Governor Records - Osborn, 1873-1877

Thomas Andrew Osborn administration
Jan. 13, 1873 - Jan. 8, 1877

• Overview of the Records
• History and Biography
• Scope and Contents of the Records
• Arrangement of the Records
• Related Records
• Other Finding Aid
• Bibliography
• Index Terms
• Restrictions on Access
• Restrictions on Use
• Preferred Citation
• Acquisition Information
• Processing Information
• Accruals
• Detailed Description of the Records

Overview of the Records

Repository

Kansas State Historical Society (Topeka)

Creator

Kansas. Governor (1873-1877 : Osborn)

Title

Kansas Governor Thomas Andrew Osborn correspondence received

Portion of title: Correspondence received

Other titles

• Correspondence files
• Records of the Kansas Governor’s Office : administration of Governor Thomas Andrew Osborn (1873-1877)
• Records of the Office of the Governor of Kansas : Thomas Andrew Osborn administration (1873-1877)

Dates

1873-1877

Quantity

2 ft. (4 boxes + 1 oversize folder)

Abstract

Sixth governor of the State of Kansas, 1873 - 1877; of Leavenworth, Kan.

Correspondence and other items received from the administration of Thomas A. Osborn, governor of the State of Kansas from 14 Jan. 1873 to 8 Jan. 1877. Correspondence received includes general letters, official response letters from & letters concerning State agencies, and subject files; some proclamations are also included. Subject files include applications, endorsements, & remonstrances relating to candidates for appointments to normal school, penitentiary, judicial, & other positions; county organizational papers; and letters relating to counties, crime & criminals, justices of the peace, lands, military affairs, relief, & other topics. Additional records of Governor Osborn are in separate series common to several governors including an Executive record (Official record), 1861-1879; Executive proclamations, 1861-1980; Pardon and parole files from the Women’s Industrial Farm, 1863-1919; Pardons, 1865-1883; Letter press books, 1865-1904; Applications for pardons, 1868-1877; a Letter register, 1871-1895; a Record of death sentences, 1872-1906; and Death sentence warrants, 1872-1908; Requisitions on governor from governors of other states for persons accused of crimes, 1873-1960; County organization censuses, ca. 1873-ca. 1886; Applications for extradition requisitions: series I & II, 1874 - 1953; Prisoners in Kansas State Penitentiary, ca. 1875-ca. 1897; and Citizenship pardons, 1876-1960.

Identification

Record group 252.

Consult the Detailed Description of the Records section below for locations of individual series and folders.

Language

Text is in English.

Notes

This finding aid describes materials held by the Kansas State Historical Society. Materials may be used in the Library in the society’s Center for Historical Research during regular research hours. Support for telephone, mail, and online reference and research is limited.

In a continuing effort to improve the completeness and accuracy of finding aids, revisions are made as more or new information becomes available. Consequently finding aids in paper format and on the society’s web site may differ slightly.

History and Biography

History of the Office of the Governor

The Wyandotte Constitution of 1859 established the office of the governor of the State of Kansas. Some of the more important duties, functions, and responsibilities of the governor are to see that the laws are faithfully executed, to require written explanations from other executive officers - at that time the lieutenant governor, secretary of State, auditor, treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction - upon any subject relating to their respective duties, convene the Legislature by proclamation on extraordinary occasions, communicate in writing such information as he may possess in reference to the condition of the State at the commencement of every legislative session, recommend such measures as he may deem expedient, and commission officers of the State.

No formal qualifications for the governor have been legislated, aside from the provision that no member of Congress or officer of the State or United States can serve. The governor is elected by a plurality, not a necessarily a majority, of votes cast. The governor takes office the second Monday in January following election. He was authorized to hire a private secretary, pardon attorney, and other staff as appropriations permitted.

