Benjamin Stringfellow
Portrait of Benjamin Stringfellow, attorney and pro-slavery activist. In 1838, Stringfellow settled in Missouri, where he served in the house of representatives, and was attorney general for four years. After moving to Weston, Missouri, he became a member and officer of the Platte County Self-Defensive Association (an aggressive pro-slavery organization). He wrote a pamphlet entitled "Negro Slavery No Evil, or the North and the South." In 1858, Stringfellow moved to Atchison, Kansas Territory, where he helped build the town and was an attorney for the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad.

Ephraim Nute to [Unidentified recipient]
Creator: Nute, Ephraim
Date: February 14, 1859
Ephraim Nute wrote from Lawrence on February 14, 1859, regarding "the disaster that befel the last expedition from this place with fugitives." The party, led by Dr. John Doy, was in route to Oskaloosa when captured and taken to Missouri, where "the colored people, both free and slaves, have been shipped for the New Orleans market." Doy and his son had been jailed at Platte City, Missouri, and were to be tried for "stealing a slave from Weston." Nute was quite sure this operation had been betrayed from within, as "Great rewards were offered, spies sent out & men hired in this place to watch & aid in recovering the run away property."

Ephraim Nute to unidentified recipient
Creator: Nute, Ephraim
Date: February 24, 1859
Ephaim Nute of Lawrence provides an interesting description of the plight of one of the Doy party's fugitive slaves, captured and jailed at Platte City until his escape and dangerous flight back to Lawrence. "We have him now hid & are to day making arrangements to have him set forward tomorrow 30 miles to another depot. I think they (there are 2 others to go) will not be taken again without bloodshed." Nute also mentioned his involvement in the "Charley Fisher affair in Leavenworth." Fisher, a black fugitive, had actually come to Nute's house "disguised in female attire."

Invitation to a Grand Celebration in Atchison City
Creator: Atchison Committee on Invitations
Date: June 13, 1860
An invitation extended by the citizens of Atchison, Kansas Territory, to attend a celebration of the "extension of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad" to Atchison, and to witness the ground-breaking ceremony for the Atchison and Pike's Peak Railroad. The invitation entitled the bearer to a free pass on various railroads for travel to Atchison.

Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War; report
Date: May 23, 1856 - November 12, 1856
Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War, submitted a number of documents in his report to the President that was submitted to the "Two Houses of Congress" on December 2, 1856. There were three sections of documents. Part 1 consisted of letters from the Secretary of War (Davis) and the Adjutant General ( S. Cooper) (pp. 27--35) to Colonel E.V. Sumner, General P. F. Smith, the governors of Kentucky and Illinois, and Major Emery, in relation to a militia force to be employed to aid the legitimate Territorial Government in Kansas Territory. Part 2 (pp.35--61) contained various reports from Colonel E. V. Sumner, commaning officer of the 1st Cavalry at Fort Leavenworth about events in Kansas. The reports include correspondence from Wilson Shannon, territorial governor, and various officers of the 1st Cavalry from Lecompton, Tecumseh, and other locations in the territory. Part 3 (pp. 62-146) was headed "Reports for the Department of the West" and included correspondence from various military officers about the activities of United States troops at various locations in Kansas Territory. This section contained several letters from Daniel Woodson and John Geary, territorial officials. A few non-Kansas items relating to dealings with Native Americans were interspersed among the Kansas Territory correspondence. From the Senate Executive Documents, 34th Congress, 3rd session, Report of the Secretary of War

Joseph Walker to John Dougherty
Creator: Walker, Joseph
Date: November 28, 1857
Letter from Joseph Walker of Platte City, Missouri, to Major John Dougherty of Liberty, Missouri, urging Dougherty to vote in Kansas on the Lecompton Constitution. A searchable transcription is available by clicking "Text Version" below.