To order images and/or obtain permission to use them commercially, please contact the KSHS Reference Desk at KSHS.reference@ks.gov or 785-272-8681, ext. 117.
For more information see the Copyright and Permission FAQ.
S. H. B. Shoonmaker of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, wrote this letter to Governor St. John on behalf of the black residents of his parish (county). He asked the governor a number of specific questions, including how these black emigrants could obtain land, where they should settle, and whether there were relief organizations that could assist the refugees. In addition to his service as governor, St. John also served on the Board of Directors of the Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association.
Creator: Shoonmaker, S. H. B.
Date: May 17, 1879
This letter provides specifics about the concerns Southern blacks expressed prior to their emigration to Kansas. This would work in tandem with other documents demostrating the appeal of settling in Kansas.
KS:7th:3.5:Exodusters (2005)
Item Number: 210549
Call Number: Governor's Records--St. John--Correspondence Received--Box 14, Folder 1
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 210549
Agriculture - Labor - Farmers
Business and Industry - Occupations/Professions - Farmers
Collections - State Archives - Governor's Records - St. John, John Pierce
Community Life - Clubs and organizations - Charitable - Relief - Freedmen's Relief Association
Curriculum - 7th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1860s to 1870s (Benchmark 3) - Exodusters (Indicator 5) - Black perspectives on emigration
Curriculum - 7th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1860s to 1870s (Benchmark 3) - Exodusters (Indicator 5) - Emigrant aid organizations
Date - 1870s - 1879
Government and Politics - State Government - Governors - St. John, John Pierce
Home and Family - Daily life - Settlement
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Letter
People - African Americans - Discrimination
People - African Americans - Exodusters
People - Notable Kansans - St. John, John Pierce, 1833-1916
Places - Other States - Louisiana
Thematic Time Period - Immigration and Settlement, 1854 - 1890
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Letters
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/210549