The archives of Kansas governors’ records held by the State Archives at the Kansas Historical Society are a great resource for primary sources on important issues in Kansas history. The Kansas State Archives houses the records of nearly all Kansas governors – a collection of materials totaling thousands of boxes. When compared to the collection's total volume, only a very small number of these records are currently available on Kansas Memory, but that number is steadily growing.

A few of these records have been featured in previous blog posts, like the Exoduster letters kept by Governor John St. John, the “slacker” file kept by Governor Arthur Capper, or the record of death sentences kept by governors from 1872-1908. To browse the many additional documents from governors’ records already available on Kansas Memory, select the category Collections - State Archives - Governor's Records. A few examples follow.

An anonymous Kansas resident writes the wife of Governor John Anderson Jr. of Topeka concerning a proposed atheist colony near Stockton, Kansas. The author expresses her opposition to the colony and regards it as a plot of communist Russia. August 20, 1963. Governor's records, Anderson, Box 37, Folder 7.

Governor Andrew F. Schoeppel of Topeka announces that Axis prisoners of war held at the "Camp Phillips Internment Camp" are available as laborers for farm or construction work. May 18, 1943. Governor's records, Schoepple, Box 64, Folder 6.

Robert W. Brown of Hill City, Kansas, writes Governor John Carlin of Topeka concerning Carlin's veto of a bill reinstating capital punishment. Brown expresses his disappointment with the governor's veto. April 4, 1979. Governor's records, Carlin, Box "Constituent Serices."

John L. Minck of Palo Alto, California, writes the Kansas Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, concerning the Board's decision to remove the teaching of evolution from the state's science curriculum. August 24, 1999. Governor's records, Graves, Box 7 (Constituent Services: Issues), Folder "Evolution."

The Southwest Regional Director of President Herbert Hoover's Employment Commission, J. F. Lucey, writes Governor Clyde Reed of Topeka to request that railroad companies operating in Kansas return all transient Mexican laborers to Mexico and give preference to American laborers. November 18, 1930. Governor's records, Reed, Box 3, Folder 8.

In this letter, P. J. McBride, the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, responds to Emma Grimm's letter to Governor Arthur Capper. Grimm had expressed her displeasure with the enforcement of the child labor law in her hometown of Sabetha, which had forced her 10-year old son Theodore to leave his job as a grocery delivery boy. December 12, 1917. Governor's records, Capper, Box 10, Folder 3.

H. C. Ericsson, special investigator into illegal liquor sales, reports his findings directly to Governor Walter Stubbs of Topeka. This report regards Ericsson's visit to Pittsburg, Kansas. The report lists five "places" at which he was able to purchase liquor or beer. March 27, 1911. Governor's records, Stubbs, Box 10, Folder 3.

Mrs. G. Monroe, of Topeka, Kansas, writes Governor John Martin, also of Topeka, requesting he veto a bill that would give women equal suffrage in municipal elections. Monroe claims women do not want additional rights and suggests that women should not participate in political affairs. February 11, 1887. Governor's records, Martin, Box 30, Folder 2.

The colored citizens of Winfield, Kansas, send Governor Henry Allen of Topeka a resolution condemning the racial discrimination then occurring in Kansas and the United States. October 6, 1919. Governor's records, Allen, Box 2, Folder 9.

To browse the many additional documents from governors’ records already available on Kansas Memory, select the category Collections - State Archives - Governor's Records. See Governors for more information on our archives of Kansas governors' records.

The Kansas Memory two-day teacher workshop is sponsored by Security Benefit.

June 16 - 17 - Kansas Historical Society, Topeka

June 23 - 24 - ESSDACK, Hutchinson

- Learn how to use primary sources from Kansas Memory

- Create a lesson plan for your classroom

- Receive free curriculum materials

Grades 7 through 12 Kansas and U.S. history

No registration fee

Limited to 20 teachers per site

College credit through Baker University

One graduate credit hour - $50

To view a tentative workshop schedule

Some travel stipends available to participants more than 100 miles from workshop site.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops and ideas for a lesson topic

To see specific items from Kansas Memory selected for seventh and 11th grade Kansas history standards go to: kansasmemory.org, select "Teachers" from the main menu, and turn on the "teacher mode."

