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.S. Harris to Thaddeus Hyatt
Creator: Harris, A S.
Date: September 22, 1856
A.S. Harris wrote from New York to Thaddeus Hyatt regarding an article in the Journal of Commerce that dealt with the upcoming Presidential election and the strife in Kansas. The clipping was attached to the letter, and it included a rather lengthy attack on emigrant aid societies.

Aaron D. Stevens to Jennie Dunbar
Creator: Stevens, Aaron D.
Date: December 3, 1859
From his jail cell at Charles Town, Virginia, abolitionist Aaron Dwight Stevens, 1831-1860, wrote his dear friend, Jennie Dunbar, regarding his actions and prospects ("Slavery demands that we should hang for its protection") and that he regretted nothing except that he would not live to "see this Country free." Stevens, reported to be one of abolitionist John Brown's bravest men, used the alias Captain Charles Whipple while following Brown. Stevens was convicted of treason and conspiring with slaves for his part in Brown's October 16, 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and was hung at Charles Town on March 16, 1860.

Aaron Dwight Stevens
Creator: Hinton, Richard J. (Richard Josiah), 1830-1901
Date: 1856
A pen sketch of Aaron Dwight Stevens, 1831-1860, published in Richard Hinton's book, "John Brown and His Men." Stevens, reported to be one of abolitionist John Brown's bravest men, used the alias Captain Charles Whipple while following Brown. Stevens was convicted of treason and conspiring with slaves for his part in Brown's October 16, 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and was hung at Charles Town, Virginia on March 16, 1860.

Aaron Dwight Stevens
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: 1856
A cyanotype of Aaron Dwight Stevens, 1831-1860, from a drawing made by Samuel J. Reader of Shawnee County, Kansas Territory. Stevens, reported to be one of abolitionist John Brown's bravest men, used the alias Captain Charles Whipple while following Brown. Stevens was convicted of treason and conspiring with slaves for his part in Brown's October 16, 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and was hung at Charles Town, Virginia on March 16, 1860.

Aaron Dwight Stevens
Creator: Moore, J. S.
Date: 1856
A cabinet card of Aaron Dwight Stevens, 1831-1860. Stevens, reported to be one of abolitionist John Brown's bravest men, used the alias Captain Charles Whipple while following Brown. Stevens was convicted of treason and conspiring with slaves for his part in Brown's October 16, 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and was hung at Charles Town, Virginia on March 16, 1860.

Abraham (Bullet Hole) Ellis
Creator: Martin Leonard V.
Date: Between 1862 and 1889
This sepia colored photograph shows Abraham (Bullet Hole) Ellis. Abraham was elected to the Kansas Territorial Legislature in 1858 and to the first Kansas state legislature of 1861. In 1862, Ellis was shot by William Quantrill, the bullet passed through a sash and fur cap, crushing both plates of the skull and lodging against the inner lining. It lay buried in the wound for seventy hours. Abraham wouldn't fully recover from the wound for five months. The ball and twenty-seven pieces of bone are now in the Army and Navy Medical Museum in Washington, D.C.

Address to the American People on the Affairs of Kansas, pamphlet
Date: 1857
This address recounted the history and purpose of the formation of the Kansas State Government of Topeka, in peaceful opposition to that of the Territory. The free state message accused the systems of the Territorial Government of encouraging influence from abroad in their election process, and indicated that they had nothing inherently against Missouri's citizens as a whole, but implored that they not attempt to violate the rights of Kansas settlers. The address stated that the Territory was "organized for defence" by a pledge from Governor Walker, and appealed that outsiders remain in their homes for the benefit of all.

Adolphus Dauphin Thompson
Creator: Hinton, Richard J . (Richard Josiah), 1830-1901
Date: 1859
Sketch of Adolphus Thompson for illustration in Richard Hinton's book; John Brown and His Men. He was killed at Harpers Ferry. Two of his siblings were married to Brown's children.

Adolphus Dauphin Thompson
Date: 1859
Portrait of Adolphus Dauphin Thompson, one of John Brown's men. He was killed at Harpers Ferry.

African American woman tintype
Date: between 1860 and 1865
A tintype of an unidentified African American woman. This photo was passed down through generations of the Platt family. Jireh Platt was an active abolitionist in Mendon, Illinois. His sons Enoch and Luther, members of the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony, settled in Wabaunsee County, Kansas Territory, where they operated a station on the Underground Railroad. The Platts may have helped this woman escape to freedom. The fact that she is wearing a wedding ring is significant, as slaves weren't legally allowed to marry.

Albert Hazlett
Date: 1859
Portrait of Albert Hazlett, one of John Brown's men. He was captured and executed at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

Amos A. Lawrence to James B. Abbott
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: August 11, 1855
Amos A. Lawrence wrote from Boston to James Abbott in Hartford, Conneticut, with shipping instructions for the 100 Sharps rifles he would procure. Lawrence requested that they be "packed in casks like hardware" and that Abbott bill him for expenses incurred.

