Error message
Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in IslandoraSolrDisplayManagerResults->currentQueryDisplays() (line 222 of /var/www/drupal7/sites/all/modules/islandora_solr_display_manager/includes/islandora_solr_display_manager.inc).
Pages
-
-
Title
-
From Elizabeth Peery to George F. Peery
-
Description
-
On January 1, 1856, Elizabeth Peery writes a letter from Edinburgh, Missouri to George F. Peery. Elizabeth describes local festivities for the Christmas holiday, including a large party held by slaves. She reports that friends and family in the area are well, and recounts some of their recent activities. Elizabeth writes that she has a new baby boy, as yet unnamed; she asks George to suggest a name.
-
Date
-
January 1, 1856
-
-
Title
-
From Sarah Fitch to My Dear Father and Mother
-
Description
-
In an emotional letter dated September 2, 1863, Sarah Fitch informs her husband Edward’s parents that he was killed during Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. She estimates that 250-300 of Quantrill's men arrived in Lawrence on horseback and fired at everyone in sight, leaving bodies “scattered all over town.” She writes that they approached her home, “screaming and yelling like so many demons from the infernal pit,” then shot Edward in the heart and burned down their house. She suspects they targeted her family because her children had been playing "soldier" and had left a Union flag hanging on their woodshed.
-
Date
-
September 2, 1863
-
-
Title
-
Public Meeting!!
-
Description
-
This broadside announces a public meeting featuring a speech by Rev. Fred Starr, Jr., who was driven out of Kansas for his anti-slavery stance. Starr will address the audience about “the recent Outrages against the free Citizens of Kansas, by which the Right of Suffrage has been Invaded! The Pulpit Overthrown! The Missionaries Dispersed! The Press Destroyed! And the Liberty of Speech denied to Freemen.” The announcement was printed June 4, 1855 at the office of the Batavia Democrat, presumably in Batavia, New York.
-
Object Type
-
Broadside
-
Date
-
June 4, 1855
-
-
Title
-
From S.H. Woodson to George R. Smith
-
Description
-
On July 1, 1856, S.H. Woodson writes from Independence, Missouri to Gen. George R. Smith. Woodson denies the charge that he called Smith "as great an Abolitionist as there was in Massachusetts or in New York," declaring "There is not one word of truth in it."
-
Date
-
July 1, 1856
-
-
Title
-
Resolutions of the Kansas Territorial Legislative Assembly
-
Description
-
These documents comprise 14 separate resolutions of the Kansas Territorial Legislative Assembly, dated between 1858 and 1861. The resolutions address a variety of topics, including support for admitting Kansas into the Union as a state; revision of county and township laws; protection of American Indian land rights; and maintaining peace with Missouri by denouncing any attempt by Kansans to interfere with slavery.
-
Object Type
-
Government Document
-
Date
-
1858-1861
-
-
Title
-
From Sue Brawner to All at Home
-
Description
-
This letter of July 24, 1859 is from Sue Brawner in Linneus, Missouri to “all at home.” She describes a recent trip from Lexington, Missouri to Linneus via the city of Brunswick. Along the way she and her traveling companions visited relatives. Sue writes of staying with Tom, a relative in Linneus who owns several slaves: “They have a black girl as large as I am.”
-
Object Type
-
Letter
-
Date
-
July 24, 1859
-
-
Title
-
1860 Missouri Census Table
-
Description
-
This ca. 1860 printed document presents the results of the 1860 Missouri census, showing the population of whites, “free colored” and slaves in each county. The table lists the total state population as 1,182,012, with 1,063,599 whites, 3,572 Free Colored, and 114,931 slaves. Lafayette County has the largest slave population with 6,374 slaves. The table also reveals a small American Indian population in Gasconade and Jackson Counties.
-
Object Type
-
Government Document
-
-
Title
-
From Frederick Starr to Dear Father and All
-
Description
-
On October 30, 1854, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to “Dear Father and all.” Starr describes the hostile atmosphere in Weston: “for 2 years I have lived in this community, and because I was born in the north, have been belied, opposed & persecuted…I have been stigmatized as an abolitionist, & everything done to drive me from the country that could be done.” Starr also writes about attending a meeting of the Self Defensive Association of Platte County, Missouri, to give his opinions on slavery and answer charges of abolitionism.
-
Date
-
October 30, 1854
-
-
Title
-
From R.C. Ewing to George R. Smith
-
Description
-
On June 18, 1856, R.C. Ewing writes from Lexington, Missouri to Gen. George R. Smith. Ewing warns Smith that his opinions regarding Kansas "are doing you…damage in Saline, Lafayette, and Jackson" counties in Missouri because "those who control matters here, say they are afraid of the effect of compromising anything on the Slavery question." Ewing predicts that these three counties will oppose Smith's nomination.
