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Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter to his father on September 19, 1855, four days after the Bogus Legislature’s Gag Law has gone into effect. He says he attended a meeting where he and others illegally spoke out against the Gag Law. He adds that Governor Shannon showed up “but refused to speak . . . he is a Dough face, Dough head + a Fool Knave Rascal and all.”
Date: September 19, 1855

Title: Map of Douglas County, Kansas
Description: This map of Douglas County, Kansas Territory was drawn by I. Cooper Stuck in July of 1857. The map is marked with the locations of individual people's land claims.
Object Type: Map
Date: July 1857

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas, writes a letter to his parents in Massachusetts on August 9, 1857, announcing that Kansas has voted to ratify the Topeka Constitution. He adds that Free State supporters appear to comprise a majority in Kansas. Fitch complains about a recent Herald of Freedom article on the apportionment of the Kansas Legislature, and claims that it is “the most damning piece of villany ever perpetrated by any men or set of men.”
Date: August 9, 1857

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Mother
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter to his mother in August or September of 1854, just before leaving his home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts to move to Kansas. He says that he met a man who, upon finding out that Fitch was emigrating to Kansas, told him that he “ought to have a straight Jacket On.” He also discusses his finances and purchasing supplies for his trip.

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Mother
Description: Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter to his mother in Massachusetts on June 15, 1856. He voices disappointment with James Buchanan and predicts that if John C. Fremont is not elected president, Kansas will be admitted to the Union as a slave state. Yet he expresses optimism that “the death knell of slavery has been tolled.” He reports that Colonel Sumner has been gathering troops in Palmyra, Kansas, and he predicts that violence will ensue. He adds that in Lawrence, a number of Free State men have been robbed, and that “Men are being found dead more or less every little while.”
Date: June 15, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Brother
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter to his brother from Lawrence, Kansas, on November 8, 1857. He says he is happy about the results of the recent election in Kansas Territory, despite the Pro-Slavery ticket having won in Leavenworth “by stupendous frauds.” He mentions attending a meeting in Lecompton to support Governor Robert Walker’s attempt to throw out fraudulent votes from Johnson and McGee counties.
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 8, 1857

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter to his parents in Massachusetts on September 30, 1855. He tells them that the pro-slavery faction will vote the next day to elect a Congressional delegate; however, the Free State Party intends to boycott the election. The Free State Party will instead vote on "Tuesday the 9th" and elect another candidate, at which point "Congress must decide which is entitled to a seat." According to rumors, Fitch says, proslavery Missourians plan to attack Lawrence and “kill all the Yankees.”
Date: September 30, 1855

Title: From Sarah A. Fitch to My Dear Mother
Description: Sarah A. Fitch writes a letter to her mother on April 24, 1861 from Lawrence, Kansas. She discusses her son's health and reports that her husband Edward has postponed his trip to St. Louis after hearing news of the war’s commencement, and says, “I feel as tho I could fight when I read of the outrageous conduct of the South.” She mentions the possibility of Missouri seceding and predicts that Missourians will face trouble if they do not “let Kansas alone.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: April 24, 1861

Title: Edward Fitch
Description: This black and white portrait depicts Edward Payson Fitch. He was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts in 1857 and was one of the early settlers in Kansas Territory. On August 21, 1863, he was killed in Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. An intruder shot him in the heart, then burned down his house with his body still inside. His wife and three children escaped.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Edward Fitch to Those...Who So Generously Responded to the Appeal for Help
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to the people in his hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts on December 17, 1856. He thanks them for responding to his recent request for help by donating clothing to poor Kansas emigrants. He describes the people who have received their donations and the suffering they have endured. Many of them, Fitch says, have been robbed, attacked, or had their houses burned down by Border Ruffians.
Date: December 17, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description: In a May 26, 1856 letter to his father in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch describes the Sack of Lawrence that had occurred six days earlier on May 21, 1856. He mentions that Governor Shannon has called for protection “for fear we should rise up and exterminate him and the Pro-Slavery party.” He expresses his own fear that the Free State Party will be defeated and that Kansas will become a slave state. He also fears for his personal safety, saying he "shall not dare to stay at my cabin without a rifle or gun at my bedside." He adds that he hopes John C. Fremont will win the upcoming presidential election.
Date: May 26, 1856

Title: From Edward and Sarah Fitch to Dear Mother
Description: Edward Fitch, along with his wife Sarah, writes a letter to his mother in Massachusetts on December 8, 1861. They describe their family’s Thanksgiving celebration in Lawrence, Kansas, where they served a baked turkey and twenty-five pies. Edward goes on to criticize James Henry Lane and accuses him of stealing money. He also expresses disappointment about the removal of John Fremont from military command: “He has been grossly abused by men in high places because they thought he was getting to be more popular than they themselves were.”
Date: December 8, 1861

Title: From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Description: In a July 23, 1856 letter to the editor of the Hopkinton (MA) Patriot, Edward Fitch writes that “two or three” men were killed for attending a meeting of the Free State Legislature in Topeka. He says that U.S. Troops have been disarming members of the Free State party and that Border Ruffians have driven out and captured a number of Free State men. He ends the letter by stating that the people of Kansas will not allow themselves to be taxed by the Bogus Legislature.
Date: July 23, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: On September 8, 1855, Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts, reporting that Governor Andrew Reeder was nominated for Congress at the recent convention in Big Springs, Kansas. He also informs his parents of his efforts to protect a free black man against a group of pro-slavery men who wanted to capture and enslave him. If they hadn’t eventually backed down, Fitch says, “we should have pitched in to them with our rifles.”
Date: September 8, 1855

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: In an April 28, 1861 letter to his parents in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas declares, “did you think that you would ever live to see it—a Civil War, the most horrible of all wars.” He informs them that he has joined an artillery company. He adds that the military “is organising in large numbers” in Lawrence, but he expresses his fear that if Missouri secedes from the Union, Kansas will not have enough arms or ammunition for defense. He also expresses concern that the Cherokee and Choctaw tribes will fight for the South.
Date: April 28, 1861

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865

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