At the beginning of Thomas Osborn’s term, the governor had the power to appoint Militia officers; members of part - time boards of directors, trustees, or regents of the State Penitentiary (now Lansing Correctional Facility), schools of higher education, the State insane asylum (now Osawatomie State Hospital), and schools for deaf and blind students; a Board of Visitors for the State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University); the Bureau of Immigration; the Commission for Care of Destitute Orphans and Children of State Soldiers; the State librarian; the superintendent of insurance; and a number of minor commissions. He was also an ex officio member of the State Board of Canvassers, boards of directors of the Agricultural College and Normal School, the Bureau of Immigration, the Board of Treasury Examiners, and other committees.

During Osborn’s administration, a Board of Directors was established for the new Insane Asylum (later State hospital) at Topeka, but in 1876, this group and the boards of the schools for the deaf and blind and the Insane Asylum at Osawatomie (now Osawatomie State Hospital) were combined into a single Board of Trustees for the Control of Charitable Institutions with five members appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate. Also during Osborn’s term, the governor became an ex officio member of the State Board of Commissioners of the Sinking Fund.

Biography of Thomas Andrew Osborn

Thomas Andrew Osborn was born on 26 October 1836 at Meadville, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Carpenter and Elizabeth Morris Osborn. Thomas Osborn was educated at common schools throughout Meadville, later attended Allegheny Preparatory College, and after that began an apprenticeship program to become a printer. He began to acquire an interest in the practice of law and pursued his ambition by his early twenties. Osborn’s relentless hard work ethic at the printer’s case paid his way through college.

In 1856 he continued his law studies through an apprenticeship at the office of Judge David Derrickson of Meadville. In early 1857 he moved to Michigan and was admitted to the Bar there. In November the same year, he relocated to Kansas and stopped through Lawrence to secure temporary employment as a compositor for the Herald of Freedom newspaper. His knowledge and work ethic earned him the promotion to shop foremen; later he was given sole control of the newspaper, and he became its editor in March of 1858.

At age 21 Thomas Osborn practiced law at Elwood, Kansas, and was known to be a sound lawyer of good quality counsel and a man of stout integrity and ability. Politically, he was a firm Republican and Free-State (anti-slavery) man. He ran for and was elected State senator from Doniphan County in 1859 contingent on statehood; he took his seat in the first State Legislature in early 1861. Osborn was chosen president pro tem of the Senate in 1862 to preside while the lieutenant governor was absent; he also served in that position during the impeachment trial of Governor Charles Robinson. In the fall of 1862, he was elected lieutenant governor defeating John J. Ingalls and served in that position during the Robinson and Thomas Carney administrations. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Osborn United States marshal of Kansas. He occupied that office until 1867 when President Andrew Johnson fired him for criticisms made of the administration’s Reconstruction policies.

Thomas Osborn married Julia Delahay of Leavenworth, a relative of Abraham Lincoln, in 1870. They had one son, Edward, born in 1871.

In 1872, the Republican State Convention nominated Thomas A. Osborn as the Republican candidate for governor. He defeated Thaddeus H. Walker by a large margin and was sworn in as the sixth governor of Kansas on 13 January 1873.

The newly elected governor eloquently spoke of calm and prosperity to the people of Kansas in his first annual message. The times of Governor Osborn’s first year appeared promising with an abundance of exuberance and challenge for the State of Kansas. The economy prospered, and many new miles of railroad track construction were steaming forward along with masses of new settlers moving to the Kansas frontiers. But panic erupted in late 1873 when many large Eastern banks began to fail and soured the national economy. The year 1874, however, was one of painful misery for Governor Osborn. The massive grasshopper invasion that caused horrendous crop destruction and famine across the State coincided with brutal Indian raids thieving from newly settled persons in Barber County and other settlers along the southern border. The Governor called on the State Legislature to organize relief committees to aid the suffering of the grasshopper raid. The United States Cavalry was summoned to quell the Indian raids and recover the plunder. Regrettably, in the midst of battle, the son of Cheyenne Chief Little Robe was killed; that precipitated further violence in the region. Many citizens throughout the State demanded revenge, while many others urged patience and calm. Osborn, however, was well - poised and exercised supreme skill and pragmatic diplomacy, thus steering a middle ground during this traumatic period.