Lesson plans are due two weeks after the workshop. Selected lesson plans will be placed on the Historical Society's web site, kshs.org

How to apply

Write a 300-word essay describing where and what you teach, how you currently use primary sources in the classroom, and how you will benefit from this workshop. Deadline for submitting applications is May 17. You will be notified by email by May 21.

If you have questions or to submit your application essay, please contact Marcia Fox at mfox@kshs.org, 785-272-8681, ext. 416.

Support for this workshop is provided by Security Benefit.

If Jesus were publisher and editor of a daily, twentieth-century newspaper, what would that paper look like? In March of 1900 in Topeka, Kansas, congregational minister Charles Sheldon decided to find out. For one week he took over the publication of the Topeka Daily Capital and attempted to publish it as he thought Jesus would.  The result was six complete issues that followed a totally new editorial policy: 1) publish only news important to the righteous development of humanity, 2) be politically non-partisan, 3) advocate for the total extinction of liquor, 4) raise awareness of the selfishness of mankind, 5) express an abhorrence of war, 6) do not take sides on policy matters “which are not clear in my own mind,” 7) influence readers to seek the Kingdom of God, 8) name the writers of articles and editorials, 9) do not publish a Sunday paper.

Did he succeed? Decide for yourself. The complete Sheldon Edition of the Topeka Daily Capital is now available on Kansas Memory.

Additional historic Kansas newspapers are available online through Chronicling America. See the Kansas Digital Newspaper Program page for more information. 

Two new video selections are now available on Kansas Memory. Bob Beatty, Political Science Department, Washburn University, produced both videos as part of the Kansas Governors Recorded History and Documentary Project (Dr. Bob Beatty and Washburn University, 2005). The videos present raw footage of interviews conducted by Beatty with former Kansas governors.

The first presents an interview with Governor John Anderson discussing his experience as governor of Kansas from January 9, 1961 to January 11, 1965. The interview is the basis for Beatty's article "'For the Benefit of the People': A Conversation with Former Governor John Anderson, Jr.," Kansas History, v30 (Winter 2007/2008).

The second presents an interview with Governor William Avery discussing his experience as governor of Kansas from January 11, 1965 to January 9, 1967. The interview is the basis for Beatty's article "'You have to like people': A Conversation with Former Governor William H. Avery," Kansas History, v30 (Spring 2007/2008).

Additional videos will appear on Kansas Memory periodically as we upload new content. Use the category Type of Material--Film and Video to check back for new video uploads.

Wielding bricks, hammers, and hatchets, Carry Nation and her brigade of prohibitionist “smashers” attacked illegal saloons in an effort to build a movement against such "joints." In Kiowa, Wichita, and Topeka (Kansas), Nation and her followers smashed saloon mirrors, windows, bars, and bottles and forced state and local leaders to confront anti-liquor laws that had been ignored for decades. But the force of her words could be just as blunt. Like the blow of a hatchet, Nation’s unequivocal demands broke through gender stereotypes and smashed traditional notions of public decency. Her fight to enforce prohibition would ultimately foretell the importance of women’s suffrage in electoral politics. The Carry Nation papers are now available on Kansas Memory.

Nation’s demands were often aimed at politicians. Jailed in Wichita in 1900, Nation wrote Kansas Governor William Stanley demanding he “please come at once” and claiming that she was “restrianned [sic] unlawfully of my liberty.” From a Topeka jail in 1901, she similarly wrote the Kansas attorney general stating “Now you come to see me. We have plenty of evidence against the Moser brothers.” And on a visit to Governor Stanley’s office, Nation’s forcefulness led Stanley to retort "You are a woman. But a woman must know a woman's place. They can't come in here and raise this kind of disturbance."

