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.

Abraham Still
Date: Between 1851 and 1854
Portrait of Dr. Abraham Still, physician, minister, and missionary at the Shawnee Methodist Indian Mission on the Wakarusa, 1851-1854. The mission was located in Section 8, T. 13, R. 21 E, a mile south of Eudora in northeastern Douglas County, Kansas.

Abstract of journals from the 1845 Kearny Expedition
Date: 1846
This excerpt from the congressional report of the Secretary of War includes the abstracts of two journals, one by Lieutenant William B. Franklin, a topographical engineer, and another by Lieutenant H.S. Turner of the 1st dragoons stationed at Fort Leavenworth. Under the command of Stephen Kearny, the 1st dragoons and their accompanying engineers left Fort Leavenworth on a military march, heading northwest on what would become the Oregon Trail, down along the Rocky Mountains to Mexican territory, and back up via the Santa Fe Trail. This march was intended as a display of the United States' military power to both native tribes and the British government (which at this time was exerting its authority over Oregon Territory). For the most part this abstract details their route, but it does include a transcription of a conversation between Kearny and a Sioux chief named Bull Tail.

Albert Gallitin Boone
Date: Between 1880 and 1884
A full portrait of Col. Albert Gallitin Boone, who was the U.S. Indian Agent for the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa, Comanche, and Plains Apache Indian tribes in 1859, 1860, and 1861. He was born in Greenup, Kentucky, in 1802, and died in Denver, Colorado, in 1884. He was a resident of Westport, Missouri, for many years. He was a grandson of Daniel Boone,

Alfred Gray to George W. Patterson
Creator: Gray, Alfred, 1830-1880
Date: June 18, 1860
Gray wrote this draft of a letter to George W. Patterson concerning a treaty between the U. S. government and the Delaware Indians at the request of Rev. Pratt, a missionary to the tribe. Gray was concerned that the treaty was unfair to many of the Delaware and that the U.S. government was negotiating with four older chiefs, not some of the younger members of the tribe. He wrote that many of the Delaware were too intimidated to complain.

Ammunition from 14BT436
Date: 1800-1860
These ammunition remnants were intrusive (not of the same time period) at a Late Ceramic period archeology site in Barton County. They were donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. From left to right: two .50 caliber Gallagher brass cases dating approximately to 1860 (few were made), two .56 caliber Spencer bullets, and an unfired .50 caliber musket ball.

Annals of Kansas
Creator: Wilder, Daniel W. (Daniel Webster), 1832-1911
Date: 1886
Daniel Webster Wilder compiled a chronological history of Kansas from the first European contact (1541) to 1885. The early portion has entries for specific years but beginning in 1854, the entries are for specific days, providing detail about many events. The volume also contains charts with crop production, livestock holdings, precipitation, etc. A detailed index begins on page 1171.

Annals of Shawnee Methodist Mission and Indian Manual Labor School
Creator: Caldwell, Martha B. (Martha Belle)
Date: 1939
These annals are a compilation of events concerning the Shawnee Methodist Mission year by year. The information was culled from a variety of sources. Most entries include a citation to the source. Thomas Johnson established the mission in 1830 near Turner in present Wyandotte County, Kansas. He also founded the Indian Manual Labor School, which operated in conjunction with the mission. It was moved to the Johnson County area in 1839 and the school operated until 1862. The Santa Fe and Oregon trails passed near the Johnson County location so travelers frequently stopped at the mission. The site housed the executive offices of the first territorial governor and the first territorial legislature met there. In addition to the Methodist mission, the Baptist and Quaker churches also operated missions for the Shawnee. These annals are the complete manuscript from which a condensed version was published by the Kansas State Historical Society in 1939.

Annie Marshall Grinter
Date: Between 1900 and 1905
Portrait of Annie Marshall Grinter, 1820-1905, member of the Delaware tribe and wife of Moses R. Grinter. She came to Wyandotte County, Kansas Territory with her parents in 1832.

A story of the Shawanoes (Shawnee)
Creator: Rayner, John Allen
Date: 1886
This reminiscence by George Bluejacket, a Shawnee (Shawanoe) Indian originally from Ohio, tells the creation story of the Shawnee people as well as the history of his own tribe. Although his story ends before the Shawnee were relocated to Kansas (then called Indian Territory), it appears that he relocated with the rest of his tribe. The reminiscence was recorded by John Allen Rayner, and the first page of the document is an explanatory letter written by Rayner.

A. T. Chamblin to Hiero T. Wilson
Creator: Chamblin, A. T.
Date: July 7, 1853
A. T. Chamblin writes Hiero T. Wilson, a Fort Scott sutler, to inquire where H. Company is and if a George G. Newman is still part of the company. Mr. Chamblin was at that point located in St. Paul, Minnesota. This letter was contained in the Hiero T. Wilson Post Sutler's Day Book. In 1844, Hiero T. Wilson partnered with John A. Bugg as the post sutlers. Bugg had been named sutler in 1843 but sold his 1/2 interest to Wilson in 1849. A complete transcription is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Bennett C. Riley
Date: 1880s
This photograph shows a portrait of Bennett Riley that was probably commissioned by his family in the 1880s. Riley died June 9, 1853. The portrait has resided at the U.S. Cavalry Museum at Fort Riley, Kansas, since about 1903. Bennett Riley, after whom Fort Riley was named, had a long and prestigious career in the U. S. military. Born in Virginia in 1787, he entered the army in 1813. In 1829 he commanded the first military escort on the Santa Fe Trail. In that same year, he succeeded Colonel Henry Leavenworth as commander of Fort Leavenworth. In 1847 he became a brigadier general. He also served during the Mexican War and, in 1848, he served as the last territorial governor of California, where he helped create their state constitution.