Osborn was popularly known for his broad vision and resourcefulness in fiscal responsibility keeping the State budget in check. The promotion of continued colonizing and land settlements and the encouragement of settlers to permanently homestead was the Governor’s highest priority. A huge band of Mennonites from southern Russia settled in the Arkansas River Valley in 1874 establishing many new counties along the southern Kansas border due to expanding populations.

In 1876 the Centennial Exposition was at Philadelphia, and $30,000 was invested in a magnificent Kansas exhibit that magnified the State’s recent grand successes in the national public eye. In March of 1876, United States Senator Alexander Caldwell from Kansas resigned from office and Governor Osborn appointed Robert Crozier to fill the remainder of his term. He also appointed John Francis to succeed the State treasurer, Josiah E. Hayes, who had been impeached and convicted for massive abuse of State funds. In 1875, Osborn received a large number of votes from legislators for the United States Senate seat. However, Preston B. Plumb, with whom he had worked on the Herald of Freedom, was elected instead.

A few months after Osborn’s governorship ended, President Rutherford Hayes commissioned him envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Chile, so he departed for Santiago. At the close of his time in Chile, the Chilean government honored him for extraordinary diplomatic leadership in settling the dispute of boundary between that country and the Argentine Republic. In 1881, he was elevated to the Brazilian mission. When Osborn returned home from South America, he became interested in several business adventures: banking, railroad construction, and real - estate operations. In May of 1866, he was an incorporator of Northern Kansas Rail Road Company (later part of the St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad Company) and was a director of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe line from its early days until his death. Thomas Osborn died on 4 February 1898 in his home town of Meadville, Pennsylvania, of a severe stomach hemorrhage; he was visiting Meadville after attending a meeting of the Santa Fe’s directors in New York City. He was returned to Kansas for interment at Topeka Cemetery. His religious preference was Methodist, but he was a member of no church.

Scope and Contents of the Records

Governor Osborn’s records consist of one series in 74 folders divided into four subseries.

Items in the series Correspondence Received, 1873 - 1877 (no. 03415), are primarily letters received by Governor Osborn, however there may also be proclamations and a few petitions, reports, copies of letters sent, and other types of documents. The letters and proclamations are organized into four subseries: (1) General (Alphabetical) File, (2) State Departments, (3) Subject Files, and (4) Proclamations. Some proclamations may have also been interfiled with other items received relating to the subjects of the proclamations.

Documents that may have been addressed to Governor Osborn but dated or pertaining to the time period after his term expired in 1877 may be filed with the records of his successor, George Tobey Anthony.

The General (Alphabetical) File, 1873 - 1876 (subseries 1), consists of four folders containing letters received that were filed in alphabetical order by author. Contained therein are letters relating to positions, recommendations, and vacancies; Governor Osborn’s addresses; State contracts; the extension of State jurisdiction to former Indian reservations; the judiciary and judicial procedure; legislation; requests for information, publications, or action; politics; services and goods offered for sale; taxation; transportation; public lands; and interstate co-operation. Letters may have been filed here because there was not an appropriate place for them in the State Departments (subseries 2) or Subject Files (subseries 3).

Letters from or relating to State offices are in subseries 2, the State Departments File. Some of the letters relate to personnel, vacancies, resignations, and appointments, but most pertain to the operation of individual State agencies. The letters request the Governor to take specific actions, ask his approval, send him information, ask him questions, tell of events, provide legal opinions, forward other letters and petitions, confirm or acknowledge gubernatorial actions, and request the Governor’s presence. Topics include organizing another Kansas cavalry regiment, supplies, boards of directors, inspections, State offices, judgeships, audits, the State treasury, the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, federal taxation, State payments, prisoners, bonds, and fraud. A more complete list of contents by folder is in the Detailed Description of the Records section, below.