But if Nation’s public words reflect her saloon “smashing,” her private words reveal a thoughtful inner life. The Carrie Nation papers on Kansas Memory include considerable private correspondence between Nation, her family, and her supporters. A partial diary also reveals her inner thoughts, concerns, and economic and family challenges that partially motivated her public campaign against the saloon.

See the category People - Notable Kansans - Nation, Carry Amelia,1846-1911 on Kansas Memory for additional sources. For more information on prohibition in Kansas, see the category Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Prohibition and temperance.

Kansas seems an unlikely place to discover a link between the refined parlor music of the 19^th century and the country and blues guitar styles of the rural South in the early 20^th. But in 2006, researchers and archivists here at the Kansas Historical Society uncovered the importance of a relatively unknown manuscript collection donated to the Historical Society in 1968 by the family of Kansas artist Henry Worrall.

When Henry and Mary Worrall moved to Topeka, Kansas, from Cincinati, Ohio, in 1867, Henry was already a noted artist. In Kansas, Worrall became a prolific and renowned illustrator and decorator. His artistic creations would capture some of the most iconic imagery of early life in Kansas and the American West. For more on this topic, see Robert Taft’s 1946 article on Worrall in the Kansas Historical Quarterly.

But Worrall was much more than a visual artist, he was also an accomplished musician who composed and arranged popular music for solo acoustic guitar. During the 1850s, Worrall shared the same publisher as Stephen Foster, the Cincinnati music publisher W. C. Peters and Sons, where Worrall published his most famous works “Sebastopol” and “Spanish Fandango.” These tunes became quite popular and were included as standard pieces in guitar instruction manuals from the 1850s through the 1920s.

While the rest of the country had mostly forgotten about the parlor music after the introduction of Ragtime (1890s) and Jazz (1920s), white and black musicians of the rural South continued to play the parlor pieces and adapt them to their own regional styles. Southern musicians borrowed tunings, picking styles, and chord changes from the parlor pieces for use in the development of nascent country and blues music. Among southern rural guitarists of the 1920s, the titles of Worrall’s most popular tunes became synonymous with favored open tunings, “Vastopol” (Sebastopol) for D Major and “Spanish” (Spanish Fandango) for G Major.

Henry Worrall’s quite unintentional influence on southern rural music of the early 20^th century is evident in the music of a variety of performers from Sam McGee’s “Drummer Boy” and Mississippi John Hurt’s “Spanish Fandango,” to Elizabeth Cotton’s “Sebastopol” and John Renbourn’s “Sebastopol Revisited.”

All of the materials in this collection derive from Henry Worrall's personal music collection. Some manuscripts bear a stamp that reads "H. Worrall, 807 Kansas Ave., Topeka, Kas." These materials passed to Henry's wife, Mary Elizabeth Harvey Worrall, at the time of his death in 1902. Mary subsequently presented this material to her children. A note on several of the items reads "Presented by mama the 9 of March 1903, 715 Polk St. Topeka." The children of Henry and Mary presented the material to their children in turn. Mrs. Anton W. Worrall, wife of Anton Worrall of Kansas City, MO, and grandson to Henry and Mary Worrall, donated the collection to the Kansas Historical Society on October 31, 1968. See the Henry Worrall collection for more information on these materials. Additional Worrall materials on Kansas Memory may be viewed by searching Henry Worrall.

The year 1861 was an eventful time for the state of Kansas and the nation. The April 18^th issue of the Kansas State Journal proclaimed the start of the Civil War, and at that time, Kansas had been a state for less than three months. The Kansas State Journal, like the majority of other publications in Lawrence during this period, was known for its Unionist affiliation. Josiah C. Trask and Hovey F. Lowman established this “family Republican newspaper” in February of 1861. In the editorial salutatory, they state that “while each of the Free-State journals in the Territory have contributed its full share towards securing our release from political and social thralldom, it cannot be denied that each, to some extent, has fanned the flame of factional strife.”

Learn more about this tumultuous period in Kansas history, and celebrate the 150^th anniversary of statehood by exploring the pages of other Civil War era newspapers such as, the Big Blue Union, the Independent, the Smoky Hill and Republican Union, and the White Cloud Kansas Chief, which are now fully-accessible on the Chronicling America website.

