Chronology of the Iowa and Sac and Fox Indians in Doniphan County, Kansas
Date: 1882
This chronology details major events occurring between 1837-1855 among the Iowa and Sac and Fox Indians who had been relocated to Kansas after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Topics mentioned within the chronology include warfare among relocated tribes, the arrival of white emigrants, disease, mission buildings, and treaties ceding land to the United States government.

Dunlap Academy and Mission School, Dunlap, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1899
This photograph portrays the students and teachers of the African American school in Dunlap, Morris County, Kansas. Dunlap was located in eastern Morris County and was established in May 1878. The colony was founded by Benjamin Singleton and the Tennessee Real Estate and Homestead Association. This was the last colony Singleton founded in Kansas.

Dwight H. and Luther H. Platt correspondence
Date: 1863-1896
This is correspondence of Luther H. Platt and Dwight Henry Platt, missionary son and grandson of Jireh Platt, an abolitionist from Mendon, Illinois. Luther Platt's papers include letters from his wife Nettie, correspondence with religious groups, and correspondence with military officials in the South after the Civil War particularly regarding individuals still being held as slaves. The papers of Dwight Henry Platt include letters to his parents (Luther and Nettie) while he was at Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas, in the early 1880s; letters from friends; and correspondence from other individuals for business and professional purposes. Dwight served as pastor for the Congregational church in northwest Kansas, centered in Goodland.

Gottlieb F. Oehler to Eli K. Price
Creator: Oehler, Gottlieb
Date: July 11, 1859
Gottlieb F. Oehler, a Moravian missionary working with the Chippewa and Munsee Indians in Kansas Territory, wrote this letter to Eli Price regarding the mistreatment of Indians and whites' disrespectful attitudes toward Indian lands. Oehler was appalled that white squatters frequently settled on Indian land with no response from the federal government, who should have protected Indian land claims. While most white Americans agreed with the government's approach to removal, Oehler hoped that Price would speak out against federal policies and educate the public in the eastern United States about the treatment of Indians out west.

Jehu Lewis Shuck to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: November 28, 1834
Letter addressed to Lewis Allen Alderson from Jehu Lewis Shuck, who later became the first American Baptist missionary in China. Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Jerome Causin Berryman
Creator: Strauss, J. C.
Date: Between 1875 and 1880
A photograph of Reverend Jerome Causin Berryman who was born in 1810 in Kentucky. He came to Kansas in 1833 to establish the Kickapoo Indian Mission near Leavenworth. In 1841, he became superintendent of the manual labor school at the Shawnee Methodist Mission. He later moved to Missouri and established a high school in Arcadia. Berryman died on May 8, 1906, at Caledonia, Missouri.

Johnston Lykins
Date: Between 1840 and 1860
Johnston Lykins was a well-known missionary, physician, and translator who worked with the Pottawatomi and Shawnee Indians who had moved to Indian Territory (present-day Kansas) after the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. In 1831, after serving as a missionary to the Indian tribes in Indiana and Michigan, Lykins and his first wife Delilah (McCoy) Lykins moved to Indian Territory. Lykins and his father-in-law, Isaac McCoy, established the Shawnee Indian Baptist Mission in present-day Johnson County, Kansas. In addition to his responsibilities as a physician, Lykins worked as a translator and developed a system of Indian orthography that allowed the Shawnee people to read and write in their native language. He edited and published the first paper printed in Shawnee, called the Sinwiowe Kesibwi (Shawnee Sun). In the spring of 1843, Lykins founded a mission among the Pottawatomi near what is today Topeka. Due, perhaps, to inter-denominational conflicts and other problems with the mission, Lykins left the Pottawatomi mission and moved to Kansas City, Missouri. He served as the second mayor of Kansas City in 1854, and he remained in residence there until his death in 1876.

Johnston Lykins Journal Entries
Creator: Lykins, Johnston, 1800?-1876
Date: February 23, 1842-March 5, 1842
Dr. Johnston Lykins, a Baptist missionary to the Shawnee Indians in Indian Territory (present-day Kansas), edited the Shawnee Sun, a newspaper printed in the Shawnee language. In these journal entries from 1842, Lykins wrote about his efforts to teach Shawnee pupils how to read under this alphabet (the Shawnee language had no written system). Lykins also spent some time traveling to visit and treat the sick.

Johnston Lykins journal entry, July 18, 1831
Creator: Lykins, Johnston, 1800?-1876
Date: July 18, 1831
In his journal, Dr. Johnston Lykins, a Baptist missionary to the Shawnee Indians in northeast Kansas, recorded that many of the Shawnee villages were alarmed about an outbreak of smallpox. Lykins offered his assistance by vaccinating the natives.

