1853 - Sac and Fox Agency
Creator: Green, Charles R.
Date: September 1, 1853
This item lists tribes under the Superintendency of Indians Affairs in St. Louis headed by B.A. James and Colonel Alfred Cummings. In particular, the item lists the Ottawas, Chippewas of Swan Creek, and the Black River Sacs and Foxes.

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.]

1880 census of Farmer Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 1, 1880 through June 2, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Farmer Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

1880 census of Nicodemus Township, Graham County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 8, 1880 through June 23, 1880
This census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of both white and black settlers in Nicodemus Township in Graham County, Kansas. This township had been settled by African Americans in 1877 along the south fork of the Solomon River.

1880 census of Rock Creek Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 11, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Rock Creek Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

18th - 28th Annual Kansas Day Meetings
Creator: Ackerman, Gertrude
Date: 1909-1919
This series is part of a bigger collection from Gertrude Ackerman. These documents represent participant lists, speeches and addresses, and correspondence from the 18th to 28th annual Kansas Day meetings. These documents included annotations throughout.

1st Infantry Division - Memorial in Vicksburg Park
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: 1915
This file includes general correspondence relating to the Memorial in Vicksburg Park honoring the 1st Infantry Division. Topics included but not limited in the correspondence includes: inscription proposals and cost of the Memorial, blueprints, and printed material relating to the siege and defense of Vicksburg. This is part of a bigger collection of Governor Arthur Capper correspondence.

29th - 38th Annual Kansas Day Meetings
Creator: Ackerman, Gertrude
Date: 1920-1929
This series is part of a bigger collection from Gertrude Ackerman. These documents represent participant lists, speeches and addresses, and correspondence from the 29th to 38th annual Kansas Day meetings. These documents included annotations throughout.

39th - 49th Annual Kansas Day Meetings
Creator: Ackerman, Gertrude
Date: 1930-1940
This series is part of a bigger collection from Gertrude Ackerman. These documents represent participant lists, speeches and addresses, and correspondence from the 39th to 49th annual Kansas Day meetings. These documents included annotations throughout.

4th Kansas Infantry muster rolls
Date: 1862
These are the muster rolls of the 4th Kansas Infantry. The muster roll identifies the officers and enlisted men, their age, birthplace, the location from which they came to Kansas, and their Kansas residence.

A
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1879-1883 : St. John)
Date: 1879-1883
This file includes letters on topics such as agriculture, the American Institute of Christian Philosophy, bondsmen, and acknowledgement of receipts. In the first letter to Kansas Governor St. John the person requests the governor speak to the Legislature to adjust measures in securing the Fort Hays reservation as a school for the promotion of agriculture. There is a letter from Joe Anderson of Kansas City, Kansas requesting that Governor St. John be a bondsman for the Olathe Asylum. Other letters in this file discuss appointments, advocacy for temporary amendments, as well as other matters.

A.A. Graham to Governor Henry J. Allen
Creator: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Date: December 11, 1919
Attorney A.A. Graham writes Governor Henry Allen with a model for the proposed industrial court that expands the authority of the Public Utilities Commission. The governor has called a special session of the Kansas Legislature to end labor strikes and resolve industrial disputes.

A. A. Hamilton to Arthur Capper
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: March 5, 1915
In this letter, A. A. Hamilton of Pittsburg, Crawford County, argues that Kansas does not need a child labor law. According to Hamilton, there should be limitations on the number of hours that children can work, but he does not see why able-bodied youth should be prevented from getting an after-school job. Attached to the letter is a clipping from the St. Louis Globe Democrat regarding child labor legislation. In 1915 the Industrial Welfare Act declared that minors could not be employed in any industry or occupation that may be detrimental to their welfare.

A and miscellaneous B
Creator: Rottluff, Blanche
Date: between 1939 and 1985
This is folder 36 of the Rottluff Family papers collection. The papers relate to the establishment of present-day Bonner Springs, Kansas. This file comes from box 1 of the collection.

Aaron A. Platner, World War I soldier
Date: 1918-1921
Around 1919, the Kansas State Historical Society and the American Legion solicited biographical information from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th infantry divisions) and the families of those who died in service, notably from the Gold Star Mothers. Each veteran or family member was asked to provide letters, photographs, a biography, and military records. This file contains information on Aaron A. Platner. Aaron died in late 1918 from wounds he received in the Battle of the Argonne.

Aaron Burr and Theodosia Prevost Burr letters
Date: 1786-1830
This collection of handwritten letters and documents from Aaron Burr and Burr's wife, Theodosia Prevost Burr, are part of the William Treadway autograph collection at the Kansas Historical Society. The Aaron Burr letters (which include two undated documents) cover the time period 1788-1830 and primarily relate to political affairs and Burr's law practice. The May 9, 1800 letter is addressed to George Clinton, a fellow Democratic-Republican and future vice-president. The October 14, 1801 letter is addressed to Elbridge Gerry, another fellow Democratic-Republican and future vice-president and the namesake of the term "gerrymandering." The letter dated August 5 [no year given] is addressed to Thomas Hunt Flandrau, Burr's law partner. The letter dated November 6, 1786 is from Burr's wife, Theodosia Prevost Burr, to Burr's sister Sarah "Sally" Burr Reeve and concerns a set of china that Theodosia was sending to Sally in the care of a Mr. Leveret.