The largest component of the Correspondence Received is the Subject Files subseries, no. 3. Topics include applications, endorsements, and remonstrances and appointments to State positions; bonds; charitable and correctional institutions; cities and towns; claims; counties and county organization; crime and criminals, including the Bender family, extraditions, and rewards; fairs; immigration; Indians; invitations; Indian, school, railroad, and other land; legislation; federal and State military affairs; railroads; relief; and the United States government. A folder - by - folder contents list is in the Detailed Description of the Records section, below.

The Proclamations subseries, no. 4, consists of notices proclaiming rewards for criminals, 1873 - 1876.

Additional files that record activities of the Osborn administration may be found in the series Executive Record (Official Record), 1861 - 1879 (no. 05968); Pardon and Parole Files: Women’s Industrial Farm, 1863 - 1919 (no. 03660); Pardons, 1865 - 1883 (no. 03789); Letter Press Books, 1865 - 1904 (no. 03397); Applications for Pardons, 1868 - 1877 (no. 03790); Letter Register, 1871 - 1895 (no. 03463); a Record of Death Sentences, 1872 - 1906 (no. 03782); Death Sentence Warrants, 1872 - 1908 (no. 03781); County Organization Censuses, ca. 1873 - ca. 1886 (no. 03451); Applications for Extradition Requisitions: Series I & II, 1874 - 1953 (no. 04090); Prisoners in Kansas State Penitentiary, ca. 1875 - ca. 1897 (no. 03784); and Citizenship Pardons, 1876 - 1960 (no. 03802) . These series contain records of a number of governors.

The series Executive Record (Official Record), 1861 - 1879 (no. 05968), provides chronological summaries of the Governor’s official actions, including in some cases summaries of communications sent. Pages 301 - 403 of the Executive Record (Official Record) contain information about documents created and actions taken during the Osborn administration.

Some of the files in the series Pardon and Parole Files: Women’s Industrial Farm, 1863 - 1919 (no. 03660) are from the Osborn administration. The records are arranged alphabetically by inmates’ names, so identifying records for this period would require looking at each file and determining its date. There are restrictions on access to these records.

Entries in the second and third volumes of Pardons, 1865 - 1883 (series 03789), for the period 1873 through 1877 contain information about pardons issued by Governor Osborn.

Letter Press Books, 1865 - 1904 (series 03397), contain copies of letters and telegrams sent. Recipients included citizens of Kansas and other States, other elected officials, heads of State institutions and departments, the adjutant general, members of the Kansas congressional delegation, other governors, members of the Legislature, railroad officials, newspaper editors, military officers, local officials, and the president and vice president. Topics addressed included State institutions, departments, and programs; appointments; events; counties, investigations; the cattle trade; land; claims; the military; State funds; immigration; Native American issues; laws and legislation, pardons; and other topics mirroring letters received by governors. Some of the letters were written by secretaries and other staff. Some volumes have alphabetical indexes by recipient and subject. Letters from Governor Osborn’s first month in office, 13 January - 12 February 1873, are in the back, pages 130 - 36, of letterpress volume one; letters from the remainder of his term are in volumes two through six.

Applications for Pardons, 1868 - 1877 (series 03790), received by Governor Osborn during his term include requests from 16 January 1873 through 8 January 1877.

Entries in the Letter Register, 1871 - 1895 (series 03463), for individual letters received contain the dates the letter was written and received, the name and city of the writer, and a brief summary of the contents. There is an alphabetical index at the front of each volume. Entries for the Osborn administration are in volume A, pages 28 - 155.

A Record of Death Sentences, 1872 - 1906 (series 03782), begins with an alphabetical index and then initially lists the convicted, the court and county, the date convicted, whose murder they were found guilty of, and the date of the warrant and of the filing. Remarks are usually referenced to a later page. The format quickly switches out of list form and devotes pages to each condemned person in turn. While the same information is usually covered, the jury’s verdict and other related documents that may be found in Death Sentence Warrants, series 03781, are usually handwritten onto these pages. This volume may have served as the Governor’s record of receipt for the documents in the Death Sentence Warrants, series 03781. Pages six through eighteen contain information about capital punishment cases during Osborn’s term.