Johnston Lykins journal entry, October 27, 1832
Creator: Lykins, Johnston, 1800?-1876
Date: October 27, 1832
According to this journal entry, Johnston Lykins and his fellow missionaries at the Shawnee Mission in Indian Territory (now northeast Kansas) had written to the school board requesting permission to provide meals for the students. Their request was denied, and the missionaries feared that their students would no longer attend classes.

Johnston Lykins journal entry, undated
Creator: Lykins, Johnston, 1800?-1876
Date: Between 1826 and 1842
In this undated journal entry, Johnston Lykins, a Baptist missionary to the Shawnee of northeast Kansas, gives his perspective on how the U.S. government and Indian agents have treated emigrant Indians in Kansas. He also discusses how many of these Indian tribes are suffering from starvation.

Johnston Lykins' Shawnee verb conjugations
Creator: Lykins, Johnston, 1800?-1876
Date: 1842
In his journal Johnston Lykins, a missionary to the Shawnee Indians in Kansas Territory, jotted down verb conjugations for the Shawnee alphabet he had developed while working at the Shawnee Mission. The notes include both singular and plural forms of the verb "to strike" in English and in Shawnee.

Joseph Perrier
Date: Between 1900 and 1919
This black and white photographs shows Reverend Joseph Perrier, (1839-1917), copied from the "Biographical History of Cloud County, Kansas", by Mrs. E. F. Hollibaugh. Perrier a native of Savoy, France, came to Lawrence, Kansas in June of 1866 at the age of twenty-seven as a missionary priest to serve the Lawrence community. In 1871, he transferred to Topeka, Kansas to become a teacher in the Catholic seminary, a position he held for a short period of time, before serving the church in Emporia, Kansas in 1874. During his time in Emporia, he organizing forty missions within a four hundred mile radius. His spiritual journey lead him to a number of towns and in 1880, he arrived in Concordia, Kansas to become the first residential pastor. Perrier's responsibilities to his parishioners and to the Catholic church were further recognized when he became vicar general of the Concordia diocese.

Jotham Meeker to Rev. Crosby
Creator: Meeker, Jotham, 1804-1855
Date: January 10, 1834
In this letter to Rev. Crosby, of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, missionary Jotham Meeker expressed his interest in bringing the Christian gospel to the Ottawa Indians. Meeker was currently stationed at the Shawnee Baptist Mission in Indian Territory (today part of northeast Kansas). He was particularly concerned about their opposition to missionaries. Meeker also wrote about the influx of Indian tribes who were embracing agriculture.

Jotham Meeker to Rev. Lucius Bolles
Creator: Meeker, Jotham, 1804-1855
Date: March 11, 1840
This fascinating letter by Baptist missionary Jotham Meeker describes recent Ottawa converts to Christianity and the Ottawa chief Ottowukkee's passionate stand against further missionary efforts. Apparently, just as Ottowukkee was about to drive the missionaries out of the area, he was struck by a sudden illness. According to Meeker, many of the Ottawa believed his sickness was a sign of God's judgment. Also, Meeker discusses David Green, a native convert who has joined Meeker as a missionary at the Ottawa Mission (near present-day Ottawa, Kansas). The recipient of this letter, Reverend Lucius Bolles, was Meeker's contact on the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions.

Jotham Meeker to Rev. Lucius Bolles
Creator: Meeker, Jotham, 1804-1855
Date: October 30, 1834
Jotham Meeker, a missionary to the Ottawa Indians, wrote this letter to his contact on the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, Reverend Lucius Bolles. From this letter, it appears that the Ottawa had become more interested in Christianity. Furthermore, Meeker wanted an assistant to help in printing evangelical materials; this would allow him to devote more time to religious instruction and language education.

Jotham Meeker to Rev. Lucius Bolles
Creator: Meeker, Jotham, 1804-1855
Date: July 8, 1840
In this fascinating letter, Jotham Meeker updated Reverend Lucius Bolles (of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions) on his missionary efforts among the Ottawa Indians in Kansas Territory. Meeker included excerpts from his journal to describe the turmoil among the Ottawa over Indian conversions to Christianity. On March 13, 1840, Meeker and his fellow missionary David Green, attended a council of the Ottawa and Chippewa that had been called to protest their missionary work. The Ottawa and Chippewa chiefs were concerned about the breakdown of their tribal society, customs, etc... and placed the blame squarely on the missionary's shoulders. The Ottawa Mission was located near present-day Ottawa, Kansas.

