1880 census of Farmer Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 1, 1880 through June 2, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Farmer Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

Affidavits of colored men, in report and testimony of the select committee to investigate the causes of the removal of the Negroes from the southern states to the northern states, in three parts
Creator: United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Negro Exodus
Date: 1880
The Senate select committee charged with investigating the causes of the Exodus included this list of sworn affidavits in their report. The affidavits are given by ten black men and one black woman who outlined their treatment while living in Louisiana. Each affidavit includes their full name and parish (county) of residence. Although this source does not directly refer to Kansas, many Exodusters who came to Kansas during the post-Civil War period came from Louisiana.

Agricultural development, wealth and rural population of the states on the tributory to the Union Pacific Railroad for the years of 1900-1910
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: September 17, 1912
Union Pacific Railroad Company Agricultural Bulletin (No. 104). Union Pacific Railroad promotional advertisement showing aggregate statistical wealth values and population figures for areas west of the Mississippi River during a ten year period of time.

Battle of Milliken's Bend
Date: June 7, 1863
An illustration from Harper's Weekly, July 4, 1863, depicting the Battle of Milliken's Bend where African-American soldiers of the 8th, 9th, 11th, and 13th Louisiana Infantry Regiments and 1st Mississippi Infantry fought valiantly along side the 23rd Iowa Regiment against Confederate troops. Although the African-American soldiers were recently recruited and ill-equipped, they engaged the Confederate troops in one of the longest hand-to-hand battles of the Civil War. The battle finally ended after the Union gunboats Choctaw and Lexington arrived and began firing on the Rebels.

Catherine B. Dart to Lewis Allen Alderson
Date: 1832-1833
Several letters written by Catherine B. Dart to Lewis Allen Alderson and his wife, Lucy. Lucy died in February 1833. Lewis Allen Alderson later moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Colonel Don Estevan Miro to the Ioway Indians
Date: March 15, 1784
This document was presented to Antoine Burada by his uncle, George Campbell. George Campbell was the "half-breed" son of Vance Murray Campbell, a fur trader and U. S. treaty interpreter, who fathered several children by the daughter of No Heart, an Ioway chief. Their daughter Emily (sister of George) married Michael T. Barada. Their son Antoine Barada (1863-1924) of White Cloud, Kansas, was one of several by that name in the Ioway and Omaha tribes, so he is not to be confused with his first cousin Antoine Barada (1807-1885) of Barada, Nebraska, a celebrated figure in that state's folklore. This is the Antoine Barada who signed the treaty between the United States and the Kansas Nation, at St. Louis, in 1815. The document is addressed to "de la Nacion Ayoas" - the Ioway nation - and was signed by Colonel Don Estevan Miro, who was the Spanish governor of Louisiana during the period when it was secretly deeded by the French to the Spanish. It was presented to the Iowa Nation at the Spanish Office of the Province of Louisiana, at New Orleans, March 15, 1784. This document was donated to the Kansas Historical Society circa 1905 according to the Transactions of KSHS, vol. 9 (1905-1906), p. 251, note 55.

Commissioner of deeds : Louisiana
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1869-1873 : Harvey)
Date: 1869 - 1872
An application from Oren D. Bragdon for the position as Commissioner of Deeds for the State of Kansas, residence in Louisiana. An application from John M. Cooney of New Orleans, Louisiana, along with an endorsement for his appointment as Commissioner of Deeds for Kansas. A letter from William F. Robb asks the length of the term in the office of Commissioners of Deeds as this information was not provided to him when he was tendered the position.

Commissioners of Deeds : Louisiana
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1879-1883 : St. John)
Date: 1879-1882
Letters to Kansas Governor St. John from individuals in Louisiana who are applying for the position as Commissioner of Deeds for Kansas in Louisiana. There is also a document from the State of Kansas Executive Office, signed by Kansas Governor St. John, to appoint Charles T. Soniat as Commissioner for Kansas Resident in Louisiana.

