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John Armstrong assisted a slave named Ann Clarke, owned by G. W. Clarke, to escape into Iowa. He described the event in detail, including how she escaped, was captured, and escaped again. He also described slaves owned by a Mr. Bowen who lived on Washington Creek in Douglas. Armstrong lived on Washington Creek and later in Topeka. This item is from information collected by Miss Zu Adams in 1895. She was researching the topic of slaves in Kansas and contacted a number of early Kansas settlers requesting information about slaves brought to Kansas Territory. While all of the information she collected was based on reminiscences, it still provides useful information that is difficult, if not impossible, to find elsewhere. Miss Adams and her father F. G. Adams were employees of the Kansas State Historical Society and the information received was donated to that institution.
Creator: Armstrong, John
Date: circa 1895
Item Number: 3475
Call Number: History Slaves
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 3475
Collections - Manuscript - History
Date - 1890s - 1895
Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Antislavery - Abolition - Underground Railroad
Home and Family - Daily life - Settlement
Military - Wars - Bleeding Kansas
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Reminiscence
People - African Americans - Slavery
People - Notable Kansans - Adams, Abzuga (Zu), b. 1859
People - Notable Kansans - Armstrong, John, b. 1824
Places - Counties - Douglas
Places - Other States - Iowa
Thematic Time Period - Bleeding Kansas, 1854 - 1861
Thematic Time Period - Immigration and Settlement, 1854 - 1890
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Reminiscences and Memoirs
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/3475