Jotham Meeker to Rev. Lucius Bolles
Creator: Meeker, Jotham, 1804-1855
Date: February 13, 1839
In this letter, Jotham Meeker, a missionary to the Ottawa Indians, provided a description of his work teaching the Ottawa how to read and write in their own language. According to Meeker, the Ottawa were eager for their children to learn English as well. Meeker's mission was located near present-day Ottawa, Kansas. Reverend Lucius Bolles, the recipient of this letter, was Meeker's contact at the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions.

Jotham Meeker to Rev. Lucius Bolles
Creator: Meeker, Jotham, 1804-1855
Date: November 29, 1833
In this letter Jotham Meeker, a Baptist missionary to the Shawnee in Indian Territory, discussed the Ottawa Indians who were residing on Shawnee lands. Meeker spoke to several Ottawa chiefs about spreading the Christian gospel, and he hoped that he could work among them as a missionary. Also, Meeker discussed how the Ottawa may be forced to move once other tribes take possession of land in Indian Territory. He also mentioned the Methodist mission established among the Potawatomi. Reverend Lucius Bolles, the recipient of this letter, was Meeker's contact at the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions.

Jotham Meeker to Rev. S. Peck
Creator: Meeker, Jotham, 1804-1855
Date: August 15, 1849
Jotham Meeker, misionary and printer, arrived in Kansas in 1833 and set up a printing press at Shawnee Baptist Mission. Meeker joined the Ottawa Indians in 1837 and founded a mission on the Marais des Cygnes River where present day Ottawa stands. The Ottawa Indians began moving to Kansas from Ohio in the early 1830s. Meeker opened his letter with personal matters and them turned to affairs concerning the Indians in Kansas. He talked about cholera, which killed many Indians in the summer of 1849.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union general correspondence
Date: 1910-1939
This is correspondence sent and received by Mary Evelyn Dobbs, corresponding secretary of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union from 1907 to 1939. The letters arrived from people across the state, including the presidents of county chapters of the KWCTU. Most correspondence relates to planned public speeches and visits intended to establish and support new branches of the KWCTU. There are also communications from the state organization to local units. Specific items include a letter dated July 1, 1918, from Dobbs to F.L. Pinet with a manuscript entitled "Early Factors in Kansas Prohibition" intended for publication in the Kansas Teacher, advertising contracts for the KWCTU periodical Our Messenger, and a letter written to Dobbs from Clara E. Keys, a WCTU missionary in Africa. One letter recognizes Mary Sibbitt as the organizer of comfort kits provided for soldiers at Fort Leavenworth. Sibbitt, known as the "Kansas Cyclone," was an founding officer of the International Association of Women Ministers. There are several other groups of official Kansas WCTU records on Kansas Memory. They can be found by selecting Collections - Manuscript - KWCTU/Mary Evelyn Dobbs.

Lewis Bodwell papers
Creator: Bodwell, Lewis, 1827-1894
Date: 1856 - 1889 (bulk 1856 - 1866)
This collection consists of letters of recommendation and correspondence to and from Lewis Bodwell, the first resident pastor of the First Congregational Church in Topeka. The collection also includes Bodwell's diary and list of marriage ceremonies performed in Topeka from 1863-1873. Correspondence is arranged chronologically. The last item in the page selection list is labeled notebook and it is the diary covering the years 1863-1873. Bodwell, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Anson G. Bodwell, was born in Connecticut and moved to Topeka during the territorial era. He acted as the state superintendent of missions for the American Home Missionary Society. Eventually he moved to Clifton Springs, New York.

Maurice Gailland
Date: Between 1830 and 1860
Maurice Gailland, a Catholic Missionary among the Pottawatomie Indians, developed a dictionary and spelling system for the Pottawatomie to use in their masses.

No-tin-no to D. D. Mitchell
Creator: No-tin-no
Date: October 4, 1843
No-tin-no, a leader of the Ottawa nation, wrote this letter to the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, D. D. Mitchell, concerning a shipment of farming implements that the government had promised to the tribe. The Ottawa were frustrated by the delay, and No-tin-no stated that if he did not hear back from Mitchell, he would write to the President of the United States himself. The letter was dictated to Jotham Meeker, a missionary and printer at the Ottawa Baptist Mission near present-day Ottawa, Kansas.

Ottawa First Book
Creator: Meeker, Jotham, 1804-1855
Date: 1850
The Ottawa First Book contains lessons for those seeking to learn the Ottawa language. It also contains portions of the gospel of Luke and the laws of the Ottawa Indians. The laws begin on page 102. One page in English and the other in the Ottawa language. The book was published by Jotham Meeker, a Baptist missionary. Pages 56-57 are stuck together.