Death Sentence Warrants, 1872 - 1908 (series 03781), consists of copies of warrants, arranged generally chronologically, sent to the governor, whose approval was required; sometimes related documents from the judge, county sheriff or attorney, clerk of the District court, or jury foreman are included. Entries for 2 July 1874 through 24 February 1876 are from the Osborn administration.

Requisitions on Governor from Governors of Other States for Persons Accused of Crimes, 1873 - 1960 (series 03814), contains volumes covering the years 1873-1932 that have alphabetical indexes in the front. Entries are arranged chronologically and list the case number, the date of request, fugitive name, the requesting State, name of agent, crime charged, and county suspect is believed to located in. There are two entries for 1873 and 1874 on page one of Volume A; these may be requests received and handled by Governor Anthony’s Administration.

County Organization Censuses, ca. 1873 - ca. 1886 (series 03451) were taken to determine if a proposed county had sufficient population to organize a county government. Entries contain number of householders, ages, and number of acres under cultivation. Some also contain gender, number of voters, number of schoolchildren and location. They are arranged alphabetically by the name of the county.

Applications for Extradition Requisitions: Series I & II, 1874 - 1953 (series 04090), consists of applications to other States to extradite criminals for prosecution in Kansas. The applications show the State applied to, name, crime, and date issued; most also contain court papers or similar documents explaining the case.

A volume of Prisoners in Kansas State Penitentiary, ca. 1875 - ca. 1897 (series 03784) contains information about inmates such as name, county, date of sentence, crime, and term of sentence. Entries are arranged by the first letter of the inmate’s last name.

Citizenship Pardons, 1876 - 1960 (series 03802) are declarations of pardon, which contain information about the crime committed and the date of the pardon. During the Osborn administration, citizenship pardon stubs that cover the period March 1876 through January 1877 were created and retained rather than copies of the full pardon documentation.

Records of other offices of Kansas government - particularly the secretary of State, record group 622, and attorney general, record group 82 - will give additional information about State activities during this period. Papers of other prominent political figures of the time, most of which are held by the Kansas State Historical Society, may also offer insights about Kansas politics and government during the Osborn administration.

The Kansas State Historical Society does not have a collection of Thomas Andrew Osborn’s personal papers. Some letters and other documents written by him appear in various manuscript collections; please consult the manuscripts card catalog in the Library’s reference room or ask the reference staff to assist you.

Arrangement of the Records

Subgroup (1 ser.) Organized into four subseries by type of material.

Contents: Subseries 1. General (Alphabetical) file, 1873-1876 - subseries 2. State departments, 1873-1876 - subseries 3. Subject files, 1873-1877 - subseries 4. Proclamations, 1873-1876.

Related Records

Records of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, record group 82
Records of the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, record group 622

Other Finding Aid

Copies of this finding aid are available in the Research Room of the Center for Historical Research and on its web site, http://www.kshs.org.

Bibliography

Drury, James W. The Government of Kansas. 3d ed. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas, ©1980. Available in the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS) Reference Room: call no. K 350.7 D845 1980.

Harder, Marvin A. The Governor of Kansas: An Analysis of Decision-Making Opportunities, Constraints, and Resources. Topeka, Kans.: Capitol Complex Center, University of Kansas, 1981, ©1982. Available in the KSHS Reference Room: call no. SP 378 Z C172 pam.v.1 no. 1 .

Socolofsky, Homer E. Kansas Governors. Lawrence, Kans.: University Press of Kansas, ©1990. Available in the KSHS Reference Room: call no. K BB So13.

Index Terms

Persons

Osborn, Thomas Andrew, 1836-1898. (subject and co-creator)

Corporate Names

Kansas. Governor (1873-1877 : Osborn)-Archives.
Kansas. Governor (1873-1877 : Osborn)-Records and correspondence.

Geographic Names

Kansas-Military policy.
Kansas-Officials and employees-Selection and appointment.
Kansas-Politics and government-1865-1950.