Dishes from the Jotham Meeker Farmstead, 14FR308
Date: 1845-1865
These dish fragments were recovered from the Jotham Meeker farmstead site in Franklin County. They are decorated in red floral and scenic patterns by transfer printing, a process by which a design is transferred from an engraved metal plate onto the pottery, creating a ware called transferware. The partial maker's mark on the back of the sherds names Henderson and Gaines of New Orleans, agents for the Davenport Pottery in Staffordshire, England from 1836 to 1866. The site was excavated in 1985 at a Kansas Archeology Training Program field school. Jotham Meeker served as a Baptist missionary among the Ottawa on their reservation.

Expositions
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1879-1883: Glick)
Date: 1883-1885
These letters are from various individuals regarding the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans. The letters cover the regulations of the exposition, requesting visits, appointing/endorsing commissioners for the exposition, and exposition matters (i.e.- available space for Kansas exhibition, budget, and exhibit material). The exposition was a World's Fair held in New Orleans from December 16, 1884 until June 1, 1885. At that time, one third of the world's cotton passed through New Orleans hence the chosen location.

Expositions, Centennials, Conventions; Association for improvement of Western Water Ways
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1885-1889
These letters, spanning 1887, are from the Association for the Improvement of Western Water-Ways regarding their meeting to Kansas Governor John Martin. Some of the letters request the appointment of delegates to the meeting along with an invitation for the governor to join. An official letter from the association discusses the previous meeting held in New Orleans, Louisiana in April 1885 and the request of another meeting in Memphis, Tennessee in October 1887. The association's headquarters was in Memphis, Tennessee.

Expositions, Centennials, Conventions; Interstate Agricultural Convention
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1885-1889
These letters, spanning 1887, are from the governor of the state of Louisiana, S. D. McEnery, and other individuals regarding the Interstate Agricultural Convention to Kansas Governor John Martin. McEnery explains the convention and asks for delegates. Other letters discuss the appointment of delegates. The Interstate Agricultural Convention was held in Lake Charles, Louisiana on February 22nd, 1887.

Expositions, Centennials, Conventions; National Cotton Planter's Association
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1885
These letters, spanning February 1885, are from individuals regarding the National Cotton Planter's Association convention to Kansas Governor John Martin. The letters discuss the appointment of delegates to the convention as well as the acceptance of the appointment as delegate. Martin appointed C. W. Keifer, James W. Gaw, and J. H. Fullenwider as delegates. The National Cotton Planter's Association convention was held in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 10th, 1885.

Expositions, Centennials, Conventions; North Central and South American Exposition, New Orleans
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1885-1886
These letters, spanning 1885 to 1886, are from the offices of the North Central and South American Exposition and other individuals regarding the North Central and South American Exposition to Kansas Governor John Martin. The offices wrote explaining the exposition and asking for the inclusion of the state of Kansas in it as well as inviting the governor to the opening. Many letters ask for the appointment of commissioner. Martin appointed George Y. Johnson and George W. Ashby. A list of expenditures for Kansas' participation is also among the letters. The North Central and South American Exposition opened in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 1, 1886.

Expositions, Centennials, Conventions; Southern Exposition, Louisville
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1887
These two letters, dated March 20th, 1887 and June 18th, 1887, are from J. M. Wright, the General Manager and President of the Southern Exposition, regarding the Southern Exposition to Kansas Governor John Martin. One letter confirms the removal of the Kansas exhibit from the New Orleans' World's Exposition to Louisville. The other letter invites Martin to the Southern Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky from August 27th to October 22nd, 1887.

Expositions, Centennials, Conventions; Worlds Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1885
These letters, spanning 1885, are from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the governor of the state of Louisiana, and other individuals regarding the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition to Kansas Governor John Martin. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the governor of the state of Louisiana invite Martin and his commissioners to the exposition as well as explain it and discuss the Kansas exhibit in it. The other letters discuss the appointment of commissioners. Commissioner reports detailing the events from the previous year are among the letters. The World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition was held in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 13th, 1885.

Expositions, Centennials, Expositions; American Agricultural Association, New Orleans, 1885
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1885-1889
These letters, spanning 1885, are from the American Agriculture Association and other individuals regarding the American Agriculture Association convention to Kansas Governor John Martin. The American Agriculture Association wrote to invite Martin and his delegates to the convention. Other letters discuss the appointment of delegates. Notary slips, among the letters, list the delegates named for the convention. The American Agriculture Association convention was held in New Orleans, Louisiana from July 20th to the 23rd of 1885.

