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.

About Nicodemus, The Daily Journal
Creator: Lawrence Daily Journal
Date: April 30, 1879
This article from the Lawrence Daily Journal discusses a newspaper article from the Chicago Tribune written during the Exoduster Movement in 1879 providing a brief history of the black community of freed people at Nicodemus, Kansas settled in 1877. Nicodemus is now a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.

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.

Account of provisions and supplies issued to destitute Shawnees
Creator: Abbott, James Burnett
Date: 1861
This account book belonging to an Indian agent named James Burnett Abbott lists the names of Shawnee Indian heads of household, the number of family members within their household, and the amount of pork, corn, and meal provided by the government to each Shawnee. The Shawnee had emigrated to Kansas after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Only an excerpt is included here.

Action of Other Cities on the 'Exodus' Question
Creator: Wyandotte Gazette
Date: April 25, 1879
This article includes information about Exoduster relief efforts in both Topeka and Lawrence. In Topeka, the Kansas Freedmen's Aid Association had appealed to other counties, asking them to form local aid societies to assist refugees in their respective areas. Lawrence citizens held a meeting in Fraser Hall to discuss the Exodus; the attendees recognized the legitimacy of the Exodus and were willing to provide aid and support for the emigrants.

Ada L. James to Lucy B. Johnston
Creator: James, Ada L.
Date: November 6, 1912
Ada James, President of the Political Equality League of Wisconsin, sent this telegram to Lucy Johnston, President of the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association in Topeka, Shawnee County. James congratulated Johnston on the successful passage of a full suffrage amendment to the state constitution.

Ada McColl gathering buffalo chips near Lakin, Kansas
Creator: McColl, Polly
Date: 1893
In this photograph, pioneer Ada McColl of Kearny County collects buffalo chips. In areas of western Kansas where trees were scarce, these chips were a convenient (and plentiful) source of fuel. This is an abridged version of an original photograph including Ada's brother Burt. The photograph was taken by Polly McColl, Ada's mother. For more information on this photograph, see the link to Reflections (Summer 2008) below.

A.E. Hunt's 'aeroplane' that never flew used principles involved in today's whirlies
Creator: Wichita Eagle
Date: January 8, 1956
This article published in the the Wichita Eagle deals with the accomplishments of early aviation enthusiast A.E. Hunt. Hunt, of Jetmore, Kansas, built a flying machine in 1910 containing design elements that would later be refined and used in some of the world's first helicopters. In fact, the article compares the features found on Hunt's rotary aircraft to a Cessna CH-1 helicopter in order to demonstrate the similarities between the basic elements of each craft's design.

Aeroplane stabilizing mechanism
Date: November 11, 1919
This patent drawing and description depicts and describes Frank Dove's Aeroplance Stabilizing Mechanism. Dove, a resident of Topeka, Kansas, who worked with Albin Longren, applied for the patent on February 6, 1918, and the patent itself was issued on November 11, 1919. Dove's mechanism provided increased control and helped stabilize airplanes in flight.

Affidavit of John Smith
Creator: United States. Congress. Senate
Date: January 15, 1865
This affidavit given by John Smith, an interpreter for the United States military, was presented to the military commission investigating the massacre of Cheyenne Indians at Sand Creek, Colorado, in 1864. Smith's account focuses primary on the events prior to the massacre, including the attitudes of the Cheyenne leaders One Eye and Black Kettle. The affidavit is part of a larger report containing evidence obtained at this hearing, titled Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating, In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of February 4, 1867, a copy of the evidence taken at Denver and Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory, by a military commission, ordered to inquire into the Sand Creek massacre, November, 1864.

Affidavits of colored men, in report and testimony of the select committee to investigate the causes of the removal of the Negroes from the southern states to the northern states, in three parts
Creator: United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Negro Exodus
Date: 1880
The Senate select committee charged with investigating the causes of the Exodus included this list of sworn affidavits in their report. The affidavits are given by ten black men and one black woman who outlined their treatment while living in Louisiana. Each affidavit includes their full name and parish (county) of residence. Although this source does not directly refer to Kansas, many Exodusters who came to Kansas during the post-Civil War period came from Louisiana.

A. J. Arnold to Joseph Hebbard
Creator: Arnold, A. J.
Date: August 11, 1892
In this brief but informative letter A. J. Arnold, a Topeka, Kansas, druggist, informs Joseph Hebbard, treasurer of the Farmer's Alliance, of his decision to switch his allegiance from the Democratic Party to the People's (Populist) Party. He is eager to "release the state of Kansas from the misrule of the Republican Party." While Arnold is confident that he has made the right decision, he also notes that many other Democrats are wavering. Consequently, Arnold has prepared a letter to the Democrats that expresses the benefits of supporting Populism; he asks Hebbard to read through the draft of this letter and provide comments. This enclosure is not with the original letter and has not been located.

Albin Kasper Longren and Dolly Longren with plane #5
Date: 1914
A photograph showing Dolly Longren at the controls of Longren airplane #5. Albin Kasper Longren the designer and builder is standing by the plane.

