Abstract of title report
Creator: The Hall Abstract and Title Co.
Date: 1879-1967
This is the complete abstract of title for lots 1 and 2, Block 10, in the Crescent Park 3rd Addition to Hutchinson, Kansas. The abstract contains a condensed history of the ownership for the property, beginning with the first transfer of the parcel to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Co. in 1873, then listing each subsequent owner of the land up to 1967, when the abstract was compiled. It includes copies of the records from each time the property went through probate court proceedings. The plat map on page 2 includes Robinson's First Addition and part of the Central Land & Town Company's Second Addition. The legal description for that area is the southeast quarter and part of the southwest quarter of section 1, township 23 south, range 6 west. The map shows the route of the railroad spur that originally carried people to the Kansas State Fairgrounds. Since 1913, the fairgrounds has been located north of Crescent Boulevard. The record of the Crescent Park 3rd Addition begins on page 13, with a plat map of the addition on page 28. The neighborhood restrictions, which applied for 25 years from November 2, 1915, include the statement that "none of said lots shall be conveyed to owned or occupied by other than persons of the white race as owners or tenants." This was one method that was used in Kansas to create segregated neighborhoods.

A list of lands in Gove County, Kansas still held by U.S. Government
Creator: Denning, J.M.
Date: December 1912
This is a list of lands in Gove County, Kansas, that, as of December 1912, were still held by the U.S. Government. No land patent had ever been issued by the U.S. The list is in order by legal description of the land.

Deeds from the James Stanley Emery Collection
Date: 1856-1887
These deeds from the James Stanely Emery collection document a real estate purchase from James S. Emery for $500. Nathaniel S. Higgins of Fair Haven, Massachusetts is purchasing half of an undivided lot (Number 30) and the stone or concrete building currently occupied by Emery on Massachusetts Street in Lawrence. If Emery is able to acquire share number 97 of the town of Lawrence from the government, however, the sale will not take effect. James Stanley Emery was born in Franklin County, Maine in 1826. Educated at Waterville College, he was admitted to the bar in New York in 1854. He was involved with the New England Emigrant Aid Company, coming to Kansas with the second party of immigrants, and generally in free state activities in Kansas to ensure that it became an anti-slavery state when it entered the Union. Through the following years, he worked in numerous states for the cause. Emery was a member of the Leavenworth constitutional convention and served on the Kansas Legislature in 1862 and 1863. He was a lawyer and worked as a journalist for the New York Daily Times. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Emery U.S. District Attorney for Kansas in 1864. In 1891 he was president of the Kansas State Historical Society. Emery died in Lawrence in 1899.

Deed with corrections from George and Martha Washington to John Parke Custis for land in Stratton Major Parish, King and Queen County, Virginia
Date: 1778
This is a draft of a 1778 deed with corrections from George and Martha Washington to John Parke Custis for 1981 acres of land in Stratton Major Parish, King and Queen County, Virginia, unsigned.

Gerat Henry Hollenberg collection
Date: 1860-1894
Gerat Henry Hollenberg built and operated the Hollenberg Pony Express Station in Hanover in Washington County, Kansas. He was also known as the founder of Washington County, Kansas and the city of Hanover. William Kalhoefer, along with August Jaedicke, were the first to settle in Hanover, Kansas. This collection includes papers of Gerat Henry Hollenberg, William Kolhoefer, the St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad, and the St. Joseph, Hanover, and Southwestern Railroad. The bulk of the collection consists of warranty, quit claim, and sheriff deeds involved Hollenberg and land acquisitions in Washington County. Some properties are in Marshall County. The related correspondence documents the early history of the county and its cities, including topics primarily relating to laws and organization. The papers of William Kalhoefer include his marriage license, naturalization papers, bank deposit records, and election certificates for various positions in which he served. These positions included the mayor of Hanover, notary public, township treasurer, and other positions. The railroad records include right-of-way documents and related correspondence.