A number of World War I Kansas soldiers' letters and photographs have recently been added to Kansas Memory.  The letters were from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th Infantry Divisions) and from the Gold Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who had lost a child in the service of their country.

A number of letters were from soldiers who only made it as far as Camp Funston before they were stricken with the Spanish Influenza.  Many letters came from France, or as the boys wrote, "Somewhere in France" or "Over there."  Some soldiers mentioned their experience on the battlefield--many served in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  To view more items from this collection, click here.

In the annals of Kansas history no episode better proves the axiom “truth is stranger than fiction” than the bizarre story of Dr. John Brinkley. From goat glands to country music, Doctor Brinkley consistently challenged established notions of decency and prompted greater scrutiny of both medical practice and radio broadcasting. A growing number of Brinkley-related materials are available on Kansas Memory.

Brinkley's medical practice in Milford, Kansas (1917-1930s), championed the beneficial effects of goat glands when transplanted to humans.

While in Milford, he established radio station KFKB (i.e. Kansas First, Kansas Best) in 1923 to entertain his patients and promote his medical practice. Roy Faulkner (a.k.a. the Lonesome Cowboy) frequently appeared on Brinkley’s station.

Brinkley's several bids for governor of Kansas in the 1930s drew on the popularity of his medical practice and radio broadcasts.

Following the revocation of his medical and broadcasting licenses in Kansas, Brinkley relocated to Del Rio, Texas. There, among other things, he operated the cross-border radio station XERA in Villa Acuna, Mexico, powerful enough to dominate airwaves all across the Great Plains. Brinkley’s promotion of early country music acts, such as the Carter Family, introduced a national audience to music originally intended only for southern whites.

The international nuisance created by Brinkley's border radio station prompted the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (or Treaty of Havana) of December 13, 1937, a use agreement on international airwaves involving Canada, Cuba, the United States, Haiti, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

Here at the State Archives & Library, we hold John Brinkley's personal papers donated to the Kansas Historical Society by his widow, Mrs. Minnie Brinkley of Del Rio, Texas, in 1977. We also hold the research collection of Gerald Carson, author of The Roguish World of Dr. Brinkley. Additional Brinkley materials are also available on Kansas Memory.

Posted by museum curator Laurel Fritzsch

NBC and PBS have taken a risk that people are interested in family history.  NBC’s new show “Who Do You Think You Are?” traces the family histories of TV and film celebrities.  The show is similar to PBS’s “Faces of America” which also traces the family histories of famous Americans.  The major difference between these shows is that NBC and PBS attract different audiences.  PBS’s audience base tends to be predisposed to enjoy history programs, whereas NBC’s audience base is not. By taking advantage of people’s interest in celebrity news and gossip, NBC hopes that viewers with a desire for more details of celebrities’ lives will be attracted to the show. 

This is great! Airing a show about family history on NBC exposes a wider variety of people to how interesting history can be.  Those viewers could become interested in pursing their own family history and maybe even watch other history based reality shows. 

On the other hand, these shows often don’t depict the leg work involved in digging up family history.  There is no one magic document with all the information in it, and everything you want to know isn’t contained within ancestry.com.  But isn’t putting together a story from all the scraps of evidence you find what makes researching family history interesting?  Following each lead; from census to marriage record to military record, etc. allows you to experience the thrill of the chase, and occasionally the frustrations.

TV shows about family history may veil the hard work involved but I think the benefits outweigh any concerns.  I don’t know if NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” is successful, but I hope that more networks will follow their lead and take the chance that the majority of people in the U.S. are interested in well presented history. If they do, we’ll start to see more history based reality shows on network TV.  

While the Kansas Historical Society’s online archive Kansas Memory does not host genealogical sources for the most part (like census and vital records), it does include great sources for fleshing out your family history. County plat maps show the names of landholders, town plats, and patron directories. Business and residential directories include information on local residents, businesses, clubs, and organizations.  Photographs offer visual documentation of many Kansas towns and rural communities. Also, see the KSHS (Kansas Historical Society) genealogy page for more information on tracing your Kansas ancestors.

