. The start of the Civil War put a temporary hold on Plumb's political career, when he enlisted in the Union Army as a second lieutenant with the 11th Kansas Infantry. When the regiment was reassigned as the 11th Kansas Cavalry, in 1863, Plumb served as captain, major, and lieutenant colonel. During the war he was involved in several skirmishes and battles including: Prairie Grove, Price's Raid, and Westport. At the close of the war, Plumb returned to Kansas. He resumed his political career by serving in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1867 to 1868. Plumb did not seek reelection, in 1869, but returned to private life in Emporia, Kansas. For several years Plumb practiced law and banking until 1877 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He served for fourteen years as a U.S. Senator from Kansas and was responsible for passing major legislation that preserved the conservation of natural resources in the United States. On December 20, 1891, Preston Bierce Plumb passed away at the age of fifty-four while serving in office.

Preston B Plumb
Creator: Brown's Photographic Gallery
Date: January 12, 1865
Portrait of Preston B. Plumb, 1837-1891, in military uniform. He served in the Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.

Preston B. Plumb's Funeral, Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Farrow, W. F.
Date: December 23, 1891
An elevated view of the funeral procession of Senator Preston B. Plumb in Topeka, Kansas. A band dressed in white uniforms is pictured in the center of the photograph. Also visible are crowds of spectators, horse-drawn carriages, utility poles and power lines, and buildings and businesses along the city street.

Preston B. Plumb's Funeral, Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Farrow, W. F.
Date: December 23, 1891
A view of a band marching in the funeral procession of Senator Preston B. Plumb in Topeka, Kansas. Also visible are a streetcar, spectators, a large American flag, horse-drawn carriages, and buildings and businesses along the city street.

Programme of the Quarter-Centennial Celebration of the Settlement of Kansas at Bismarck Grove, Lawrence, on the Kansas Pacific Railway
Date: September 14--16, 1879
This broadside lists the various events that were planed for the 25th anniversary celebration of the opening of Kansas Territory to settlement. The events were held at Bismark Grove near Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas. Church services were held on Sunday, September 14. Other activities included a Quarter-Centennial Salute by 25 guns at sunrise on Monday, Sept. 15, various musical entertainment; remarks by numerous early antislavery settlers in Kansas and current U.S. Senators and the Governor of Kansas J.P. St. John; an address by Eli Thayer of Worcester, Massachusetts, who was a supporter of the New England Emigrant Aid Company; a "Grand Barbecue Dinner" and a "Grand Farewell Sociable" followed by fireworks. This poster also includes advertisments from numerous Lawrence businesses.

Receipt and memorandum concerning weapons and ammunition
Creator: Miller, Joseph C.
Date: September 27, 1856
This receipt, which provides a detailed listing of revolvers, knives, cartridges, and other weapons and ammunition, declared that these weapons were "received of Chas. Robinson." The following page is a memorandum by Preston Plumb, who writes that he received the weapons and ammunition listed on the receipt in Iowa City, Iowa "on or about the 4th of September 1856." The weapons were to be delivered to J. M. Winchell in Kansas but were to be used for the "defense of Kanzas." Several hundred weapons were involved.

Samuel C. Smith to Charles Robinson
Creator: Smith, Samuel C.
Date: January 11, 1858
This letter, dated Lawrence, January 11, 1858, is most likely from Samuel C. Smith to Charles Robinson. Smith mentions many of the Free State Party's main actors and issues at that critical time in Kansas politics. He describes the activities of the Legislature, which assembled in Lawrence that January, and devotes considerable attention to the machinations of the "villain" Jim Lane.

Samuel F. Tappan to Thomas W. Higginson
Creator: Tappan, S. F. (Samuel Forster), d. 1913
Date: March 15, 1858
In this letter, written from Lawrence, Kansas Territory, Samuel Tappan informs Thomas W. Higginson of the state of affairs in Kansas Territory. He begins by mentioning the constitutional convention that would soon meet at Minneola and hopes that the free state side would be triumphant. Tappan also mentions the recent election for mayor of Lawrence, stating that Carmi Babcock won over James Blood. The last page, tacked on as if it were a separate note, gives a brief summary of where influential leaders were currently located, so Higginson would know of their whereabouts.

The best fair will be held at Independence, Kansas
Date: Between 1870 and 1900
This poster announces the eleventh annual exhibition of the Montgomery County Fair Association to be held at Independence, Kansas. Highlights of the fair include large cash premiums, a speed ring, and a solder's reunion with addresses by Senator Preston B. Plumb and General Charles Blair.