-
Date
-
June 18, 1856
-
-
Title
-
From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
-
Description
-
On February 26, 1855, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to his father. Starr states that after the Self Defensive Association ordered all free blacks to leave the city within 30 days, the local citizens armed themselves to prevent the order being carried out. Ten days later, the citizens forced “a mulatto barber, who was in the habit of gambling & drinking with white men,” to leave the city; “To this no one made any objection for he was generally considered a bad citizen.” Starr adds that the community has turned against Gen. Stringfellow, who was accused of calling all servants “whores.”
-
Date
-
February 26, 1855
-
-
Title
-
Advertisement for Slave Auction
-
Description
-
In this press release for an advertisement, Theodore Duncan announces that there will be a public auction on April 25th, 1859 in Liberty, Clay County, Missouri for the sale of ten slaves, that were previously owned by the estate of William Duncan. Each slave's name, sex, and age are listed and range from two to 53 years of age.
-
Object Type
-
Circular
-
Date
-
March 23, 1859
-
-
Title
-
From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
-
Description
-
On January 15, 1855, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to his father. Starr describes attending a meeting of the Platte County, Missouri Self Defensive Association, where he spoke about how a northern man could not be expected to change his opinion of slavery just because he moved to the south. Starr also told the Association’s members that slavery in Missouri, and especially in Platte County, was not representative of the institution as a whole, because “it is here of a milder type than any where else in the nation.”
-
Date
-
January 15, 1855
-
-
Title
-
Slave State Population Statistics
-
Description
-
This 1852 document lists population statistics for the slave states, including the number of whites, free blacks, slaves, farms, and proportion of slaves to farms. The document shows that Missouri’s population was comprised of 592,077 whites, 2,544 free blacks, and 87,422 slaves. The document also contains statistics on the number of free and slave families in Missouri, indicating that 26,096 families owned slaves.
-
Object Type
-
Document
-
Date
-
1852
-
-
Title
-
Sale of Slave
-
Description
-
This document declares the sale of four slaves—Ritter, Bird, Fanny, and John—to Stephen Bedford for $182.50. It was signed and dated by Marion M. Biggerstaff of Clinton County, Missouri on July 5, 1857.
-
Object Type
-
Legal Document
-
Date
-
July 5, 1857
-
-
Title
-
Dred Scott v. Sandford
-
Description
-
This is the full text of the decision in the U.S. Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford. Scott, a slave, sued his master for freedom after being taken to live in states where the Missouri Compromise had rendered slavery illegal. On March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney handed down a 7-2 ruling that Scott did not have the right to file a federal lawsuit because African Americans “were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.”
-
Object Type
-
Legal Document
-
Date
-
March 6, 1857
-
-
Title
-
From George M. Beebe to Jefferson Davis
-
Description
-
George M. Beebe writes a letter from Doniphan County, Kansas to Jefferson Davis on June 9, 1860. Beebe reacts to the news that Davis and A.G. Brown have "indefinitely postponed" his confirmation as Secretary of Kansas Territory. He defends his status as a Democrat, insisting that accusations of his alliance with the Free State Party are false. He claims that he has fought in favor of slavery and remains committed to the cause.
-
Date
-
June 9, 1860
-
-
Title
-
From Frederick Starr to Dear Father & All the Others
-
Description
-
On November 29, 1854, Frederick Starr writes to "Dear Father & all the others.” Starr describes attending a meeting of the Platte County, Missouri Self Defensive Association “in order to clear my character.” Starr recounts that Mr. Vineyard accused him of interfering with local slave owners and teaching at a school for slaves. In his defense, Starr explains how this small school came to be established, naming each of his students and the masters who permitted them to attend. Starr notes that the school was discontinued after “there was some disturbance attempted through the papers.”
-
Date
-
November 29, 1854
-
-
Title
-
From George H. Hall to Dear Lydia
-
Description
-
This letter is from George H. Hall to his sister Lydia. Hall writes from St. Joseph, Missouri on November 17, 1859, and refers to John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. He calls Brown a coward, and argues that "his only acts in Kansas Territory . . . were the assassination of unarmed families and his great skill in running off negroes."
-
Object Type
-
Letter
-
Date
-
November 17, 1859
-
-
Title
-
Another Abolition Outrage
-
Description
-
The St. Louis Daily Bulletin printed this article on December 11, 1860, announcing that a party of abolitionists tried to steal forty slaves from Morgan Walker in Independence, Missouri. J.H. McMurray, author of the article, writes: "Walker told them to take the negroes, and commenced shooting. One of the gang fell dead on the steps; one was taken prisoner, and the messenger thought two others were killed."
-
Object Type
-
Newspaper Article
-
Date
-
December 11, 1860
-
-
Title
-
From John Stillman Brown to William Brown
-
Description
-
On February 14, 1858, John Stillman Brown writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his son William. Brown criticizes the Lecompton Constitution and declares that "Our politics, like the weather, are some what squally." He predicts an influx of immigrants to Kansas, and states his belief that "Kansas is sure to be Free. In two years there will not be a slave in Kansas."
-
Date
-
February 14, 1858
Pages