Henry Kuhn collection, record [and recipe] book
Creator: Kuhn, Henry, 1830-1900
Date: 1856-1859
This record book includes a territorial map of Shannon township, Atchison County, Kansas, drawn by Henry Kuhn, county surveyor of Atchison County from 1856-1858. It also includes a registry of voters of Atchison and Shannon townships printed in 1859 and signed by Kuhn as township clerk. It also includes an alphabetical list of section owners. Later the book was used to record cooking and baking recipes. Henry Kuhn was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on February 2nd, 1830. In 1854 he moved his family to Atchison County, Kansas Territory, where he was the first superintendent of public instruction, county surveyor, and helped organize the First National Bank. Kuhn enlisted in the Eighth Kansas Infantry in September 1861. He served under Colonel John A. Martin (Kansas Governor 1885 - 1889) until the end of the war. His last active rank was commissioned Captain. From 1865 to 1891 he resided at Fort Leavenworth where he organized the German Savings Bank, built the city's first railroad, and was chief clerk and acting agent for the Indian agency in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Then he moved to Marion County where he farmed and raised stock. In 1890 he began publishing the "Marion Times." In February 1899 he moved back to Atchison and published the "Atchison Champion." In the autumn of 1899 he moved to Topeka where he died June 11th, 1900.

Isaac T. Goodnow property records
Date: Between 1858 and 1895
Series of personal property records belonging to the Isaac T. Goodnow collection. Isaac Goodnow was an early resident of Manhattan, Kansas, and was a free-state supporter. He was a delegate to the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention and was one of the founders of Bluemont Central College. Included in these documents are land deeds, mortgages, assessment lists, and lot lists.

Israel K. Brown collection
Date: January 1, 1870
The United States Government presented this patent to Israel K. Brown for 160 acres of land he purchased in Southeast Kansas on November 15, 1869. This was the first land patent presented by the General Land Office for the Cherokee Neutral Lands in Kansas. A newspaper clipping published several years after Brown's death that describes the land transfer is also included.

Kansas Land Survey Plats
Date: Bulk 1857-1861
These eighteen land survey plat maps show townships 18 through 23 south, ranges 23 through 25, east of the 6th principal meridian. The U.S. Surveyor General began surveying Kansas after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Plat maps were created at that time to document the surveys. The plats show public lands within the territory divided by range, township and section. Townships were measured in six mile increments starting from the Kansas-Nebraska border. Ranges were numbered in six mile increments east and west from the Six Prime Meridian, which crosses through present day Wichita, Kansas. This system is still the basis for legal land description in the state.

Kansas Town and Land Company U. S. land patents
Creator: United States. General Land Office
Date: 1874-1896
Land patents issued by the United States General Land Office to Albert O. Baldwin, William O. Alphin, Nora B. Asher, Samuel Bayne, James R. Blades, William H. Blood, John W. Brownlee, Robert L. Butts, Martha A. Davidson, Erving M. Davis, Chesley W. Jones, A. B. Montgomery, Seymour S. Rogers, Ada E. Scates, Isaac D. Smith, James Smith, Herbert H. Springer, George H. Storch, John Sheppard, and Alfred O. Yeatman. Also included is a declaration from the federal government, referencing the June 28, 1862 treaty that established the Kickapoo Indian Reservation, which grants O-Ketch-Kum-Me a designated forty acres.

Kansas land survey plats
Creator: U.S. Surveyor General of Kansas and Nebraska
Date: 1857-1861
Six land survey plat maps showing townships 11 through 15 south, range 16 east. The U.S. Surveyor General began surveying Kansas after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Plat maps were created at that time to document the surveys. The plats show public lands within the territory divided by range, township and section. Townships were measured in six mile increments starting from the Kansas-Nebraska border. Ranges were numbered in six mile increments east and west from the Sixth Prime Meridian, which crosses through present day Wichita, Kansas. This system is still the basis for legal land description in the state. The Kansas Historical Society acquired a collection of these original plats previously held by the Kansas Secretary of State. The National Archives and the Bureau of Land Management also hold copies of the plats. Kansas land surveyors are the most frequent users of these maps. They use them to verify section corners when surveying land.

Land Patent to Francis Doran
Creator: United States. General Land Office
Date: 1864
This is a land patent issued to Francis Doran for the purchase of 160 acres on the Kansas Indian Trust Lands. The property was located in the southeast quarter of Section 14 in Township 15 South, Range 8 east, Morris County, Kansas.

Land Survey Plats and Tract Books, Township 9 South, Range 111 West
Date: 1860
Hand-colored plat map of Kansas from original surveys for Township 9 South, Range 111 West. This plat map shows significant geographical landmarks such as rivers and other waterways, as well as man-made features such as roads and trails, boundaries of Native American reservations, and other landmarks. See series 194481 for microfilmed copies of original plat maps from 1854-1884.

