1855 rescue of free stater Jacob Branson
Creator: Abbott, James Burnett, 1818-1897
Date: Between 1855 and 1860
James Abbott, a free state activist who participated in several Kansas Territory conflicts (including the rescues of John Doy and Jacob Branson), wrote this account of the 1855 rescue of Jacob Branson. In his account, Sheriff Jones, supported by the proslavery "bogus" legislature, had arrested Jacob Branson, a free state man who witnessed the murder of Charles W. Dow by Franklin Coleman, a proslavery neighbor. Abbott and his cohorts successfully rescued Branson, although their actions were controversial even among fellow free state supporters. Certain aspects of Abbott's account of these events disagreed with an earlier account provided by Samuel Wood, and Abbott addressed those discrepancies in this document. [Abbott's account, obtained either by handwritten manuscript or personal interview, is presented here as an annotated typed transcript.]

8,000 students affected, state officials see no trouble adjusting schools to new rule
Creator: Topeka Journal
Date: May 17, 1954
This article discusses how the state of Kansas will work to conform to the ruling made in the Brown v. Board of Education decision on May 17, 1954. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that the segregation of schools based on race was unconstitutional. Many cities in Kansas, including Topeka, Atchison, Salina, Wichita, and Pittsburg were already working to integrate their schools. Topeka had an estimated 625 African American students who would be affected by the court's ruling, and the article lists the numbers for other cities and towns in the state.

A. B. Ferguson to Governor John St. John
Creator: Ferguson, A. B.
Date: August 18, 1880
This is a letter from A. B. Ferguson, Burlingame, Kansas, to Kansas Governor John St. John inviting the Governor to a Sunday School gathering the next day at Burlingame.

A. B. Nettleton to Governor John St. John
Creator: Nettleton, A. B.
Date: November 08, 1880
A letter from editor A. B. Nettleton of the Minneapolis Tribune to Kansas Governor St. John seeking answers to several probing and relevant questions regarding the disposition and implementation of the recently adopted prohibition amendment.

A. Barnes to Governor John St. John
Creator: Barnes, A.
Date: August 22, 1880
A letter from A. Barnes of Junction City to Kansas Governor St. John. Barnes sends a list of speakers he would prefer attend the upcoming campaign and also references a controversial temperance article written by noted Kansas lawyer, Judge Humphrey.

A. C. Pettitt to Governor John St. John
Creator: Pettitt, A. C.
Date: May 22, 1880
In this letter, the State Executive Committee Chairman of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, speaking for the prohibitionists of his state, sends Kansas Governor St. John a hearty note of support for his efforts to suppress the "Liquor Traffic" in Kansas.

A. C. Pierce to Governor John St. John
Creator: Pierce, A. C.
Date: November 10, 1880
A letter from A. C. Pierce of Junction City to Kansas Governor St. John in which Pierce comments on organizing the House and expresses doubt about candidates being considered for Speaker and Clerk.

A. Crabb to Governor John St. John
Creator: Crabb, A.
Date: June 10, 1880
This letter from Reverend Crabb thanks Kansas Governor St. John for the temperance information sent him, and he pledges his support for the Governor in the upcoming election. Crabb has little doubt the prohibition amendment will pass. The letter was written in Omio, Kansas.

A. Crabb to Governor John St. John
Creator: Crabb, A.
Date: May 28, 1880
In this letter from Rev. Crabb of Omio, Kansas, he regrets not having a place where the Kansas Governor can present a temperance lecture and asks for statistical information related to intemperance to help his community battle the opposition.

A. D. Way to Governor John St. John
Creator: Way, A. D.
Date: August 18, 1880
In this letter from Mound City, Kansas, Governor St. John is invited to be among the speakers at a grand temperance rally to be held September 5, in Linn County, Kansas.

A. E. Gillett to Governor Henry J. Allen
Creator: Gillett, A.E.
Date: December 19, 1919
In this letter, Mayor A. E. Gillett of Bartlett, Kansas, writes to Kansas Governor Henry J. Allen, of Topeka, asking his assistance in getting a car load of coal for the schools. Following a series of coal strikes in southeast Kansas, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state securing and operating the coal mines for a period of time. Coal operations were delayed following seizure of the minefields. Volunteers were called in to complete mine operations after miners refused to return to work. The court appointed "receivers" to oversee all coal deliveries and payments during this period.

A. Finch to Thaddeus Hyatt
Creator: Finch, H.
Date: December 22, 1856
This letter, written from Osawatomie by A. Finch to Thaddeus Hyatt, chairman of the National Kansas Committee, provided general information about the inhabitants of Osawatomie and neighboring areas. It included a list of about half of the settlers residing in Osawatomie at this time, including the four pro-slavery voters. Mr. Finch went into detail about the most fertile areas that would be excellent sites for free state settlements, and about the economic conditions and financial needs of the settlers.