Albin K. Longren
Date: Between 1910 and 1915
A portrait of Albin K. Longren, who in 1911, constructed and flew his first pusher-type biplane, dubbed the Topeka I. That flight earned him the distinction of being the first to manufacture within Kansas a successfully-flown aircraft. This was the beginning of a lifelong career in aviation for Longren. As an aviator, he barnstormed throughout the Midwest, making a total of 1,372 exhibition flights from 1911 - 1914 without a major mishap. Longren channeled his income from barnstorming into his more serious interest of aircraft design and construction in his Topeka factory.

Albin K. Longren's No. 6, Model G airplane
Date: Between 1916 and 1920
This is a photo of Philip Billard sitting in Albin K. Longren's No. 6, Model G airplane (biplane) which was built in 1916. Longren and his wife Dolly opened an airplane factory in Topeka, Kansas. Longren's factory was the first successful aircraft manufacturing firm in Kansas.

A lesson of the exodus
Creator: Topeka Daily Capital
Date: April 23, 1879
This article discusses what lessons may be learned from the black exodus out of the South. The unnamed author maintains that Southerners will realize their dependence upon black labor. Furthermore, Northerners will be encouraged to see that they must continue what they began during the Civil War and that they cannot let white Southerners rule the country.

A living example of our problem in soil conservation
Creator: Works Progress Administration Indian Program
Date: 1935
This image, part of the New Deal Indian Program scrapbook compiled by the Works Progress Administration, depicts a gully created by severe erosion. Erosion such as this depleted the soil of its nutrients and decreased fertility, and blowing soil contributed to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

All colored people that want to go to Kansas
Creator: Nicodemus Town Company
Date: 1877
This broadside advertises the availability of land in Nicodemus, Graham County, Kansas encouraging African-American immigration to Kansas. As noted on the poster, some African-American residents of Lexington, Kentucky, were moving to Nicodemus and consolidating themselves with the Nicodemus Town Company. Nicodemus was settled in 1877, and is the only surviving all-black settlement west of the Mississippi that was settled by former slaves during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. It is now a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.

Amelia Josephine Labedia to James W. Denver
Creator: Labedia, Amelia Josephine
Date: March 8, 1857
Amelia Labedia, a Native American from one of the New York Indian tribes, wrote this letter of complaint to James W. Denver, Commissioner of Indian Affairs and Kansas Territorial Governor. She was angered by white squatters who mistreated these native tribes by burning down their houses, ransacking their fields, and driving them off their land. White settlers had no legal claim to these lands, but they settled on them nevertheless. The New York Indian tribes--which consisted of the Seneca, Onodaga, Cayuga, Tuscarora, Oneida, St. Regis, Stockbridge, Munsee, and Brothertown nations--had been given land in Kansas Territory according to the treaty of 1838.

A memory of old Fort Harker
Creator: The Club Member
Date: February 1908
This reminiscence by Mrs. Henry Inman, published in The Club Member, describes her experiences as a Kansas pioneer. She moved to Fort Harker in January 1868 after a difficult journey in severe winter weather. She details various aspects of frontier life, including the U.S. military's conflicts with Native Americans and the daily struggle for survival. She also mentions how she met "Mother" Bickerdyke, and that her husband served in the Seventh Cavalry under General George Armstrong Custer.

An act conferring upon women the right to vote
Creator: Kansas Legislature.
Date: 1893
In 1893, state senator Michael Senn sponsored Senate Bill 94, An Act conferring upon Women the Right to Vote, before the Kansas Legislature. The Judiciary Committee, chaired by A. W. Dennison, recommended to the Senate that the bill not be passed. Kansas women gained the right to vote in municipal elections in 1887, but it was not until 1912 that the state approved full female suffrage.

An appeal for help in behalf of the colored refugees in Kansas
Creator: Rust, Horatio Nelson, 1828-1906
Date: January 22, 1881
This flyer, distributed by the Southern Refugee Relief Association of Chicago, Illinois, describes the dire situation of the African-American refugees relocated in Kansas. The secretary of this association, Horatio N. Rust, had taken this opportunity to pass along information relayed to him by Elizabeth Comstock, an aid worker in Topeka. Comstock was thankful for the donations of food and other goods, but asked for more assistance in feeding, clothing, and sheltering these refugees. The flyer also includes short excerpts of letters by agents of the refugee association who had direct knowledge of the emigrants' situation.

Andrew Atchison to John P. St. John
Creator: Atchison, Andrew
Date: August 22, 1881
In this letter, Andrew Atchison updates Kansas governor St. John on the condition of the Exoduster settlement near Dunlap, Kansas. Benjamin Singleton had established this colony in May, 1878, and according to Atchison, the black refugees (numbering around 200 families) were thriving. Another goal of Atchison's letter was to investigate the "practicability" of establishing a Business and Literary Academy in addition to their free public school. Atchison and some other white residents of the area had formed the Dunlap Aid Association to assist the Exodusters' efforts to obtain land and employment.