Mortgages from the James Stanley Emery Collection
Creator: Emery, James S., 1826-1899
Date: 1859-1899
Mortgages from the Janes Stanley Emery collection. James Stanley Emery was born in Franklin County, Maine in 1826. Educated at Waterville College, he was admitted to the bar in New York in 1854. He was involved with the New England Emigrant Aid Company, coming to Kansas with the second party of immigrants, and generally in free state activities in Kansas to ensure that it became an anti-slavery state when it entered the Union. Through the following years, he worked in numerous states for the cause. Emery was a member of the Leavenworth constitutional convention and served on the Kansas Legislature in 1862 and 1863. He was a lawyer and worked as a journalist for the New York Daily Times. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Emery U.S. District Attorney for Kansas in 1864. In 1891 he was president of the Kansas State Historical Society. Emery died in Lawrence in 1899.

Shawnee Indian reservation plat maps of 1854
Creator: Stuck, Isaac Cooper
Date: 1857
These are survey plat maps of land included in the Shawnee Indian reservation of 1854. Landownership is indicated on the maps. Isaac Cooper Stuck drew these around 1857.

Township 11 South, Range 15 East, plat maps
Date: January 06, 1866
The U.S. Surveyor General began surveying Kansas after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Plat maps were created at that time to document the surveys. The plats show public lands within the territory divided by range, township and section. Townships were measured in six mile increments starting from the Kansas-Nebraska border. Ranges were numbered in six mile increments east and west from the Sixth Prime Meridian, which crosses through present day Wichita, Kansas. This system is still the basis for legal land description in the state. The Kansas Historical Society acquired a collection of these original plats previously held by the Kansas Secretary of State. The National Archives and the Bureau of Land Management also hold copies of the plats. These two maps show the east and west sides of township 11 south, range 15 east. On the east side, the Kansa "Half Breed" lots are on the north bank of the Kansas River; the west map shows part of the Pottawattomie Reservation, including the Pottawattomie Baptist Mission in the northwest quarter of section 32, which is still standing today on the grounds of the Kansas Historical Society. The town of Indianola, which later became part of North Topeka, is shown on the east portion of the maps.

Township No. 42 south of range XXV east of the 6, principal meridian
Date: Between 1850 and 1860
A plat map showing township 42, range 25, east of the 6th principal meridian. The U.S. Surveyor General began surveying Kansas after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Plat maps were created at that time to document the surveys. The plats show public lands within the territory divided by range, township and section. Townships were measured in six mile increments starting from the Kansas-Nebraska border. Ranges were numbered in six mile increments east and west from the Sixth Prime Meridian, which crosses through present day Wichita, Kansas. This system is still the basis for legal land description in the state.

U.S. General Land Office patents
Date: 1860-1873
Three land patents issued by the United States General Land Office for land in Township 10 South, Range 7 East in Riley County, Kansas. Isaac T. Goodnow was granted 160 acres in the northeast quarter of section 14. William E. Goodnow was granted 80 acres in the eastern half of the southwest quarter of section 14. Blue Mont Central College Association was granted 160 acres in the southwest quarter of section 12.

United States Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, St. Louis, Missouri. Volume 1, Field notes
Creator: United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Central Superintendency
Date: 1830-1838
This volume includes field notes and surveys of Indian lands and some treaties made between the U. S. and various Indian tribes (1830-1838). Included are several maps of Indian reservations in Kansas. William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark Expedition) served as Indian Superintendent for the central superintendency until his death in 1838. Partial funding for the digitization of these records was provided by the National Park Service.

William E. Goodnow vs. Isaac Haskell
Date: 1855
Legal documents regarding the case of William E. Goodnow vs. Isaac Haskell, including testimony given on June 29, 1855 from David Ambrose and H. A. Wilcox to Justice of the Peace S. D. Dyer in Juniata, Kansas Territory. The land claim in question was part of the townsite of Manhattan, Kansas. Ambrose states that Goodnow had planted seeds and hauled timber to a claim before Haskell. Wilcox states that Haskell told him directly he believed he had right to the claim if he built his shanty before Goodnow built a house. Testimony given by Isaac T. Goodnow, brother of William Goodnow, is also included.