Kansas Voters' Manual
Creator: Dobbs, Mary Evelyn, 1870-1943
Date: May 9, 1913
The purpose of this booklet was to assist "the women of Kansas in discharging the duties of citizenship." The pamphlet describes who should vote, where to register, where to vote, how to vote and the general election process. The pamphlet also includes information about the federal, state, city, and county governments. Kansas amended its constitution in 1912 to give women the right to vote in all elections in Kansas. The year 1913 was the first time Kansas women could vote in statewide elections. They previously had the right to vote in school board and municipal elections. Women who had participated in the suffrage movement wanted to educate other women about how to use their votes by providing information about how to register but also about state and local government in general. Mary E. Dobbs was one of the leaders in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Kansas. The WCTU had been active in the various campaigns to gain voting rights for women in Kansas.

Kansas Voters' Manual (revised)
Creator: Dobbs, Mary Evelyn, 1870-1943
Date: 1920
The purpose of this booklet was to assist "the women of Kansas in discharging the duties of citizenship." The pamphlet describes who should vote, where to register, where to vote, how to vote and the general election process. The pamphlet also includes information about the federal, state, city, and county governments. In addition to the information in the 1913 manual, this one contains information on school government, taxes, and state institutions. Several chapters contain information of interest to women about laws that impact women and children, marriage, divorce, care of dependents, property rights for spouses and descendents, and social issues such as drinking and gambling. At the back of the booklet is a fold out chart diagraming the organization of the various levels of government. This version of the manual was endorsed by the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Kansas League of Woman Voters, and the Wichita Federation of Women's Clubs. Mary Dobbs was one of the leaders of the Kansas WCTU.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union Carry A. Nation Home
Date: 1923-1938
This correspondence and miscellaneous papers concern the Carry A. Nation Home, a home for elderly women in Kansas City, Kansas, established by the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union. A number of letter are to and from Mary E. Dobbs, Wichita, Kansas, who was the corresponding secretary for the WCTU. Also included are inquiries about working at the home, rulings and minutes of board meetings, copies of resident contracts, house rules, a "brief" history, and a receipt book. There is a printed copy of the 1923 constitution and by-laws for the Ingleside Home for Aged Women in Topeka, Kansas. 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.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union financial records
Date: 1910-1939
These financial records of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union include pages from account books, ledger books, statements of payments due, receipts, pledge amounts, and detailed operating expenses. The KWCTU purchased prohibition publications from the Headquarters for Temperance Literature in Chicago and had a profit-sharing relationship with the White Ribbon Shoe Company in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in which the KWCTU received donations based on the number of shoe sales. The names of many women are contained within this material, including Dr. Emma F. A. Drake, Mrs. Sena Hartzell Wallace, Nellie E. Parker, Mrs. Cora Kershner, Miss Zoe Atchison, Mrs. J. L. Guthrie, Miss Belle Kearney, Mrs. Ola Watson, Mrs. Ladie Simonton, Rev. Mary Sibbitt, and Ollie May McCormick. 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.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union Frances Willard memorials
Date: 1923-1939
This material relates to memorials for Frances Willard, an American reformer for temperance and women's suffrage. She became president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1879 and held the position until her death in 1898. The collection includes printed materials relating to the Frances Willard Memorial Fund, Frances Willard Day (September 28th) Citizenship Programs, correspondence of Mary Evelyn Dobbs and Alice K. McFarland, and surveys detailing visits made by Frances Willard to local unions across Kansas. 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.

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.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union motion pictures
Date: 1928-1933
This material concerns proposed legislation allowing the sale of tickets to Sunday movies (House Bill 424). The Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union opposed Sunday movies "owing to their destructive tendencies." Correspondence with G. Charles Gray of Chapel Cinema Arts and Robert F. Withers of Midwest Film Distributors Inc., both located in Kansas City, Missouri, is also included. The correspondence relates to the distribution of films supporting prohibition, such as "Lest We Forget," "The Transgressor," and "Deliverance," and proposed regulation of films. 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.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union organizational records
Date: 1910-1938
These records of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) include materials on legislation involving tobacco, alcohol, and teacher's moral standards; a proposed amendment to repel Kansas prohibition; several manuscripts including "The Long Struggle for Prohibition in Kansas" by Judge Richard J. Hopkins and "The Devil's Brew" by Harry W. Brent; meeting minutes and correspondence concerning the Kansas Industrial Alcohol Bill of 1933; legislation introduced by the Kansas Children's Code Commission; decision of the Kansas Supreme Court on Women's Wages; proposals for a memorial to Governor John P. St. John; a letter from Wichita Chief of Police, O.W. Wilson, enclosing a research report on marijuana compiled for the Inter-Club Committee for the Advancement of Civic Responsibility; flyers; poems; and convention registration books.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union permanent records
Date: 1910-1939
These permanent records of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union include the records of the treasurer, contracts concerning publications, sworn statements of elected trustees, correspondence with potential speakers, candidate information relating to prohibition laws in Kansas, and meeting minutes. There is also correspondence concerning the Kellogg-Briand Pact, an international peace agreement signed in 1928. One letter clearly disapproves of Maude Royden, an English suffragist, from fulfilling her presentation for the Y.W.C.A on account of her tobacco use. A copy of the charter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Kansas, signed by Secretary of State Frank J. Ryan is also included. 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.