Fred L. Haywood to his sister, Loesa
Creator: Haywood, Fred L.
Date: April 06, 1863
A typed copy of a Civil War letter from Fred L. Haywood to his sister, Loesa. Fred, a member of the 1st Minnesota Battery, writes about his experience at the Battle of Shiloh, daily camp life, and his feelings on the Emancipation Proclamation, He also wrote about finding out after the recent death of a soldier from the 1st Kansas regiment that the soldier was actually a woman who had been posing as a soldier for nearly two years.

Front page of account of Major Zebulon M. Pike's exploration
Date: 1807-1810
The beginning page of the report submitted by Major Zebulon M. Pike of his exploration of the western United States submitted to Congress and published in 1810. Zebulon Pike was an army lieutenant sent by the U.S. government to explore the southern part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1806. Upon his return, Pike prepared a report to the U.S. government in which he described the Plains as the "Great American Desert."

George W. Scott papers
Creator: Scott, George W., 1850-1920
Date: 1889-1899
Business correspondence, arranged chronologically, of George W. Scott, one of the first residents of Edgerton, Kansas. A large portion of the collection is correspondence between Scott and Frank S. Hammond, Scott's partner in a 20,000 acre ranch in the Texas panhandle. Much of the correspondence deals with their attempts to raise cattle, lease the land, and sell or trade the property. Hammond worked as a general manager for several railroads (Kansas City, Fort Scott, and Memphis Railroad Company; Kansas City, Shreveport, and Gulf Railway Company; and the Kansas City, Watkins, and Gulf Railway Company) that were in the process of expanding their lines, and mentioned these activities in his letters. Due to their real estate investments in Texas, many letters come from banks, insurance agents, and land surveyors in the panhandle. Scott also served as secretary for the Johnson County Fair Association and owned the Gardner Lumber Company. Scott frequently corresponded with creameries, dairy farmers, wholesale dry goods retailers and seed merchants, including the Kansas Seed House owned by Frederick W. Barteldes in Lawrence. Also included are invoices, checks, contracts, and inventory lists from various businesses.

Governor Thomas Osborn immigration received correspondence
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1873-1877 : Osborn)
Date: 1873-1876
Governor Thomas Osborn compiled this series of correspondence on immigration issues from letters received while in office from 1873-1877. The letters address many aspects of immigration including the appointment of commissioners; immigration promotion; foreign immigration from Scotland, France, Wales, Europe in general, the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark), and Germany. Domestic immigration is also addressed concerning immigrants from New England, Louisiana, and Tennessee (early Exodusters); and Indian lands.

Harry Turbet Taylor's World War II letters
Creator: Taylor, Harry Turbet
Date: September 20, 1942 - October 2, 1944
A collection of three photos and letters written by Lt. Harry Turbet Taylor (a.k.a. Tea and H. T.) to the G. S. Houdyshell family in Topeka, Kansas. Taylor, a member of the Eighth U.S. Air Force and later the Ninth U.S. Air Force, served as a B-26 Marauder pilot during World War II in England. The letters were transcribed by Mary Lou Houdyshell Anderson, Taylor's niece. Included in the collection are an account written by Taylor telling about an incident where his plane was hit by flak in a bombing run at Noball (V-11) Launch Site and biographical information.

Henry Worrall watercolor
Creator: Worrall, Henry
Date: 1884
This promotional watercolor of Kansas scenes was painted by artist Henry Worrall for the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). It is believed that Worrall painted the poster for the Kansas chapter of the WCTU to use at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition held in New Orleans in 1884. The poster depicts Topeka and various types of Kansas iconography.

Kansas Exhibit, New Orleans Cotton Centennial
Creator: Centennial Phoographic Co. International Exhibition, Edward L. Wilson & W Irving Adams
Date: Between 1884 and 1885
This is a photograph of the Kansas wheat and corn exhibit at the New Orleans Cotton Centennial in New Orleans, Louisiana. Most of the exhibit is constructed of natural materials such a wheat stalks, etc. The detail is fairly elaborate.

Louisiana Purchase "1803"
Creator: Fletcher-Boeselt Collection
Date: November 1986
This map shows the territorial outline of the acquisition of land know as the Louisiana Purchase. It is an updated reprint from an unknown original source.