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Title: From Frederick Starr to My Dear Father
Description: On February 22, 1855, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to his father. Starr recounts a recent speech he gave regarding slavery: “I consider slavery a moral and political evil…and the only wedge of contention which threatens to disturb & divide the Union. I am a Colonizationist.” He derides anyone falsely accusing him of being an abolitionist, stating that their lies “steal not only my property, but my comfort, my friendships, my domestic quietude, my influence, respect, and good name.” Starr adds that after he gave his speech, Gen. Stringfellow incited the crowd by encouraging an armed invasion into Kansas.
Date: February 22, 1855

Title: From Sara Robinson to My Dear Sister
Description: This letter is from Sara Robinson, the wife of Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson, to her sister. Robinson, writing from Lawrence, Kansas on January 5, 1858, tells her sister that an election was held yesterday for the Lecompton Constitution. She states that Charles opposed the constitution and that voting against it was the only option that "promised victory to the Free State men." She also mentions that he has been attending sessions of the Topeka Legislature.
Date: January 5, 1858

Title: From James Griffing to Unknown
Description: This letter, dated January 10, 1854 but presumably written January 10, 1855, was sent by James Griffing in Wyandotte County, Kansas to an unknown recipient. James discusses pioneer life in Kansas Territory, claiming that it is not at all dangerous: “Our society is mostly all from the East, and you feel just as much composed as when in New England.” Although James believes Missourians are more dangerous than the American Indians, he insists “there is no more reason for a person who attends to his own business to be afraid here” than anywhere else.
Date: January 10, 1855

Title: From William Clarke Quantrill to William W. Scott
Description: William Clarke Quantrill writes a letter from Olathe, Kansas to William W. Scott on January 22, 1858. Quantrill reports the results of a recent election on the Lecompton Constitution, which he refers to as the "Lecompton swindle." He mentions a recent skirmish at Fort Scott and declares it "a pity" that the Kansas settlers "had not shot every Missourian that was there." He also calls James Henry Lane "as good a man as we have here" and describes Kansas Democrats as "rascals."
Date: January 22, 1858

Title: Sara Tappan Lawrence Robinson
Description: Portrait of Sara Robinson taken in 1857. The wife of Dr. Charles Robinson, Sara Robinson was a notable Free-State activist and author of Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior Life.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1857

Title: From James Griffing to Augusta
Description: This letter, dated June 8, 1855, was sent to Augusta by James Griffing at Walnut Cabin. James discusses frontier life and news of friends in the area, and says that he plans to dispose of his current claim and secure one near Topeka, Kansas. He reassures Augusta that Kansas remains safe despite a violent episode of election fraud perpetrated by “a gang of drunken, worthless villains.”
Date: June 8, 1855

Title: From Silas Reed to Mrs. Abner Stone
Description: This letter, dated August 16, 1854, is from Silas Reed in Missouri to Mrs. Abner Stone. He mentions the conflict over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and says that he hopes New Englanders will "resolve that Kansas shall be on the side of freedom" and immigrate there to help the cause. He tells Mrs. Stone that thirty men from Massachusetts have already arrived in Kansas to start a free colony, and adds, "If I were a young man I would go there at once."
Date: August 16, 1854

Title: From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description: This ca. April 1855 letter was written by Frederick Starr to an unknown recipient, possibly his father. Starr says that he plans to leave Weston, Missouri within 3 or 4 weeks, because “We are in the midst of terrible times again…The ballot box is violated[,] the press overthrown, the church denounced[,] surely pro slavery powers are making great advances.” Starr states that the printing press owned by Park and Patterson in Parkville, Missouri was thrown into the river, and the men were ordered to leave the state.

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