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 Lane Lanning's household expense ledgers
Date: May 01, 1926-December 31, 1933
Here are two household expense ledgers belonging to Aaron Lane Lanning, Melvern, Kansas. Early in his life, Aaron's parents moved the family to Jerseyville, Illinois where in April 1862, he joined the 122nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to sergeant in 1864 and discharged in June 1865. After the war, Aaron, his parents and siblings settled in Mound City, Kansas. He married Sarah Emma Preston on November 3, 1867, and they eventually moved near Melvern, Kansas where he farmed. Aaron and Emma had five children.

Aaron Louis Piepenburg, World War I soldier
Date: 1918
Around 1919, the Kansas State Historical Society and the American Legion solicited biographical information from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th infantry divisions) and the families of those who died in service, notably from the Gold Star Mothers. Each veteran or family member was asked to provide letters, photographs, a biography, and military records. This file contains information on Aaron Louis Piepenburg, 139th Field Hospital, 110th Sanitary Train, 35th Division.

Abandonment of Lucy Sharpe Brooks by Husband
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: January 6, 1915
This file includes general correspondence relating to the abandonment of Lucy Sharpe Brooks by her husband. The first letter by Lucy Sharpe Brooks is reiterating her desire for justice of her husband after he married her and then left with her money, leaving her homeless and penniless. She is writing to Governor Capper after receiving no response from the previous Governor, George H. Hodges (1866-1947). The second letter is the Governor's office acknowledging the letter but saying the State has nothing to do with domestic matters such as Lucy Sharpe Brooks is writing about.

Abandonment of Mattie Marion by Husband
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: 1913-1915
This file includes general correspondence relating to the abandonment of Mattie Marion by her husband. Topics included, but not limited to, in the correspondence is Mattie Marion being abandoned by her husband after moving to Missouri for him to return to Kansas, procedures to take her husband to court in Kinsley to support her and their child, and the role of the County and General Attorney and Governor in domestic cases. This is part of a bigger collection of Governor Arthur Capper correspondence.

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.

Abbie Bright correspondence
Creator: Bright, Abbie, 1848-1926
Date: 1861-1903
Abbie Bright was born on a farm near Danville, Pennsylvania, on December 17, 1848. She had three brothers, Dennis, Hiram and Philip, all of whom enlisted in the army when the Civil War broke out. Abbie had three sisters, Rebecca, Peninah, and Mary, all of whom aided the war effort. In 1870 Abbie traveled to Indiana and Kansas to visit Hiram and Philip and wrote an account of her trip in a diary (also available on Kansas Memory as record unit 223662). While in Kansas she acquired 160 acres as an investment. This series of correspondence includes letters describing the brother's wartime activities. There are also letters to and from other individuals who were involved in the Civil War. These writings make a significant contribution to Civil War research. Other letters pertain to Philip and Abbie Bright's westward migration. Philip moved to Wyoming, Kansas, Texas, and Arizona but died in 1873 and the letters at that time mostly concern his death. The 1902 and 1903 correspondence apparently regards the sale of Abbie's land in Kansas. A complete transcription is available by clicking on "Text Version" below.

Abbie Bright diary
Creator: Bright, Abbie, 1848-1926
Date: 1868-1921
Born in Pennsylvania in 1848, Abbie Bright traveled to Kansas in 1870 as a young woman and her diary is primarily an account of this trip. It gives excellent accounts of daily life and settlement activities. The "diary" is actually composed of two different manuscripts and both are presented here. The first is an eighty-six page loose-leaf diary with consistent entries from September 2, 1870 - December 20, 1871. The second is a bound composition book with 129 written pages. This book begins with a childhood reminiscence written in Iowa in 1914 (p1-23), followed by a reminiscence of her Kansas trip written in Iowa in 1921 (p24-36) that covers Aug 23, 1870 - Jan 30, 1871. The book then includes some recipes dated 1868-1871 and a receipt dated 1884 (p37-41), and finally consistent diary entries from February 2, 1871 - December 21, 1871 (p41-129). A complete, revised transcription of both manuscripts is available by clicking on "Text Version" below. A previous, annotated transcription that combines the 1870-1871 entries from both manuscripts was published in the Kansas Historical Quarterly in 1971 and is available through a link below.

Abbie Bright miscellaneous items
Creator: Bright, Abbie, 1848-1926
Date: 1870-1878
These documents comprise the miscellaneous series in the Abbie Bright collection. The series includes an undated drawing of the camp of the Fifteenth Regiment on Elk Fork; notes of W[illiam] Ross dated 1870 on frontier life in Kansas; and an 1878 land patent written out by J. A. Williamson, Washington, DC, to the late Philip Bright.