A Kansas Memory Podcast

Episode 2: Marcus Freeman and his owner: Slavery in Kansas Territory

The documents used in the Marcus Freeman and his owner podcast are available on Earlier Kansas Memory podcasts used documents from Territorial Kansas Online: A Virtual Repository for Territorial Kansas History, 1854-1861.

• An Act to Punish Offences Against Slave Property
  August 14, 1855
  This act was passed by the Legislative Assembly of Kansas Territory on August 14, 1855. It was to take effect on September 15, 1855. The Speaker of the House was J. H. Stringfellow and the President of the Council was Thomas Johnson. The act included a death penalty for persons causing or aiding in any "rebellion or insurrection of slaves, free negroes, or mulattoes" in Kansas Territory. Other provisions dealt with "speaking, writing, or printing" that encouraged slaves to rebel or that argued that the right to hold slaves did not exist in Kansas Territory. Several sections of the act contained penalities for encouraging or assisting slaves to escape and one stated that anyone opposed to the holding of slaves cound not serve on a jury.
  
• Slave Bill of Sale, Thomas Johnson
  May 24, 1856
  A bill of sale issued by David Burge to Thomas Johnson as a receipt for Johnson's purchase of an African American slave named Martha for $800. Thomas Johnson was a Methodist minister and the founder of the Shawnee Methodist Mission. Johnson County, Kansas Territory was named for Thomas Johnson.
  
• Reminiscence of Marcus Lindsay Freeman, a former slave
  1895
  Mr. Freeman came to Kansas Territory as the slave of Thomas Bayne. Mr. Freeman described his childhood memories with his owner, who was about three months older and to whom he had been "given" as a baby. He provided information about his life and that of other family members and slaves during the Territorial era. This account was prepared by either F. G. or Zu Adams after an interview with Mr. Freeman. The penciled corrections were apparently made by Thomas Bayne. They contacted a number of early Kansas settlers requesting information about slaves brought to Kansas Territory. While all of the information 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 Historical Society.