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Samuel L. Adair to Zu Adams

Adair, Samuel Lyle, 1811-1898

Samuel Adair, Osawatomie, Kansas, described the two slaves that he had encountered. One was an eight to ten year old boy that had been hired by a merchant from Kansas City. The other slave of which he was aware was a woman owned by an Indian interpreter named Baptiste. This item is from information collected by Miss Zu Adams in 1895. She was researching the topic of slaves in Kansas and contacted a number of early Kansas settlers requesting information about slaves brought to Kansas Territory. While all of the information she 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 State Historical Society and the information received was donated to that institution.

Stephen Marshall Crockett

Crockett, Stephen Marshall, 1836-1920

Stephen Marshall Crockett, Richland, Kansas, wrote this letter to George W. Martin, secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society. Crockett's daughter, Gertrude Wells, gave a membership in the historical society to her father. Crockett writes that his father supervised the farming department of the Shawnee Indian Mission from 1848 until 1854. He writes that his family took a claim west of Lawrence in 1854 and moved to one west of Lecompton in 1856. He remembers Martin working for one of the Lecompton newspapers as a boy.

John Anderson, Jr.,

This colored portrait shows John Anderson, Jr., a lawyer and politician from Olathe, Kansas. He begins his political career in 1946 when he is elected as a Republican for county attorney of Johnson County. In 1952 Anderson is elected to the Kansas Senate representing District Sixth of Johnson County. A position he serves from 1953 to 1956 before his appointment as Attorney General of Kansas. He serves from 1956 to 1961 and wins the elections of 1956 and 1958. In the November general election of 1960, Anderson defeats Democratic incumbent George Docking to become the thirty-sixth governor of Kansas serving from 1961 to 1965. He is also the first governor to occupy Cedar Crest, which became the official home of the Kansas Governor.

Kansas Emergency Relief Committee accomplishments movie

Kansas. Emergency Relief Commission

This motion picture film documents the various work projects completed in Kansas during President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. It begins with an introduction to the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee personnel, starting with the executive director, John G. Stutz. It then shows the various projects across the state, including the construction of farm ponds and lakes as part of the Water Conservation Program, the renovation and construction of courthouses, schools, libraries, and other public buildings, and the weaving and sewing rooms that produced clothing for needy Kansans. It also includes footage of rabbit drives, dust storms, and women sweeping piles of dust out of their homes. Click on the thumbnails below to play each clip. Click on Text Version for a detailed description of each chapter.

D. H. Holt to Governor George Hartshorn Hodges

Holt, D. H.

The cashier of the Kansas State Mineral Bank in West Mineral (Cherokee County), D. H. Holt, writes Governor George Hodges of Topeka, Kansas, to inform him of his bank's stand against the illegal trade in liquor. Mr. Holt claims the liquor trade so dominates the county that banks are compelled to participate by accepting drafts (an order in writing to pay money) from Brewery Companies drawn against their customer's intent to pay. The cashier describes his successful effort to stop this practice at his bank. The letter also describes the seizure of a railroad car containing beer and subsequent investigations. This letter comes shortly after passage of the Webb-Kenyon Act by Congress early in 1913. The act gave states the right to regulate or prohibit the importation of liquor across their boundaries. Shortly thereafter, the Kansas legislature passed the Mahin bill which made the provisions of the Webb bill effective in Kansas. Kansas first adopted a constitutional amendment on prohibition in 1881 and by 1909 had outlawed the sale of liquor for medicinal purposes.

Jason A. McCarrick to Governor John Leedy

McCarrick, Jason A.

Jason A. McCarrick, of Kansas City, Kansas, advises Governor John W. Leedy, of Topeka, on the political importance of the office of Labor Commissioner to the Populist Party. McCarrick recommends Frank Shannon of Wyandotte County for that appointment. McCarrick argues that the conduct of the commissioner could either attract workers to the party or alienate them from it. For this reason, McCarrick suggests the appointee should be involved in the labor movement and willing to promote the Populist Party. The letter also discusses the importance of workers as a pool of potential party members and the importance of Wyandotte County to the political ambitions of the party. Governor Leedy (a Populist or People's Party candidate) beat incumbent Edward N. Morrill in the 1896 election largely due to the alliance of the Democrats and Populists against the Republicans.

Charles F. Morse to Governor George T. Anthony

Morse, Charles F. (Charles Fessenden), 1839-1926

Charles Fessenden Morse, general superintendent of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Rail Road Company (AT&SF) of Topeka, Kansas, writes to Governor George Tobey Anthony, also of Topeka, concerning a strike of railroad employees occurring in the company's Eastern Division. The report describes the activities of the striking engineers and firemen and Morse's response during a five day period from April 3 through April 8, 1878. Organized strikes occurred on several AT&SF lines in Kansas east of Newton. Morse primarily discusses the actions of striking workers at Emporia and Topeka. The report further discusses the inadequate response by local law enforcement and the eventual use of the State Militia to restore law and order. This strike followed the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 which began in West Virginia but spread quickly across the country.

J. E. Foley to the Kansas Legal Control Council

Foley, J. E.

Topeka, Kansas resident J. E. Foley writes the Kansas Legal Control Council of Wichita concerning the repeal of the "Bone Dry" prohibition law originally passed in 1917. A more strict enforcement of the liquor law in 1946 prompted a discussion of its repeal. A proposition to repeal the law passed in the 1948 November general election. Mr. Foley voted for repeal. He claims drinking became more common under prohibition. He outlines his support of state-owned liquor stores verses local control of liquor by individual cities. Mr. Foley also considers the effect of such laws on the poorer classes. Similar letters sent to the governor consider prohibition in terms of religious or political affiliation, race, class, gender, age, or labor force. The state legislature passed the Liquor Control Act in 1949.

William L. White to Governor Andrew F. Schoeppel

White, William Lindsay, 1900-1973

William Lindsay White, publisher of the Emporia Gazette, sends Governor Andrew F. Schoeppel, of Topeka, a copy of a letter he wrote to Milton F. Amrine, warden of the Kansas State Penitentiary at Lansing. Amrine resigned as warden of the state penitentiary due to his opposition to capital punishment. White's letter congratulates Amrine for the way he conducted his resignation and his amicable relationship with the Governor. Kansas reinstated the death penalty in 1935 after its repeal in 1907, but the state had not executed any person since 1870. Convicted murderer Fred L. Brady was poised to become the first person executed under the new law. Governor Schoeppel refused to commute Brady's sentence to life imprisonment. Warden Amrine refused to carry out the execution and chose to resign.

Samuel Jay Crumbine

American Magazine

Samuel Jay Crumbine, Secretary of the Board of Health, seated at his desk.