Betty and Peggy
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: July 1924
This is a photo shows Betty (age 10) and Peggy (age 8) Hughes, daughters of Captain James Hughes and his wife, Mabel. The photo was taken in July, 1924, while the Hughes family was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. Captain Hughes was the Battery Commander of the 15th Field Artillery. James Clark Hughes was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, and served in the Mexican Border Conflict, World War I, and World War II. He used an autographic camera to take pictures of friends, family, and places in the United States and Europe during World War I. After the Armistice was signed November 11, 1918, Captain Hughes became part of the Army of Occupation. He finally returned to the U. S. arriving July 31, 1919 as part of the 13th Field Artillery, 4th Division. He was assigned to Camp Dodge, Iowa until August, 1920. Then Captain Hughes was assigned to the Motor Transport School, Camp Holabird, Maryland for training in Army vehicles for six months. From there Hughes and the 13th F.A. went to Fort Lewis, Washington. Hughes was the Battery Commander of the 13th F.A. During this time he had applied for enlistment in the Regular Army. On September 7, 1920 he was discharged from the National Guard and appoint to the Regular Army. It was then that Captain Hughes and his family moved to Schofield Barracks, Hawaiian Territory where they stayed until September, 1923. His next appointment was as Battery Commander of the 15th Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston. In September 1924, Hughes attended the Battery Officers Course in the School of Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma for nine months. From 1924 until 1933 the Hughes family continued to be moved frequently from Ft. Sill to Houston, to Waco, back to Hawaii and eventually to Long Beach. It was here in 1935 that Hughes was promoted to Major. By August of 1940 he had been promoted to Lt. Colonel. In 1941, he commanded a Philippine regiment (Filipino soldiers led by American officers), which surrendered in 1942 on the Bataan peninsula. Hughes spent the next 41 months in various Japanese P.O.W. camps. He was liberated by Russian forces at Camp Hoten, Manchuria, in 1945. He was assigned permanent limited duty status and April 1, 1946 was promoted to Colonel. He retired from the Army March 20, 1948. Hughes died in 1964 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Bracken Ridge Park, JCH
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: July 15, 1924
This is a photo of Captain James Hughes taken in Brackenridge Park, San Antonio. The photo was taken in July 15, 1924, while the Hughes family was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. Captain Hughes was the Battery Commander of the 15th Field Artillery. James Clark Hughes was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, and served in the Mexican Border Conflict, World War I, and World War II. He used an autographic camera to take pictures of friends, family, and places in the United States and Europe during World War I. After the Armistice was signed November 11, 1918, Captain Hughes became part of the Army of Occupation. He finally returned to the U. S. arriving July 31, 1919 as part of the 13th Field Artillery, 4th Division. He was assigned to Camp Dodge, Iowa until August, 1920. Then Captain Hughes was assigned to the Motor Transport School, Camp Holabird, Maryland for training in Army vehicles for six months. From there Hughes and the 13th F.A. went to Fort Lewis, Washington. Hughes was the Battery Commander of the 13th F.A. During this time he had applied for enlistment in the Regular Army. On September 7, 1920 he was discharged from the National Guard and appoint to the Regular Army. It was then that Captain Hughes and his family moved to Schofield Barracks, Hawaiian Territory where they stayed until September, 1923. His next appointment was as Battery Commander of the 15th Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston. In September 1924, Hughes attended the Battery Officers Course in the School of Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma for nine months. From 1924 until 1933 the Hughes family continued to be moved frequently from Ft. Sill to Houston, to Waco, back to Hawaii and eventually to Long Beach. It was here in 1935 that Hughes was promoted to Major. By August of 1940 he had been promoted to Lt. Colonel. In 1941, he commanded a Philippine regiment (Filipino soldiers led by American officers), which surrendered in 1942 on the Bataan peninsula. Hughes spent the next 41 months in various Japanese P.O.W. camps. He was liberated by Russian forces at Camp Hoten, Manchuria, in 1945. He was assigned permanent limited duty status and April 1, 1946 was promoted to Colonel. He retired from the Army March 20, 1948. Hughes died in 1964 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Free Texas land excursion tickets
Creator: Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company
Date: 1881
This broadside promotes settlement in Texas and passage there through the Missouri Pacific Railway. It also promotes the landscape of the Indian territory as a scenic route, and addresses Texas land laws, the people of Texas, and the climate. The agent is listed as C. E. Styles, Sixth Street Depot, Atchison, Kansas. This item demonstrates the considerable involvement of railroad companies in immigration and land settlement in the American West, and the promotion of the West as a tourist destination.

Geraldine Buhler Smith, Bernice Smith, and Lt. Glee S. Smith, Jr.
Date: 1944
This is a photograph showing Geraldine Buhler Smith, Bernice Smith (Glee Smith's mother), and Lt. Glee S. Smith, Jr. The photograph was taken at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas on Easter, 1944.