Amos A. Lawrence to James B. Abbott
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: August 24, 1855
Amos A. Lawrence wrote from Boston to James B. Abbott in Hartford, Connecticut, to confirm his receipt of a shipment of rifles. Lawrence advised Abbott that at least half of them would be required by free state forces in Topeka.

Amos A. Lawrence to James B. Abbott
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: August 20, 1855
Amos A. Lawrence wrote from Boston to James Abbott in Hartford, Connecticut, referring to a recent shipment of carbine rifles he had sent, which was "far from being enough." Lawrence advised Abbott to take good care of them, as they might be used as reimbursement to those investors who had subscribed money to the free state cause once "it is settled that Kanzas shall not be a province of Missouri."

Amos Adams Lawrence to John Brown
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: March 20, 1857
While John Brown was touring the East in March of 1857 he received this letter from Amos Lawrence, Boston, who informed Brown that he (Lawrence) had recently "sent to Kansas near $14,000 to establish a fund" for the support of common and secondary schools. As a result, Lawrence wrote he was short of cash and could not give Brown what he had requested. Nevertheless, "in case anything shd occur while you are engaged in a great & good to shorten yr life, you may be assured that yr wife and children shall be cared for more liberally than you now propose."

Amos Adams Lawrence to John Brown
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: February 19, 1857
Amos Lawrence, Boston, sent John Brown $70 which had been donated by the people of East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, for Brown's "own personal use, & not for the cause in any other way than that. Lawrence did not believe Brown would receive much financial support from the National Kansas Committee: "the old managers have not inspired confidence, & therefore money will be hard for them to get now & hereafter."

Anna Margaret (Watson) Randolph
Date: Between 1858 and 1868
This photograph is of Anna Margaret (Watson) Randolph, who moved from Ohio to Emporia in 1858. Shortly after her arrival, she married Joseph Vance Randolph with whom she had seven children. Anna was a passionate advocate of the abolition of slavery, and in the years following the Civil War, she also supported prohibition and women's suffrage.

Anna Margaret Watson Randolph, diary
Creator: Randolph, Anna Margaret Watson, 1838-1917
Date: August 17, 1858 - August 22, 1858
This brief diary, kept by Anna Margaret (Watson) Randolph, begins with her move to Kansas in an entry dated August 17, 1858. These six entries at the beginning of her diary provide details about her family's journey from Ohio to Kansas Territory, included a number of interesting accounts of their journey on a riverboat. Their boat ran aground several times and, interspersed among her descriptions of these difficulties, Anna wrote about her sister Mary Jane, the weather, and her personal observances of other passengers. She also filled her diary with her frustrations and concerns during their arduous journey west.

Annual Report to the American Missionary Association
Creator: Adair, Samuel Lyle, 1811-1898
Date: 1858
This draft report, written by Samuel L. Adair, covers the year 1857 and also describes the organization of the Congregational Church in Osawatomie, Kansas Territory. Samuel L. Adair was preaching at a number of rural churches in the area. It reports on membership, attendance, and other religious activities. He also mentions the activities of other denominations in the area.

Articles of Agreement for Shubel Morgan's Company
Creator: Morgan, Shubel
Date: July 12, 1858
In July 1858, fifteen men including Shubel Morgan, alias John Brown, J. H. Kagi, James Montgomery, and Augustus Wattles signed this document and thus "agree[d] to be governed by the following rules" of conduct. The rules included "gentlemanly and respectful deportment," obedience to the commander's orders, "no intoxicating drinks," etc.

Articles of agreement for the exchange of prisoners following battle of Black Jack
Creator: Brown, John, 1800-1859
Date: June 2, 1856
On June 2, 1856, John Brown, et al, signed this "article of agreement" with their defeated foe, Captain H. C. Pate and his lieutenant for the exchange of prisoners, including John Jr. and Jason Brown, at the home of John T. "Ottawa" Jones.

Articles wanted for an outfit of fifty volunteers
Date: ca. January 1857
Among the articles itemized in this "Memorandum of articles wanted as an outfit for fifty volunteers to serve under my [John Brown?] direction during the Kansas war" are wagons, horses, blankets, frying pans, etc., at an estimated cost of $1,774.

Augustus Wattles
Augustus Wattles was an abolitionist who came to Kansas Territory from Ohio in 1855. For a time, he helped George Washington Brown publish the "Herald of Freedom" in Lawrence, Kansas Territory. In 1857, he was one of the founders of Moneka in Linn County, Kansas Territory. He was a supporter of abolitionist John Brown, and Brown stayed at his home several times after the Marais des Cygnes massacre. Wattles served in the Kansas Territory legislature in 1855.

Augustus Wattles to George W. Brown
Creator: Wattles, Augustus, 1807-1876
Date: October 15, 1856
Augustus Wattles writes to Mr. [?] Brown requesting reimbursement for some $700 he had lost in the cause. Although Wattles had not expected to recoup his losses, and in fact had planned "to give all these items gratis to the free state cause," he has heard "a committee" had funds for that purpose, and he was ill and in need of money. His claim included a couple horses, a mule, and room and board for various free state people he had taken in when they were in need of shelter.