What do you think?  Will the “People Magazine” crowd watch these types of shows?  Could history based reality TV shows on networks lead to an increased national interest in history and heritage? Leave a comment here or on our facebook page. 

Summer means festivals of music, food, and culture.  And there is no older blend of those than Kansas Fairs.  I love the sights, sounds, experiences, and smells of the fair.  The images on Fair posters are works of art designed to appeal to people like me.  Here's a brief sensory tour of some of our Fair posters.  After this taster, you can thumb through all our Fair posters on Kansas Memory and learn about the history of Kansas Fairs from our Cool Things article. 

THE SOUNDS

The imagery of these posters evoke the sounds that I love to hear at the Fair.  I love the way that different types of music overlap as you wander from state to stage and the constant hum of people and activity that create a sense of energy and community.  Also, I often get distracted in the exhibit halls by the noises of gadgets and equipment or livestock.

The top image of this poster depicts many sounds of the Fair. You can imagine the conversation of the crowd,the noise of the machine at left, the music of the carousel in the back, the grunts of pigs and whiney of horses at the lower right, and the occasional roar of the crowd from the race track in the background.

The multiple images in this poster provide a wealth of sounds.  You can hear the whiney of horses in the central image, and at the left music from a marching band drifts over the fair grounds.  The animals at the right moo, baa, and oink.  At the top you can imagine all of the sounds of the horse races: the panting of horses, rattle of sulkies, thunder of horse hooves, and shouts of encouragement from thier riders.   

THE EXPERIENCES

The Fair is your opportunity to pet animals, play with gadgets, go on carnival rides, and participate in contests.  These Fair posters illustrate these participatory aspects of the Fair.  

Feeling competitive? This poster emphasizes some of the contests and races you can participate in or watch.  But if competition's not your thing, this poster informs you that you can also examine new equipment (at left), ride the carousel (at right), and see animals.

This dynamic poster crams in a lot of Fair experiences.  The backdrop features several welcoming exhibition halls.  The backdrop also depicts the refreshment tent.  Two men in discussion at the left are a reminder that the Fair is a place where business transactions take place.  At the right is a small boy awestruck by a large pig.  The jockey and his horse at the center allude to the ongoing horse races at the Fair.

THE SMELLS

Ahh... the smell of popcorn, funnel cakes, and roasted meats layered in shimmering waves  of summer heat.  Even when the sun goes down the air remains heavy with the mingled scents of different foods.  Now that's a Fair!  There's also the entwined scents of perfumes, sun tan lotions, and bug sprays.  Plus, the smell of livestock is just as prevalent today as it was during the first years of the Fair. But it's only been since the early 1900's that you are welcomed at the end of the day by the smell of car exhaust as you sit patiently (or maybe not so patiently) to leave the car park. 

The smell of the Fair comes alive in the images from this poster.  You can smell the grass of the pasture, the odors of livestock, gusts of dust and sweat from the races, and the belching smoke from equipment. The mouthwatering fragrance of piles of freshly ripened fruit and vegetables and the aroma of food and beverages from a picnic appetize.

This poster tantalizes your taste buds with a pile of fresh fruits and vegetables from the Fair. By including freshly cut melons, the artist conjures the smell of melon musk. The glossiness of the grapes makes them appear freshly washed and juicy. Presenting the produce heaped together represents abundance and plenty.  

THE SIGHTS

"Step right up! You won't believe your eyes."  I love all of the exciting things you can see at the Fair.  There are elaborate displays and an assortment of contests and competitions.  These posters try to inform and excite us about the things we can see at the Fair.

The literal centerpiece of this poster is the elaborate multi tiered Wheat and Produce Windmill sculpture.  By depicting people examining new mechanical and agricultural equipment,and animals the image informs you that you can do the same.  A sulkie race can be observed in the background and the image also shows that you can purchase things such as dairy products and soda.  In addition, you can see and hear music from the concert band in the balcony and by ascending the stairway in the back to the balcony you can get a bird's eye view of the exhibits and see people as well as be seen by others.  