Harry Turbet Taylor
Date: 1942
This is a tintype showing Harry Turbet Taylor as a cadet in preflight school in San Antonio, Texas.

Incidents of the Dull Knife raid
Creator: Street, William D., b. 1851
Date: 1900
This item, written by William D. Street of Oberlin, Kansas, details the events surrounding the Dull Knife raid. According to Street, events began in the summer of 1878 while he was working as a cowboy in parts of Kansas and Colorado. Street recalls that he was first aware that something was wrong upon hearing women and children crying, something that he states was unusual because women and children "seldom frequented the cow camps." Street then asked a man named Sim Holstine what had happened, and Sim told him that an Indian raid had just occurred and the locals were preparing to assist the U.S. Army apprehend the offenders. The remaining seven pages of this item details the events that occurred after the party of men left to find the Northern Cheyennes responsible for the raid.

John R. Brinkley to Minnie Brinkley
Creator: Brinkley, John Richard, 1885-1942
Date: May 6, 1942
A letter written by Dr. John R. Brinkley to his wife Minnie Brinkley on Mother's Day. He asks her to remember the good times, care for their son, and never falter when faced with persecution and disappointment. This letter was written from San Antonio, Texas where he later died of heart failure on May 26, 1942.

John R. Brinkley to Wallace Davis
Creator: Brinkley, John Richard, 1885-1942
Date: January 10, 1942
A letter written by Dr. John R. Brinkley to Wallace Davis, attorney. In this letter to his attorney, Brinkley outlines the difficulties he and Minnie Brinkley are experiencing. He discusses the razing of XERA radio station, bankruptcy, his declining health, and the federal indictment.

National Balloon Race, Goodyear
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: April 23, 1924
This photo is of the Goodyear balloon in the National Balloon Race which was held April 23, 1924. According to news reports more than 100,000 people attended this event at San Antonio. The Goodyear balloon was the winner. It was piloted by W. T. Van Norman (Goodyear Co.). With his aide, C. K. Woolam, he landed near Rochester, Minn., over 1,100 miles from the starting point. This was a qualifying race for the right to attend the Gordon Bennett Cup international race held in Belgium. James Clark Hughes was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, and served in the Mexican Border Conflict, World War I, and World War II. He used an autographic camera to take pictures of friends, family, and places in the United States and Europe during and just after World War I. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available at the link below to Kansapedia.

National Balloon Race, U. S. Army
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: April 23, 1924
This photo is of the U.S. Army balloon in the National Balloon Race which was held April 23, 1924. According to news reports more than 100,000 people attended this event at San Antonio. The Goodyear balloon was the winner. It was piloted by W. T. Van Norman and his aide, C. K. Woolam, landed near Rochester, Minn., over 1,100 miles from the starting point. This was a qualifying race for the right to attend the Gordon Bennett Cup international race held in Belgium. The U. S. Army balloon took third place. James Clark Hughes was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, and served in the Mexican Border Conflict, World War I, and World War II. He used an autographic camera to take pictures of friends, family, and places in the United States and Europe during and just after World War I. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available at the link below to Kansapedia.

New England Emigrant Aid Company Texan Committee, Report
Creator: New England Emigrant Aid Company. Texan Committee
Date: March 8, 1860
Samuel Cabot submitted a report of the Texan Committee to the New England Emigrant Aid Company Executive Committee. The committee recommended that the Company take action to settle portions of Texas northwest of San Antonio with antislavery advocates as part of the effort to halt the westward advance of slavery. Cabot expressed the committee's view that the only peaceful solution to the slavery issue required demonstrating to slaveholders the superiority of free labor over slave labor; the committee believed West Texas a logical place for this demonstration to occur.

Ralph Prickett in a motorcycle repair shop in San Antonio, Texas
Date: Between 1917 and 1919
A photograph of Ralph Prickett working in a motorcycle repair shop in San Antonio, Texas during World War I.

Virgil Barnes in San Antonio, Texas
Date: 1920
These three photos were taken in 1920 in San Antonio, Texas, while the New York Giants were in the city for their spring training camp. Virgil "Zeke" Barnes, of Circleville, Kansas, is pictured in all three. Barnes trained with the Giants that spring but spent the 1920 regular season playing for the minor league Rochester Hustlers. He joined the Giants' regular roster in 1922. A right-handed pitcher, Barnes played seven complete seasons at the major league level, primarily for the Giants. He had 61 major league wins, with a career ERA of 3.66. His best year was 1924, when he had an ERA of 3.06 and a record of 16-10. Barnes made World Series appearances in 1923 and 1924, including the starting assignment in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series. Barnes was born in Ontario, Kansas, in 1897 and was raised in the nearby town of Circleville. During his major league years, Barnes lived during the off-season in rural Jackson County with his wife Della and their two children. In the mid-1930s, the family moved to Wichita, where Barnes lived until his death in 1958.