One of the great things about a digital repository like Kansas Memory is that it gives us the opportunity to feature materials that might not be noticed otherwise. A letter written by a poor farmer around 1900 just does not command the kind of interest and attention that letters by John Brown or Carry Nation do. Materials that reflect the lives of regular, everyday folk can be easily overlooked or under appreciated. Here are a few letters of regular people from different walks of life. They come from various collections but all of them reveal people coping with some type of hardship or difficulty.
This 1938 letter from tenant farmer Edna Heim describes the total loss of 125 acres of crops after a hailstorm. The farm was located in Smith County, Kansas, near Kensington. Mrs. Heim is writing farm owner Clarice Snoddy of Topeka. The letter comes from the Manuscripts Collection, Clarice Snoddy Papers, which includes many letters from the Heims describing daily farm operations and the environmental and economic hardships they faced.
This 1916 petition by Mexican railroad workers in Hutchinson, Kansas, appeals to the Mexican Consul for protection from threats of violence by local Americans. The threats followed the killing of sixteen Americans by Pancho Villa at Santa Isabel, Mexico. This letter is part of the State Archives, Records of Governor Arthur Capper, General Correspondence.
In this 1880 letter, from freedman Richard West in Barton Station, Alabama, West pleads with Kansas Governor John St. John to help him and others migrate to Kansas. West describes the hardships he faces as a black farmer and his, and others’, desire to leave the South. This letter is one of many letters Governor St. John received from potential Exodusters and is included in the State Archives, Records of Governor John St. John, Correspondence Received, Immigration – Negro Exodus.
In this 1914 letter, Legless Andrews, a self described “legless airnaut” from Kansas City, Missouri, writes the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic at Topeka, Kansas, offering to perform balloon accessions and parachute leaps for an upcoming celebration. This letter comes from the Manuscripts Collection, Kansas Grand Army of the Republic, Administrative Records, Correspondence.
Mrs. Isabella Barnes of Liberal, Kansas, writes this 1906 letter to Governor Edward Hoch concerning her wish to wear men's clothing. Mrs. Barnes describes being abandoned by her husband and the hardships she has faced since that time. She says she would like to wear men's clothing to help her obtain suitable employment and avoid unwanted insults from men. This letter comes from the State Archives, Records of Governor Edward Hoch, Correspondence Received.
For access to more letters on Kansas Memory, select the Objects and Artifacts - Communication artifacts - Documentary artifact - Letter category, then click additional categories to further refine those results. See Guides and Finding Aids for more information on our various document collections, including Governor's Records.