The message imbedded in this poster is that the Fair is a grand visual feast.  The imagery evokes Ancient Rome by positioning the by like a charioteer as he enters the fair's triumphal archway.  This imagery is further supported by the flags of the race track in the background suggesting a Roman Coliseum.  Tall structures like the smokestack and windmill as well as the elaborate knotting of the horses' tails create the impression that the Fair is a grand triumphal tribute.

This informative poster attempts to encapsulate the sights of the Fair.  New agricultural equipment surrounds the race track while female horse riders, sulkies, and bicycles compete in races.  Within the track are livestock, carriages, and a ball game.  Above the Fair floats a hot air balloon complete with flags. 

Recognized as one of the top 25 Notable Kansans, Cyrus K. Holliday and his claim to fame may be less well known to most Kansans than his counterparts also honored on the list. Cyrus Kurtz Holliday (1826-1900) was one of the founders of city of Topeka and the first president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The success of Holliday's railroad ventures is evident in the newspapers published during that period. The Iola Register called Holliday "a conspicuous figure in Kansas business and politics for nearly forty years."

Newspapers regularly featured advertisements for trips on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe Route, which ran along the Santa Fe Trail, was advertised as the "coolest route to Los Angeles, and many hours shorter than any other." Possible stops on the route included Denver, the Grand Canyon, and San Francisco.

Timetables were often printed daily in the Wichita Eagle and included other railroads, such as the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, and provide great insight for researchers studying the development and efficiency of train travel across the United States. You can search Chronicling America for newspapers from states in which the railway passed through, including Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, and explore the far-reaching influence of Cyrus K. Holliday.

Posted by museum curator Laurel Fritzsch:

In 1870 the majority of immigrants to Kansas came from the British Isles, and particularly Ireland.  In 1871 Thomas Butler, an Irish priest in Leavenworth, wrote this pamphlet encouraging Irish people to move to Kansas.  Read the entire pamphlet on Kansas Memory.

The Irish have always immigrated to the U.S. to escape extreme poverty and a lack of opportunity. Irish immigration exponentially increased, however, as a result of the Great Potato Famine between 1845 and 1849.  The impact of the famine on Kansas’ Irish population is documented by Father Butler in his discussion of the history of Catholicism in Kansas.  He says that Catholic churches in the state increased from three in 1854 to forty-five in 1871.

 In his pamphlet Butler appeals largely to the practical reasons to move to Kansas.  Butler writes a favorable description of Kansas and emphasizes its economic, health, and cultural opportunities.  He details how immigrants can acquire land and describes life on the prairie.  He also describes the health benefits of Kansas’ climate, and comforts prospective immigrants with descriptions of well-established Irish communities in Kansas- particularly those in Leavenworth. Although Father Butler’s pamphlet focuses on the Irish in Kansas, it also provides a snapshot of the state in 1871.

Between 1873 and 1896 an economic depression in Britain and Ireland would have given Butler’s pamphlet particular relevance for Irish immigrants.   Ironically, the depression resulted in part from cheaper and better grain being imported from the U.S. that was likely grown by Irish Americans. 

If you’re looking for an easy and enjoyable way to learn more about Irish history from this time period check out my top three books about Irish history below.

- “Trinity” by Leon Uris tells the story of Ireland from the potato famine of the 1840s to the Easter Rising of 1916 through the lives of three fictional families: native Irish, Unionist, and English. 

- If you want to follow the history of Ireland beyond 1916 you can try the Irish Century Series by Morgan Llewelyn.  The series covers the history of Ireland from 1916 to the end of the 20^thcentury though the fictional friends and family of Ned Halloran. 

- “Brendan’s Voyage” by Tim Severin tells the real life story of Irishman Tim Severin’s attempt to verify rumors that a medieval Irish monk (Brendan) sailed across the Atlantic a thousand years before Columbus by building and sailing a boat identical to Brendan’s.  It’s part history part adventure travelogue. 