Subjects

Civil-military relations-Kansas.
County government-Kansas.
Criminal justice, Administration of-Kansas.
Criminals-Kansas.
Justices of the peace-Kansas.
Public institutions-Kansas.
Public lands-Kansas.
Public welfare-Kansas.
State-local relations-Kansas.

Document Types

Government correspondence- Kansas.
Public records-Kansas.

Occupations

Governors-Kansas-Archives.

Restrictions on Access

None

Restrictions on Use

Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Most documents created by governmental entities, including the State of Kansas, are considered in the public domain, although copyright to documents found in public records that were written by individuals or organizations and sent to government agencies may be owned by the writers or their heirs.

Preferred Citation

Note: [document, folder, subseries, or series description], Osborn administration (1873- 1877), records of the Kansas Governor’s Office, State archives record group 252, Library and Archives Division, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka.

Bibliography: Kansas, Governor’s Office, Osborn administration (1873- 1877). Records, 1873- 1877. State archives record group 252, Library and Archives Division, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka.

Acquisition Information

Transfer: Office of the Governor, date unknown

Processing Information

Inventory written by David F. Manning, volunteer, 2006.

Time spent in researching and writing this inventory has been donated by the author. Administrative expenses paid by the Kansas State Historical Society.

Accruals

No additional records are expected.

Detailed Description of the Records

Series 03415. CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED, 1873- 1877. 2 ft. (4 boxes).

Primarily letters received by Governor Osborn, however there are also proclamations and a few petitions, reports, copies of letters sent, and other types of documents. Some proclamations may have also been interfiled with other items received relating to the subjects of the proclamations. Copies of letters sent are described below in the Osborn portion of the series Letter Press Books, 1865- 1904 (no. 03397).

Organized into 4 subseries: (1) General (Alphabetical) File, 1873 - 1876; (2) State Departments, 1873 - 1876; (3) Subject Files, 1873 - 1877; and (4) Proclamations, 1873 - 1876.

Subseries 1. General (Alphabetical) File, 1873 - 1876. 0.1 ft. (4 folders). 027-03-07-05

Letters received relating to positions, recommendations, & vacancies; Governor Osborn’s addresses; State contracts; the extension of State jurisdiction to former Indian reservations; the judiciary & judicial procedure; legislation; requests for information, publications, or action; politics; services & goods offered for sale; taxation; transportation; public lands; and interstate co-operation. Letters may have been filed here because there was not an appropriate place for them in the State Departments (no. 2) or Subject Files (no. 3) subseries, described below.

Arranged in alphabetical order by author.

Subseries 2. State Departments, 1873 - 1876. 0.1 ft. (13 folders). 027-03-07-05

Letters from or relating to State offices. Some of the letters relate to personnel, vacancies, resignations, and appointments, but most pertain to the operation of individual State agencies. The letters request the Governor to take specific actions, ask his approval, send him information, ask him questions, tell of events, provide legal opinions, forward other letters and petitions, confirm or acknowledge gubernatorial actions, and request the Governor’s presence. Topics include organizing another Kansas cavalry regiment, supplies, boards of directors, inspections, State offices, judgeships, audits, the State treasury, the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, federal taxation, State payments, prisoners, bonds, and fraud.

Arranged alphabetically by name of State agency.

Subseries 3. Subject Files, 1873 - 1877. 2 ft. (4 boxes).

Topics include applications, endorsements, and remonstrances & appointments to State positions; bonds; charitable & correctional institutions; cities & towns; claims; counties & county organization; crime & criminals, including the Bender family, extraditions, & rewards; fairs; immigration; Indians; invitations; Indian, school, railroad, & other land; legislation; federal & State military affairs; railroads; relief; and the United States government.

Arranged alphabetically by topic.

Subseries 4. Proclamations, 1873 - 1876. 14 items. 072-03-11-01

Notices issued by the governor proclaiming rewards for criminals.

Arranged numerically.