Black Hawk, Sauk Indian
Creator: Catlin, George, 1796-1872
Date: 1832
This portrait, painted by the well-known artist George Catlin, depicts the fierce leader of the Sauk and Fox tribe after his arrest in 1832. Black Hawk and some of his tribe had resisted removal from their land in Illinois to lands west of the Mississippi River, but the Black Hawk War, as it came to be known, ended in defeat. The original of this portrait is on exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The Sauk and Fox would eventually be relocated to Kansas.

Black Powder Flask
Date: 1800-1870
This brass black powder flask was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. It has lost its provenience, the record of ownership and while this is disappointing, it can still be used for teaching purposes and as an example of an early archeological item in Kansas. The flask is a container for gunpowder for muzzle-loading guns, succeeding the powder horn in popularity and being mass-produced in the early 1800s. Paper cartridges (containing bullet and gunpowder) became popular in the 1860s and the use of muzzle-loaders declined.

Boomer Camp on Walnut River, Arkansas City, Kansas
Date: Between 1886 and 1889
This sepia colored photograph shows a "boomer" camp on the banks of the Walnut River in Arkansas City, Kansas. The "boomers" were white settlers who were attempting to settle in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, which was the last area of the nation set aside for Native American tribes. Some of the "boomers" would camp near the Kansas and Oklahoma border waiting to enter the territory to claim land that had not been assigned to Indian Tribes. Many of the settlers believed that the unassigned land was in the public domain under the Homestead Act of 1862.

Boomer Camp on Walnut River, Arkansas City, Kansas
Creator: Mitchell & DeGroff
Date: Between 1886 and 1889
This sepia colored photograph shows a couple of "boomers" on the banks of the Walnut River in Arkansas City, Kansas. The "boomers" were white settlers who were attempting to settle in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma. Some of the "boomers would camp near the Kansas and Oklahoma border waiting to enter the territory to claim land that had not been assigned to Indian Tribes. Many of the settlers believed that the unassigned land was in the public domain under the Homestead Act of 1862. The land in question was some of the last land in the United States that had been set aside for Native American tribes, many of which had been removed from their ancestral lands.

Boomer Camp on Walnut River, Arkansas City, Kansas
Creator: Mitchell & DeGroff
Date: 1889
This sepia colored photograph shows a "boomer" camp on the banks of the Walnut River in Arkansas City, Kansas. The "boomers" were white settlers who were attempting to settle in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma. Some of the "boomers" would camp near the Kansas and Oklahoma border waiting to enter the territory to claim land that had not been assigned to Indian Tribes. Many of the settlers believed that the unassigned land was in the public domain under the Homestead Act of 1862, despite the fact that the lands were assigned for the settlement of Native Americans.

Boomer Camp on Walnut River, Arkansas City, Kansas
Creator: Mitchell & DeGroff
Date: Between 1886 and 1889
This sepia colored photograph shows a group of "boomers" near the banks of the Walnut River in Arkansas City, Kansas. The "boomers" were white settlers who were attempting to settle in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma. Some of the "boomers" would camp near the Kansas and Oklahoma border waiting to enter the territory to claim land that had not been assigned to Indian tribes. Many of the settlers believed that the unassigned land was in the public domain under the Homestead Act of 1862. The land was some of the last that had been set aside for the settlement of Native American tribes after they had been removed from their ancestral lands.

Bullets and Balls from Archeological Site 14BT437
Date: 1800-1870
These different types of ammunition were collected from an archeological site in Barton County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2007 and 2021. Shown here are lead bullets, three with grease rings visible, and lead shot. The site primarily has artifacts from the Middle Ceramic period (1000 - 1500 CE), but also has a historic component.

Butter Paddle from Fort Scott, 14BO302
Date: 1842-1853
Butter paddles, also known as butter hands or Scotch hands, were used to press butter against the side of the butter tub, forcing excess buttermilk out and stiffening the butter. This curved wooden butter paddle was recovered from the Fort Scott National Historic Site during excavations conducted there between 1968 through 1972 by Kansas Historical Society Archeologists. When Fort Scott was built it was on the western military frontier, but is now located within the city limits of Fort Scott.

Carey Mission letter, unknown author
Creator: Carey Missionaries
Date: February 19, 1828
In this letter from the Carey Mission (in Michigan Territory) the author details the expenditures accrued during the third quarter of 1827, part of which was a result of traveling expenses for four Native American students who left the Carey Mission for Worthington in Ohio.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, St. Marys, Kansas
Date: Between 1870 and 1890
View of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in St. Marys, in Pottawatomie County, Kansas. This was the first Catholic cathedral built west of the Missouri River.

Catholic Church at Osage Mission, St. Paul, Kansas
Date: Between 1865 and 1875
A photograph of the Catholic Osage Mission established in Neosho County, Kansas. The center part of the building was erected in 1847.

Cheyenne Indians
Date: Between 1860 and 1869
This is a photograph of Eagle Shirt, on horseback, and Black Horse, members of the Cheyenne tribe, posed with their teepees.

Chronology of the Iowa and Sac and Fox Indians in Doniphan County, Kansas
Date: 1882
This chronology details major events occurring between 1837-1855 among the Iowa and Sac and Fox Indians who had been relocated to Kansas after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Topics mentioned within the chronology include warfare among relocated tribes, the arrival of white emigrants, disease, mission buildings, and treaties ceding land to the United States government. During the period covered in this item unfolded a large number of white settlers began moving into the lands that the tribes occupied, especially after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854.