A. G. Shears to Governor John St. John
Creator: Shears, A. G.
Date: May 31, 1880
This letter to Governor John St. John is from A. G. Shears. He is anxious to help the prohibition amendment cause and requests liquor statistics and supportive newspapers from Kansas Governor St. John to be used by county temperance unions. Shears is from Yates Center, Kansas.

A. G. Stacy to Governor John St. John
Creator: Stacy, A. G.
Date: July 25, 1880
In this letter, the publisher of the Salina Herald notifies Kansas Governor St. John that prohibition information and advertisements will soon be mailed out. He asks the Governor to influence the Secretary of State to support the Herald, the only paper in Salina County supporting St. John.

A. H. Dahlston to Governor John St. John
Creator: Dahlston, A. H.
Date: October 19, 1880
A letter from A. H. Dahlston in which he laments that Kansas Governor St. John could not speak at Salemsburg's recent temperance meeting due to ill health.

A. H. Gufler to Governor Ben Paulen
Creator: Gufler, A. H
Date: February 2, 1927
In this letter, A.H. Gufler expresses disappointment in the language of the new Kansas cigarette law and encloses a newspaper article by the associated press in which Governor Paulen is quoted.

A.H. Gufler to Representatives E.H. Rees and L.R. Cowden
Creator: Gufler, A. H
Date: March 3, 1927
A.H. Gufler, vice president of The Theo. Poehler Mercantile, writes to state representatives encouraging legalization of cigarettes in Kansas. The new cigarette law, H.B. 1 under consideration, was signed into law by Governor Paulen in 1927.

A. J. Arnold to Joseph Hebbard
Creator: Arnold, A. J.
Date: August 11, 1892
In this brief but informative letter A. J. Arnold, a Topeka, Kansas, druggist, informs Joseph Hebbard, treasurer of the Farmer's Alliance, of his decision to switch his allegiance from the Democratic Party to the People's (Populist) Party. He is eager to "release the state of Kansas from the misrule of the Republican Party." While Arnold is confident that he has made the right decision, he also notes that many other Democrats are wavering. Consequently, Arnold has prepared a letter to the Democrats that expresses the benefits of supporting Populism; he asks Hebbard to read through the draft of this letter and provide comments. This enclosure is not with the original letter and has not been located.

A. J. Cogswell to Governor John St. John
Creator: Cogswell, A. J.
Date: April 28, 1880
In this letter from Silvara, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, A.J. Cogswell writes to Kansas Governor St. John asking for written sanction of "Abstinence from the use of alcoholic stimulants as medicine."

A. J. Jutkins to Governor John St. John
Creator: Jutkins, A. J.
Date: August 02, 1880
A letter from A.J. Jutkins to Kansas Governor St. John inviting him to speak at the Knights Templars Encampment convention in Lake Bluff, Illinois. All state governors have been invited to attend.

A. L. Coleman to Governor John St. John
Creator: Coleman, A. L.
Date: August 10, 1880
In this letter, Kansas Governor St. John is requested to attend a "Grand rally" in Sabetha, Kansas, in order to "fully settle the Prohibition matter" in Northern Kansas. It is on letterhead for Sargent & Coleman, Law, Loan, Real Estate, Collecting, Insurance, and Tax-Paying Agency. The company was established in 1857.

A. L. Coleman to Governor John St. John
Creator: Coleman, A. L.
Date: September 10, 1880
In this letter, attorney A.L. Coleman of Sabetha, offers belated congratulations to Kansas Governor St. John on his nomination, pledging his support for prohibition. The letterhead is for Sargent & Coleman: Law, Loan, Real Estate, Collecting.

A.L. Foster to the manager of Kelly's Hotel in Iola, Kansas
Creator: Foster, A.L.
Date: March 09, 1945
In this letter, from A.L. Foster of the Chicago Urban League to the manager of Kelly's Hotel in Iola, Kansas, details Foster's experiences at the hotel in the winter of 1945. Foster, a passenger on a bus from Ft. Scott to Wichita, was asked to sit in the rear section of the restaurant solely because he was an African American.

A. L. Patchin to Governor John St. John
Creator: Patchin, A. L.
Date: February 14, 1880
In this letter, Rooks County attorney A. L. Patchin requests Kansas Governor St. John extend his tour to address the people of Stockton, Kansas, on the subject of temperance.

A. M. Fury to Governor Henry J. Allen
Creator: Fury, A.M.
Date: December 18, 1919
A. M. Fury of the Robinson Grain Company in Palco, Kansas, writes to Governor Henry Allen, of Topeka, requesting a car of threshing coal. At the time of this writing, Kansas communities had already been without coal for a number of weeks following a series of coal strikes. In November, 1919, the Kansas Supreme Court gave the state control of the coal fields. Governor Allen set up office in Pittsburg during this period. Volunteers were called in from surrounding areas to begin coal mining operations when the striking mine workers refused to return to work following the takeover.