A. Curtis to William Hutchinson
Creator: Curtis, A.
Date: December 21, 1856
Curtis reports on the conflict between the Kansas Central Committee and W. F. M. Arny, general agent for the National Kansas Committee, over the distribution of supplies. Curtis claims that Arny issued supplies to individuals who were engaged in speculative ventures and who were not in need of relief. Curtis attaches an itemized list of the supplies that he believes were inappropriately issued by Arny.

Alfred Larzelere
Date: 1854-1860
Alfred Larzelere of Doniphan County was active in free state politics. He served as speaker of the Kansas House in 1859 and as a delegate to the Leavenworth constitutional convention. He was also a member of the Free State Central committee.

Appeal for support of Free Kansas
Creator: Kansas State Central Committee
Date: October 20, 1856
This handwritten "appeal" was sent to all those who had supported, or who might be inclined to support, the free state cause in Kansas Territory. The appeal assures them that the committee in Kansas had reached full accord with the National Kansas Committee and could be "relied upon" to distribute aid channeled through Chicago. "Our people are still in extreme want, and hundreds of families are entirely dependent upon your charities."

Billings & Bryant to John Brown, bill of sale for horse wagon
Creator: Billings & Bryant,
Date: Between 1855 and 1859
The state of Iowa frequently served as a relatively safe haven for abolitionist John Brown and his followers during the late 1850s, and Iowa City was on the famous Lane Trail which carried many free-state activists and settlers to and from Kansas. This document, from "Billings & Bryant," indicates that the partners had received $100 from John Brown as payment "in full for a heavy Horse Waggon" that they agreed "to ship immediately to J B Iowa City, Iowa; care of Dr. Jesse Bowen." Bowen was a member of the Kansas Central Committee of Iowa who later lived in Leavenworth, Kansas Territory.

Catalogue of . . . The Property of the Kansas Central Committee, Lawrence
Creator: Kansas State Central Committee
Date: n.d.
The complete title of this undated inventory is a "Catalogue of Horses, Waggons [sic], Harnesses, &, the property of the Kansas Central Committee, Lawrence. Twenty-eight different horses or "spans" of horses are identified (e.g., "One Sorrell Colt"), along with four mules and forty harnesses, and seventeen wagons.

E. R. Falley to Kansas Central Committee
Creator: Falley, Edwin R.
Date: c. 1857
In this undated letter from Lawrence, Kansas Territory, E. R. Falley informs the Kansas Central Committee that he had lost a gun loaned to him by "Mr. Wilder" (D. W. Wilder?) while serving with a free-state militia company at Blanton's bridge (Napoleon B. Blanton, on the Wakarusa River in Douglas County) in June 1856. Wilder was demanding payment, and Falley asks the committee to reimburse "Mr. Wilder for said gun."

Gaius Jenkins' bill to the Kansas State Central Committee
Creator: Jenkins, Gaius
Date: June 24, 1856
Most of the items on this itemized bill, presented to the Kansas State Central Committee by Gaius Jenkins of Lawrence (a free-state man who was subsequently shot and killed by Jim Lane), are related to armaments (powder, lead, etc.) or other necessities for supplying a militia force in the Kansas Territory.

George W. Bell to William Hutchinson and James Blood
Creator: Bell, George W.
Date: October 26, 1856
From Hickory Point in Jefferson County, George Bell, an agent for the Kansas Central Committee, writes William Hutchinson and James Blood at Lawrence, Kansas Territory, regarding the condition of the "Burr family" and their specific relief needs. The Burrs are described as "destitute" of food and clothing.

George W. Hunt and C. Stearns to Blood, Hutchinson, et. al.
Creator: Hunt, George W.
Date: September 29, 1856
On behalf of a committee of Lawrence citizens, Hunt and Stearns write the State Central Committee of Kansas "to urge upon your attention several important points in reference to the present condition of Kansas." They were convinced that a "storm" from Missouri was about "to burst upon the devoted heads of the freemen of Kansas" and "perhaps to deluge Kansas with rivers of blood." The committee urges the state and national organizations to help them prepare for the storm, while things were relatively calm, with an adequate supply of arms and ammunition and men. They call only for "moral heroes" who would not follow the "principles of Border Ruffianism."

George W. Smith, Jr. to Kansas Central Committee
Creator: Smith, G.W. (George W.) 1806-1878
Date: July 17, 1857
George W. Smith, Jr. of Lawrence, Kansas Territory, requests a supply of "arms . . . for distribution among the Free State men who have formed themselves into Companies." Smith's signature identifies him as Captain, "Munger Battalion, Free State Forces." Smith writes that he led "a force of 32 mounted" men, most of whom were veterans of the "wars of Kansas," and requests the loan of "32 sabres [sic] and any revolvers that you may have to give them."

Invoice of Central Committee goods
Date: Between 1850 and 1861
This is an itemized inventory of goods maintained by the Kansas Central Committee for distribution to Free State citizens in need of relief. The inventoried goods consist primarily of clothing and fabric.