Other records series of multiple governors containing documents relating to the Osborn administration:

Series 05968. EXECUTIVE RECORD (OFFICIAL RECORD), 1861 - 1879. 1 v. (407 p.) 024-13-10-01

Bound copy of minutes, transcribed from or used in conjunction with the Executive Record (Secretary’s Minutes) (series 03458). Begins Feb. 8, 1861, and ends Dec. 15, 1879. These records contain information on government, civilian, and military appointments and commissions; extradition requests (requisitions); executed warrants; criminal pardons and sentence commutations; legislative bills and proclamations; land sites and offices; receipt of documents; and organization of new counties. This record is organized chronologically by year but organization of the above categories within the year changes frequently. As a result, it becomes more organized as the years pass. In the later years it was probably compiled at the end of the year from the Executive Record (Secretary’s Minutes) (series 03458), rather than used throughout the year as the beginning organization suggests.

Osborn administration: pp. 301- 403

Series 03660. PARDON AND PAROLE FILES: WOMEN’S INDUSTRIAL FARM, 1863 - 1919. 63 ft. (151 boxes). ACCESS RESTRICTED. 032-01-02-01 thru 032-03-07-04

Contains letters requesting opinions on parole, Parole Board verdict or certificate, and a prisoner history. Interfiled with Pardon and Parole Files for the Kansas State Industrial Reformatory, 1927-1945 (series 03659) and Parole Certificates Issued by the Coffeyville City Court, 1932-1936 (series 03661), as part of Subseries I, 63 ft. (151 boxes), 1863-1919, arranged alphabetically. Women are only contained in Subseries I; after 1919 women’s files are arranged separately as series 06304, Pardon and Parole of Female Inmates.

Arranged alphabetically by inmates’ names.

Series 03397. LETTER PRESS BOOKS, 1865 - 1904. [143] v. 027-02-08-04 thru 027-03-06-02

Exact copies of texts of letters sent by Governors S. J. Crawford and James Madison Harvey through Willis Joshua Bailey; there are no letters for Nehemiah Green. Most of the letters sent respond to concerns expressed to the governor. Subjects are generally similar to those in letters received by governors, including State institutions, departments, & programs; appointments; events; counties; investigations; the cattle trade; land; claims; the military; State funds; immigration; Native American issues; laws & legislation; pardons; and other topics mirroring letters received by governors. Recipients included citizens of Kansas & other States, other elected officials, heads of State institutions & departments, the adjutant general, members of the Kansas congressional delegation, other governors, members of the Legislature, railroad officials, newspaper editors, military officers, local officials, and the president & vice president.

Volumes arranged chronologically.

Some volumes indexed alphabetically by recipient and subject.

Osborn administration: v. 1 - 6 (boxes 1 - 2, 027-02-08-04 thru 027-03-01-01)

Series 03463. LETTER REGISTER, 1871 - 1895. 2 v. 024-13-10-02 thru 024-14-01-01

Contains date written and received, writer name, city, and abstract of letter contents.

Alphabetical index to recipients at the beginning of each volume.

Osborn administration: vol. A (024-13-10-02), pp. 28 - 155

Ser. 03782. RECORD OF DEATH SENTENCES, 1872 - 1906. 1 v. (61 p.) 026-15-08-01

Lists the convicted, the court and county, the date convicted, whose murder they were found guilty of, and the date of the warrant and of the filing. Remarks are usually referenced to a later page. The format quickly switches out of list form and devotes pages to each condemned person in turn. While the same information is usually covered, the jury’s verdict and other related documents that may be found in Death Sentence Warrants, series 03781, are usually handwritten onto these pages. This volume may have served as the Governor’s record of receipt for the documents in the Death Sentence Warrants, series 03781.

Indexed alphabetically by prisoners’ names.

Osborn administration: pp. 6 - 18

Series 03781. DEATH SENTENCE WARRANTS, 1872 - 1908. 1 v. (unpaged). 26-15-08-01

Handwritten and typescript warrants that were sent to the Governor’s Office after the convicted person’s sentencing for the governor to approve when the date and time of execution had been set. Also included are related documents that were written by the sentencing judge, county sheriff or attorney, clerk of the District court, or jury foreman.

