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Title | Creator | Date Made Visible | None
Cyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday
Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900
Cyrus K. Holliday, the founder of Topeka, Kansas Territory, wrote from Lawrence, Kansas Territory to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He told her of his planned trip up the Kansas River, his pleasure in the people of Kansas Territory, and a Thanksgiving dinner he attended. Unwilling to return to Pennsylvania, Holliday expressed desire that Mary come to Kansas Territory and described the construction of a friend's sod-covered "mansion," one such as Clarina I. H. Nichols, a lecturer and writer, inhabited.
previewMary Dillon Holliday to Cyrus Kurtz Holliday
Holliday, Mary Dillon Jones, 1833-1908
Mary Holliday wrote from Meadville, Pennsylvania to her husband Cyrus K. Holliday in Kansas Territory. This, the second letter he received from her, reported the health of his brother George Holliday's family and mentioned her giving money, earned by selling a locket, to his mother. Mary Holliday eloquently expressed her love and the difficulty of their separation. After joking that her cooking skill should meet Kansas Territory standards, she mentioned the plans of Lowry Trowbridge and George Merriman, Pennsylvanians with Kansas fever.
previewMary Dillon Holliday to Cyrus Kurtz Holliday
Holliday, Mary Dillon Jones, 1833-1908
Mary Holliday wrote from Meadville, Pennsylvania to her husband, Cyrus K. Holliday at Topeka, Kansas Territory. A thoughtful review of the previous year, her letter gave thanks for protection from harm despite sorrows and calamities. Using Biblical allusions and paraphrases, she joyfully expressed hope that eternal bliss begins with a well lived life, and encouraged her husband to consider misspent time and to carry out good New Year's resolutions.
previewCyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday
Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900
Cyrus K. Holliday wrote to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania from Lawrence, Kansas Territory, where he had stopped on his way to visit Governor Andrew H. Reeder at the Shawnee Indian Mission. Holliday hoped to make the growing Topeka the capital of Kansas Territory. In Lawrence, a hotel keeper had died and George W. Brown, editor of the Herald of Freedom, was ill. Despite mail-delaying winter storms further east, the weather continued mildly. Holliday described his financial investments and requested money for his trip to Meadville, more urgent as the birth of their first child approached.
previewMary Dillon Holliday to Cyrus Kurtz Holliday
Holliday, Mary Dillon Jones, 1833-1908
Mary Holliday wrote from Meadville, Pennsylvania to her husband, Cyrus K. Holliday in Kansas Territory. Lonely and worried, she expressed her eagerness at joining him after the birth of their first child. She mentioned receiving a package of papers from her husband which spoke well of him. She also mentioned his mother's desire to go to Kansas Territory with them and described the well-being of friends and relatives.
previewMary Dillon Holliday to Cyrus Kurtz Holliday
Holliday, Mary Dillon Jones, 1833-1908
Mary Holliday wrote from Meadville, Pennsylvania to her husband, Cyrus K. Holliday in Topeka, Kansas Territory. Expecting their first child March 7 or 8, Mary delicately discussed her pregnancy. She assured C. K. Holliday of her willingness to live in rough housing with him. She hesitated to send money for his trip to Meadville, as mail delivery was slow and unreliable, and encouraged him to stay until she was able to travel if best for business and their future good. She also mentioned local mad-dog attacks.
previewCyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday
Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900
Cyrus K. Holliday wrote from Topeka, Kansas Territory to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He described the Territorial Legislature election of March 30, 1855, in which he was a Representative candidate for the Fourth District (in the third election district). Missourians had taken charge of the polls, and Holliday, along with other free state Kansas Territory citizens, did not vote. He assured his wife that Kansas would be a free state. Business in growing Topeka continued to delay his return to Meadville. Holliday also alluded to the recent birth of their child and mentioned his ragged clothing.
previewWilliam B. Hutchinson to Cyrus Kurtz Holliday
Hutchinson, William , 1823-1904
William B. Hutchinson of Lawrence, Kansas Territory wrote to Cyrus K. Holliday in Topeka, K. T., requesting support for a People's Mass Convention in Topeka on July 4. The gathering Free-Staters would be armed in case of opposition. Colonel Edwin V. Sumner had received orders on June 4th from K. T. Governor Wilson Shannon to disband unlawful military forces. The camp from which Hutchinson wrote had complied, but John W. Whitfield and his troops, camped at Bull Creek, refused. Hutchinson described northern enthusiasm to aid financially the free state cause. John H. Reeder and James H. Lane were speaking in northern states.
previewCyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday
Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900
During a lull, Cyrus K. Holliday reported from Topeka, Kansas Territory to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania that Colonel Edwin V. Sumner had forced proslavery troops back to Missouri and camped on the border. Two free state men from Wisconsin had killed proslavery supporters near Osawatomie. Governor Wilson Shannon had resigned. A "large mass convention" was planned for July 2nd and 3rd, with a meeting of the free state legislature on the 4th. Cyrus advised Mary and Mr. Nichols to wait until after the 4th to travel to the territory.
previewCyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday
Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900
Cyrus K. Holliday wrote from Topeka, Kansas Territory to his wife, Mary Holliday, who had returned to Meadville, Pennsylvania to give birth to their second child, Charles. Cyrus had been joined in Kansas Territory by his mother and two brothers, James T. and George K. Holliday. Cyrus sadly told of his mother's death at George's home in Wakarusa, Kansas Territory. He suggested that Mary wait to return to Topeka until May 1st, when Alfred Huidekoper of Meadville would issue him a loan. Cyrus also mentioned his political aspirations and two upcoming elections, the first at the Osawatomie Republican Convention, the second for delegates to the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention.
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