If you have any book suggestions on Irish History we’d love to hear them.  So leave a comment here or on our facebook page. 

Former Kansas Governor Mike Hayden discusses his childhood, military service, and Kansas politics in two interviews conducted by Bob Beatty and Mark Peterson of the Political Science Department, Washburn University, Topeka.

The video interview took place at Cedar Crest in Topeka on November 24, 2003.

The audio interview was conducted in Topeka on September 29, 2008.

For more interviews with former Kansas governors, select the categories Collections - Audio-visual and Government and Politics - State Government.

Between 1896 and 1900, the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association (KESA) published four poems and one article by writer and women’s rights advocate Charlotte Perkins Stetson (later Gilman) in their official paper, the Kansas Suffrage Reveille. While Gilman has achieved an exalted position in the cannon of American literature, many of her poems and articles survive today only because libraries and archives preserved copies of obscure little papers like the Reveille. The Kansas Suffrage Reveille is now available on Kansas Memory.

Born in New England in 1860 and descended from the influential Beecher family, Charlotte Perkins married Charles Stetson in 1884. In 1888, after a nervous breakdown, Charlotte took her daughter and moved to California. She published “The Yellow Wall-Paper” in 1892 and a book of poems a year later. In 1900, she married Houghton Gilman.

Gilman’s visit to Kansas in 1896 coincided with the publication of KESAs new monthly paper, which promoted Gilman regularly. Gilman spent most of June in Kansas speaking in Kansas City, Topeka, Holton, Madison, Eureka, Howard, Winfield, Concordia, and Yates Center. From Kansas she traveled to Montreal where she sailed for Liverpool.

In the January 1897 issue of the Reveille, editor Katie Addison noted “Every suffrage club in the state should have Charlotte Perkins Stetson’s book of poems. They are constantly kept at headquarters. 50 cents per copy.” Indeed, the new organ for the KESA regularly featured reports on Gilman (as Charlotte Perkins Stetson) and promoted

her publications which could be purchased from the KESA headquarters.

In 1897, the Kansas Agricultural College in Manhattan (now Kansas State University), offered Gilman a position as a teacher in economics. In her autobiography, Gilman recounts how flattered she was to receive the offer since she had never been to college herself. But she declined the position due to poor health.

A list of Gilman’s writings published in the Kansas Suffrage Reveille under the name Charlotte Perkins Stetson follows:

A woman – in so far as she beholdeth , Vol. I, No. 6, August 1896

Woman Suffrage and the West , Vol. II, No. 4, June 1897

A Prejudice , Vol. III, No. 10, October 1898

Feminine vanity! O ye gods! , Vol. IV, No. 8, August 1899

O, sister woman! You were created man’s equal , Vol. IV, No. 10, September 1899

At the end of the nineteenth century, photographer Henry L. Wolf created a photo portrait of Southwest Kansas that documents the farming culture in and around Garden City in Finney County. From rural fairs to the native prairie, Wolf’s photographs capture the life of this farming community against a stark landscape that Wolf himself described as “raw.”  Select Collections - Photograph - Wolf, Henry L. to see the Wolf photo collection on Kansas Memory. 

The son of an itinerant Baptist minister, Henry L. Wolf grew up and learned the photographer’s trade in Illinois. He moved to Eastern Kansas with his wife and two children in 1883 and for a time operated a traveling studio from town to town. In 1888, he moved his family to the sand hills south of Garden City where they farmed. Wolf opened a photo studio in Garden City that he operated with his son Max for thirteen years. He closed the studio in the early 1900s and the family moved to Manhattan, Kansas.

Kansas Historical Society staff scanned these images from a collection of 207 glass plate negatives donated to the Society in 1971 by Mrs. Max Wolf, the wife of Henry's son.  Cracks noticeable in the images show where the emulsion is separating from the negative's glass base. 

For additional Henry L. Wolf photographs select the category Collections - Photograph - Wolf, Henry L.