Invoice of property received of Col. Shalor W. Eldridge
Creator: Kansas State Central Committee
Date: n.d.
This is a copy of an invoice most likely created during the late fall or winter 1856-1857. Starting with five Colt Revolvers, the invoice identifies over thirty separate listings for various firearms, foodstuffs, harness, etc., plus a good number of horses and mules, received from Colonel Shalor W. Eldridge. Among the different items listed are cartridges, blankets, canvas tents, shovels, bayonets, tin cups, and "25 old Sabors."

J. D. Webster to James Blood
Creator: Webster, J. D.
Date: October 10, 1856
From Chicago, Illinois, headquarters of the National Kansas Committee, the committee's vice president writes to authorize James Blood to draw on the treasurer for $3,000 "to be expended under authority of the State Kansas Committee." The purpose is to offer "provisions" to needy free state settlers; this was to be the committee's focus, "rather than to aid emigrants to go there."

Kansas Central Committee payment to Jacob Willits
Creator: Kansas State Central Committee
Date: January 7, 1857
On January 7, 1857, the Kansas Central Committee paid $12.64 to Jacob Willits of Shawnee County, Kansas Territory, for this itemized supplies bill.

Kansas Free Lecture by Jas. H. Lathrop
Date: 1874
A poster announcing a free lecture by Jas. H. Lathrop, Morgan City, Clay County, Kansas, at Union Hall, Cortland, New York. Lathrop was to speak of the suffering and depressed conditions caused by the grasshopper plague.

L. W. Hover to State Central Committee
Creator: Hover, L. H.
Date: October 24, 1856
L. W. Hover, a farmer and freestater who had settled at Wakarusa, Kansas Territory, on June 1, 1856, makes this claim against the funds being distributed by the State Central Committee. His crops, etc., were destroyed while he was serving in the militia during "the Washington Creek difficulty," and he has since fallen quite ill and is dependent on help from his neighbors.

Minutes of Executive Committee, Kansas State Central Committee
Creator: Kansas State Central Committee
Date: October 22, 1856
Dated "Lawrence, October 22, 1856," these are apparently the minutes of the first meeting the Kansas State Central Committee's executive committee, chaired by James M. Winchell with George S. Hillyer as secretary. Eight resolutions are recorded, authorizing the committee to provide assistance, etc.

N. M'Cracken to William Hutchinson
Creator: Morgan, J. F.
Date: November 27, 1856
Unlike most of the other receipts for money or merchandise saved by James Blood for the Kansas State Central Committee, this one is on a pre-printed form and issued by "N. M'Cracken" of Leavenworth for merchandise delivered to William Hutchinson at Lawrence, Kansas Territory. It is signed by J. F. Morgan, who evidently delivered the goods from Leavenworth to Lawrence and "received pay of J. Blood" on January 26, 1857.

Relief!
Date: 1874
This poster announces Rev. W. M. Wellman's visit to Goshen, Indiana, and his work on behalf of the Kansas Relief Committee and the Smith County Aid Society. Wellman worked to obtain financial donations for settlers impacted by the grasshopper plague.

Samuel Cabot, Jr. to James Blood
Creator: Cabot, Samuel
Date: December 28, 1856
Samuel Cabot, who was directing a Boston effort to send clothing to Kansas Territory, advises Blood he was aware of the goods that "had been stopped at St Louis by the closure of navigation." He also comments on the reluctance of some to accept relief; these individuals are to be advised that "This supply is not a mere charity but a contribution of the North to soldiers, who have been bravely battling for the case of freedom & in defense of our common rights, against the Slave Oligarchy." Cabot encloses a printed letter titled "Clothing For Kanzas," listing New England contributions.

Samuel L. Adair to William Hutchinson
Creator: Adair, Samuel Lyle, 1811-1898
Date: November 7, 1856
The first page of this four-page document lists five items for which Samuel L. Adair requests payment ($21.25) from the Kansas State Central Committee. These items include provisions, medicine, the "balance yet unpaid of money advanced to pay lawyers fees for prisoners at Tecumsee in June last," and the "bill paid for lumber and nails for coffin of Frederick Brown & David Garrison," two of the men killed during the battle of Osawatomie, Kansas Territory, on August 30, 1856. The accompanying letter justifies the requested payment.

William Hutchinson
Creator: Clinedinst
Date: Between
A portrait of William Hutchinson, a journalist and correspondent for the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Democrat and Washington Republic, he covered events in Kansas from 1855 through the early 1860s. He settled in Lawrence, Kansas Territory. Hutchinson served as secretary of the Kansas Central Committee and assisted with efforts to send emigrant parties and relief to Kansas Territory. He was first identified with the abolition or free-soil party, until the Republican party organized. Hutchinson was a member of the Wyandotte Constitution Convention and was an early and persistent advocate of temperance and other reforms.

William Riley Griffith
Creator: Leonard, 613 Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS.,
Date: Between 1854 and 1861
A photograph of William Riley Griffith, a free state supporter who lived in Marmaton, Bourbon County. He was a delegate to the Topeka and Wyandotte Constitutional Conventions and was on the Free-State central committee.