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Nellie Cline

Nellie Cline, a native of Larned, Pawnee County, served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1921 to 1924. She is also credited with being the first female lawyer to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court.

Amelia Earhart

This photograph shows aviator Amelia Earhart on a parade float at a homecoming parade in Atchison, Kansas. A native of Atchison, Kansas, Earhart spoke at Memorial Hall to a crowd of 3,500 people during her visit. Earhart set a record flying solo across the Atlantic in her Lockheed Vega. She made the 14-hour, 56-minute flight from Newfoundland to Ireland in May 1932. Earlier, she had been the first woman to cross the Atlantic as a passenger in a plane.

Amelia Earhart

This is an informal photograph of Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937. She is seated between two women on a parade float in Atchison, Kansas. The two women may be Barbara and Lorraine Hellener, daughters of the City Manager, Earl Hellener. Also visible are the float's driver, spectators, and parked automobiles along the city street. A native of Atchison, Earhart spoke at Memorial Hall to a crowd of 3,500 people during her visit. The parade was June 7, 1935.

Vivian Vance

Vivian Vance, 1909-1979, was a well-known actress born Vivian Roberta Jones in Cherryvale in Montgomery County, Kansas. As a young child, Vance moved to Independence, Kansas where she found her love of acting under the tutelage of playwright William Inge. Her most famous role was as Ethel Mertz on the television show "I Love Lucy" with Lucille Ball.

Nancy Landon Kassebaum

A portrait of Nancy Landon Kassebaum, United States Senator from Kansas, 1978-1997, and the daughter of Kansas Governor Alfred Mossiman Landon.

Minnie Johnson Grinstead

This is a portrait of Mineola "Minnie" Tamar Johnson Grinstead, 1869-1925, who was the first woman elected to the Kansas House of Representatives. Grinstead served from 1919 to 1923 as the representative from Liberal in Seward County, Kansas.

Cyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday

Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900

Cyrus K. Holliday wrote from Lawrence, Kansas Territory to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. This letter was to be delivered by Mr. Ingrams, and Holliday expressed the possibilities of following shortly or of staying in Lawrence to make business arrangements and put up a building in the spring. He expressed his delight in the country of Kansas and the site of a new city (not named, but likely Topeka). A Pennsylvania company of emigrants, unprepared for the journey and now suffering, had settled in Lawrence and Council Grove.

Cyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday

Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900

Cyrus K. Holliday, founder of Topeka, Kansas Territory, wrote from "Up the River," Kansas Territory to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, describing the difficult living conditions for him and the other men at the future site of Topeka, where they had been visited by Governor Andrew H. Reeder. Holliday assured his wife of his health and requested that she explain to Mr. Drew Lowry and Mr. McFarland in Pennsylvania why he had not written. He praised the beauty of the country and expressed his vision of its future, ending with a request that she write to him.

Cyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday

Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900

Cyrus K. Holliday, the founder of Topeka, wrote from Topeka, Kansas Territory to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, mentioning difficulties but emphasizing his love for her and his desire that they be reunited soon. He compared the local landscape to the Italian countryside. Uncertain as to the time of his return, he wrote that he must stay to oversee business.

Cyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday

Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900

Cyrus K. Holliday, founder of Topeka, Kansas Territory, wrote from Lawrence, Kansas Territory, to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. After three weeks at the future site of Topeka, Holliday was glad for city comforts. He mentioned the site's beauty, the prospect of building a house on his farm claim, and his personal success since leaving Meadville. On December 18, 1854, he had been unanimously elected President of the Topeka Town Association and appointed temporary agent of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. The bottom two-thirds of page 3 and 4 (which contained Holliday's signature) have been cut and removed.