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Roseline Cunningham, a black schoolteacher from Westpoint, Mississippi, wrote this letter to Kansas governor John St. John concerning emigration to Kansas. Cunningham, like many other Exodusters, was unable to make a living in the South and sought information about settling in Kansas. She also wanted to know if there was a governmental agency or society that would help her (and her neighbors) cover the cost of emigration. Governor St. John served on the board of the Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association.
Creator: Cunningham, Roseline
Date: June 18, 1879
This source demonstrates some of the concerns on the minds of emigrants and provides another example of the black perspective (and the female perspective as well). In particular, this could be paired with St. John's reply to her letter, dated June 24, 1879.
KS:7th:3.5:Exodusters (2005)
Item Number: 210545
Call Number: Governor's Records, St. John, Correspondence Received, Box 14 Folder 2
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 210545
Agriculture - Crops - Cotton
Agriculture - Crops - Fruits
Business and Industry - Occupations/Professions - Teachers
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) - Emigrant aid organizations
Curriculum - 7th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1860s to 1870s (Benchmark 3) - Exodusters (Indicator 5) - Jim Crow laws in the South
Curriculum - 7th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1860s to 1870s (Benchmark 3) - Exodusters (Indicator 5) - Reasons behind emigration
Date - 1870s - 1879
Education - Primary - Teachers
Education - Secondary - Teachers
Government and Politics - Political Parties - Democrat
Government and Politics - Political Parties - Republican
Government and Politics - State Government - Governors - St. John, John Pierce
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
People - Women
Places - Other States - Mississippi
Thematic Time Period - Immigration and Settlement, 1854 - 1890
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Letters
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/210545