Arranged generally chronologically.

Osborn administration: 1874 - 1876

Series 03814. REQUISITIONS ON GOVERNOR FROM GOVERNORS OF OTHER STATES FOR PERSONS ACCUSED OF CRIMES, 1873 - 1960. [2] v. + 1 bundle. 025-12-04-01

The bundle covers years 1886-1898 and does not have any type of arrangement. This bundle contains requisitions and supporting documents that were sent to the Governor's office from other States. Volumes cover the year 1873-1932 and have alphabetical indexes in the front. Entries are arranged chronologically and list the case number, the date of request, fugitive name, the requesting State, name of agent, crime charged, and county suspect is believed to located in.

Volumes arranged chronologically.

Osborn administration: Vol. A, p. 1 (These may be requests received after 1876 and processed by Governor George Tobey Anthony’s administration.)

Series 03451. COUNTY ORGANIZATION CENSUSES, ca. 1873 - ca. 1886. 0.8 ft. in 2 boxes. 028-03-01-01 thru 028-03-01-02

Census rolls for enumerations conducted 1873 - 1886. Entries contain number of householders, ages, and number of acres under cultivation. Some also contain gender, number of voters, number of schoolchildren and location.

Arranged alphabetically by county.

Series 03784. PRISONERS IN KANSAS STATE PENITENTIARY, ca. 1875 - ca. 1897. 1 v. 026-15-08-01

Contains information furnished to the governor about each prisoner in the Kansas State Penitentiary (Lansing) (KSP) such as name, county, date of sentences, crime, term of sentence and remarks. Other records of prisoners for this period may be found in the records of the KSP, record group 525, and on an alphabetical, card Index to the Inmate Records at the Kansas State Penitentiary, 1861 - 1952, on Kansas State Historical Society microfilm rolls AR 7458 - AR 7469.

Arranged alphabetically by the first letter of the prisoner’s surname, thereunder roughly chronologically by date of entry.

Records of the governor’s pardon attorney

Series 03789. PARDONS, 1865 - 1883. 4 v.

Includes date pardoned, name, county, crime, sentence, and remarks.

Osborn administration: v. 2 - 3, 1873 Feb. 2 - 1877 Jan. 8

Series 03790. APPLICATIONS FOR PARDON, 1868 - 1877. 1 v. (unpaged). 059-08-01-20

One volume dated Jan. 27, 1868 - June, 1877. This volume contains the date of application, the name of the applicant, who recommended the pardon, and remarks.

Osborn administration: 1873 Jan. 16 - 1877 Jan. 8

Series 04090. APPLICATIONS FOR EXTRADITION REQUISITIONS: SUBSERIES I AND II, 1874 - 1953. 37 ft. 060-03-03-03 thru 060-03-04-20

Applications to other States to extradite criminals for prosecution in Kansas. They show the State applied to, name, crime, and date issued; most also contain court papers or similar documents explaining the case. The application itself was an envelope into which all the related documents were placed. Collection is missing the years 1886-1892; years 1937-1953 have not been refoldered and remain in their original application envelopes. Subseries I: #65-A-1 to 594-A-62 (1874-1885); Subseries II: #1871-B-6 to 6300 (1893-1953).

Arranged by file number.

Osborn administration : box 1 (060-03-03-03)

Series 03802. CITIZENSHIP PARDONS, 1876 - 1960. 8 ft. (22 v.) 020-13-10-01 thru 020-04-01-02, 026-15-08-02 thru 026-15-10-02, 35-08-05-02

Copies of declarations of pardon, which contain information about the crime committed, date of pardon, and the governor’s signature on a preprinted declaration form. The first subseries covers 1879 - 1933 and the second subseries covers 1933 - 1960. Also contained in this collection are citizenship pardon stubs, which cover 1876 - 1883. The stubs are arranged chronologically in three smaller volumes and do not contain an index or signatures.

Entries arranged chronologically.

Alphabetical index in each volume.

Osborn administration: Stubs, v. [1] (035-08-05-02), no. 1 - 12

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