"John Brown's Half-Sister Also Stood For Freedom"

A Moment in Time

Kansas Historical Society

August 1998

By Bobbie Athon

A monthly series from the Kansas Historical Society

On the morning of August 30, 1856, a group of proslavery fighters returned to the log cabin home of the Reverend Samuel and Florella Adair, half-sister of the abolitionist John Brown.

"Who lives here? Where is the man?" they shouted.

Seven months pregnant, Florella trembled as she stepped to the door. It had been a violent day for Osawatomie.

Florella's nephew Frederick, son of John Brown, and his cousin David Garrison, had been shot by a band of proslavery men. Her son, fourteen-year-old Charles, had gone to warn Brown and the other freestaters while her husband sought refuge in the woods along the Marais des Cygnes. Brown had led about 30 free-state men against 250 proslavery fighters in the Battle of Osawatomie. Nearly a dozen men were killed or wounded that day, the town was sacked and burned, and the angry proslavery men returned to the Adair's cabin, about a mile west of the burning village.

Florella had spent the day wondering if the men in her family were still alive. She decided to take a stand to protect those inside. In a letter to her sister, Florella recalled the day's events:

A sick woman and three little children having fled to us for protection commenced screaming and crying don't kill us, don't burn the house down over us. I stood in the door and begged they would spare our lives and they might have all they could find in the house or on the place. Seeing us frightened almost to death, the Captain said hold on boys there is nobody here but women and children and we are Gentlemen we never abuse women and children, don't be frightened Ladies we won't hurt you, "but if we get the men we will put the rope over their heads mighty quick."

That night, Samuel and Charles returned. The battle had touched the family deeply. In addition to Frederick and David Garrison, a member of Samuel's missionary church had been killed.

Life for Florella had been hard since the Adairs moved to Osawatomie in 1854 to establish their church. Writing before the battle, she sensed the danger to come:

We are constantly exposed and we have almost no protection. A few have guns and

revolvers, but as a people and place we are without even these and the place is known and

called an "abolitionist nest."

During her life, Florella displayed courage and commitment to the cause of freedom. Hers is one of the many stories told through new exhibits at Adair Cabin State Historic Site in John Brown Memorial Park where the Battle of Osawatomie was fought. Closed since an arson fire December 1995, Adair Cabin will hold a Grand Opening August 30, 1998, with week-long activities.

August 24 - Seven Angry Men, movie and discussion led by Kip Lindberg, Kansas Historical Society, 7:00 p.m.

August 28 - "John Steuart Curry," program and presentation by Don Lambert, 7:00 p.m.

August 30 - "An Afternoon Chautauqua," Grand Opening of Adair Cabin

Ribbon cutting and remarks, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

"Florella's Story," by Mary Florella Buster, great-great granddaughter of Florella Adair, 2:00 - 2:30 p.m.

"Osawatomie and the Fate of the Nation," by Gerald McFarland, great-great grandson of Florella Adair, 2:30 - 3:00 p.m.

"Footnotes on Bleeding Kansas," by author Thomas Goodrich, 3:00 - 3:30 p.m.

"The Glimmering of a Great Light," by Tim Westcott, Baker University, 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.

"Jane's Journey," the story of an escaped slave, by Anyatika Timmons-Lee, 4:00 - 4:30 p.m.

"Where Did the Money Come From?: John Brown and George L. Sterns" by Charles Heller, 4:30 - 5:00 p.m.

"John Brown: Madman or Martyr," by Marvin Stottlemire, 5:00 - 5:15 p.m.

"Hats and Hoops Fashion Show,"at Memorial Hall, 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.

"Let My People Go," by Ron Rushly of the Cass County (Mo.) Frontier Drifters, Old Stone Church, Sixth and Lincoln, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Additional items during the day include children's activities and refreshments. For more information about specific activities, contact curator Andrea Renick-Bell, Adair Cabin, 913-755-4384. One of 15 state historic sites administered by the Kansas Historical Society, Adair Cabin, located in John Brown Memorial Park in Osawatomie, is open 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Wednesday - Saturday, and 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Sunday, April through October; 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Wednesday - Sunday, November - March; 913-755-4384.

The Kansas Historical Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org