A recently acquired collection of letters written by John Brown, Jr. to his wife Wealthy Brown is now available on Kansas Memory. The thirty-three letters dating from 1861-1863 document his service as a Captain of Company K, 1st Kansas Cavalry (later the 7th Kansas Cavalry) during the early years of the civil war.  Complete transcriptions of the letters are also available.

The letters are very descriptive of camp life. Among other things, Brown also discusses the problems of determining local residents' loyalty in the war on the Kansas Missouri border; he writes that he sent ten black soldiers to save a slave mother and children whose owner was planning to take them further south; and he describes the execution of a soldier named Driscol from Company H who stabbed another soldier, was court martialed, and shot.

Several of the letters include encrypted messages written in a numerical code or cipher.  In his March 11, 1862, letter Brown prefaced the code by saying “I want to write you a few words in figures.” So far we have not discovered a key to the code.   

For more information see the John Brown, Jr. collection. Additional materials on John Brown, Jr. are available on Kansas Memory by selecting the category People—Notable Kansans—Borwn, John, Jr.

A number of World War I Kansas soldiers' letters and photographs have recently been added to Kansas Memory.  The letters are from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th Infantry Divisions) and from the Gold Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who had lost a child in the service of their country.

Several letters are from soldiers who only made it as far as Camp Funston before they were stricken with the Spanish Influenza.  Many letters came from France, or as the boys wrote, "Somewhere in France" or "Over there."  Some soldiers mentioned their experience on the battlefield--many served in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  To view more items from this collection, click here.

No, not "the Science Guy." Born Edgar Wilson Nye in 1850, he used the pseudonym "Bill Nye" long before the Bill Nye we know today (YouTube). Edgar Wilson Nye was a well-known American journalist and humorist. His syndicated columns, sometimes an entire page in length, were written to entertain readers, and often included illustrations. Nye also established the Laramie Boomerang (Wyoming) in 1881. He was a fixture in newspapers across the country until his death in 1896. Click on the images below to read more in the Wichita Eagle:

In 1879 and 1880, freedmen (former slaves) from the South sent Kansas Governor John St. John around 1,000 letters seeking information on a possible migration to Kansas; a migration generally known as the Exoduster movement. Governor St. John responded to many of those letters. This epistolary exchange between Kansas’ highest official and the freed people of the South documents the hardships, hopes, and misconceptions of southern blacks at the end of Reconstruction. On a more mundane level, it provides insight into the letter writing customs at that time.

Most of the letters are seeking to corroborate rumors of free land in Kansas and incentives thought to encourage African American settlement in the state. Community and religious leaders penned many of the letters on behalf of larger groups of people, such as small communities or churches.

Though the envelopes of the letters have not survived, many were likely addressed to “John St. John” instead of the “Governor of Kansas.” Isaiah Montgomery explains: “note that I address you without prefixing title in order that the letter may not attract undue attention. Nothing is too hard to suspicion of this Country where it has been the custom for a century or more to ransack the mails to prevent the circulation of documents breathing the spirit of freedom.”

Upon receiving a letter, the Governor’s Office summarized its contents on a memo, noting the author’s name and date, and pasted the memo to the back of the letter. Staff filed the letters first by subject (i.e. “immigration – Negro exodus”) and then in chronological order. St. John or his secretary would then pen a response and “press” a copy of the reply into a letter press book. Pressing involved wetting copy paper (often referred to as “onion skin”) with water, interleaving letters between these wet leaves, and applying pressure to the whole until ink from the letters transferred to the copy paper. Too much or too little water could result in a poor copy.

Since many correspondents wrote the governor back after receiving his letters, it is obvious that many of the governor’s letters reached their intended audience. But did the governor intentionally conceal his title/office on the envelope as some of the letters request? Again Isaiah Montgomery: “Please address an answer (as early as convenient) with no mark on the Envelope to denote that it comes from the Capital or any official.”

Here at the State Archives & Library, we hold both the original letters sent to Governor St. John and copies of his responses “pressed” into letter press books. Some of the letters and responses are already available on Kansas Memory. We intend to add more of this correspondence to the site in the near future. See Governors for more information on our archives of Kansas governor's records.