Temperance history correspondence
Date: 1905
Correspondence sent and received by members of the Kansas State Temperance Union, primarily Rev. W. L. Dexter, secretary, Robert Norris, secretary, Julian K. Codding, lawyer, and William T. Jones, solicitor. Correspondents include Elizabeth P. Hutchinson, president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Rev. Purley A. Baker, superintendent of the American Anti-Saloon League, Mary Evelyn Dobbs, Rev. Charles W. Whorrall, and William H. McCamish, assistant attorney general of Wyandotte County. Included in this correspondence are several signed petitions to members of the U.S. Senate from citizens in Arkansas City, Kirwin, and Abilene asking them to vote against the Hamilton Bill which they argue "would annul the solemn pledge of the Government to protect the Indians against the introduction and sale of intoxicants in the Indian territory." Some financial records are also included, such as a report from the finance committee for the previous year, ending February 15, 1905, and receipts and disbursements by month, signed by financial manager S. H. Pitcher. Although Kansas was the first state to adopt a constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors in 1880, the law was largely unenforced.

Temperance history correspondence
Date: 1909
Correspondence relating to the Kansas State Temperance Union and its activities promoting the enforcement of prohibition in the state of Kansas. Frank M. Stahl served as superintendent and John Marshall served as attorney. They wrote a number of the letters contained in this collection. Leaders of the temperance movement frequently corresponded with county attorneys, civic leaders, ministers, and pastors. Included are several letters supporting James A. Lyons of Langdon, Kansas, who was charged with selling intoxicating liquors, and a circular announcing the guilty verdict in the case of Assistant Attorney General C. W. Trickett of Wyandotte County, Kansas, who accepted illegal fees in the prosecution of liquor cases. The collection contains correspondence from numerous Kansas communities.

Temperance history correspondence
Date: 1910
Correspondence sent and received by members of the Kansas State Temperance Union, including President Foster Dwight Coburn and Superintendent Frank M. Stahl. Correspondents include Mary Evelyn Dobbs, corresponding secretary for the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Julian K. Codding, warden of the Kansas State Penitentiary, and representatives of the Anti-Saloon League of America. Much of the correspondence concerns efforts to advance anti-liquor agendas in local, state, and national politics. Although Kansas was the first state to adopt a constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors in 1880, the law was largely unenforced.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union district books
Date: 1885 - 1916
These bound volumes contain the records of the third, fifth, sixth, and seventh districts of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The third district included Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, and Wilson County. Jennie M. Kemp was president of the third district (1891-1898) and kept a detailed record of cities within this region that had their own local unions, organizational history, and leadership. Secretaries Ada A. Robinson, Lelia C. Kerwig, Mollie E. Smith, Dora E. Cogdal, and Mary Evelyn Dobbs (later president) recorded the proceedings of the third district from 1895-1908. The fifth district included Clay, Cloud, Davis (now Geary), Dickinson, Marshall, Ottawa, Republic, Riley, Saline, and Washington County. The books for the fifth district include detailed minutes of convention proceedings beginning with the first on March 19, 1885 in Concordia and continuing until 1915. The sixth district included Cheyenne, Decatur, Ellis, Ellsworth, Gove, Graham, Jewell, Lincoln, Logan, Mitchell, Norton, Osborne, Phillips, Rawlins, Rooks, Russell, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas, Trego, and Wallace County. The sixth district was organized in Downs on February 24, 1886 under President Eugenia F. St. John. Convention proceedings for the sixth district are recorded in four bound volumes from 1886-1916. The seventh district records, including photographs of State President Mrs. E. P. Hutchinson, District President Anna M. Taylor, and other officers, cover Barber, Barton, Clark, Edwards, Ford, Gray, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Kingman, Kiowa, McPherson, Meade, Ness, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rush, Sedgwick, Seward, Stafford, Sumner, and Stevens County. 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.