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Proceedings of the Lafayette County Board
Title
Proceedings of the Lafayette County Board
Description
This is a series of proceedings of the County Board of Lafayette County, Missouri, dated August 14 – October 2, 1862, and signed by R.C. Vaughan, Secretary. In each of the proceedings, the Board compiles a list of disloyal citizens residing in the neighborhoods where soldiers or loyal citizens were murdered. The Board members agree to charge all of the disloyal citizens 7-10% of the value of their estates.
Object Type
Government Document
Date
August 14, 1862-October 2, 1862
From George Lewis to Mrs. Fitch
Title
From George Lewis to Mrs. Fitch
Description
George Lewis of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter to Mrs. Fitch (Edward Fitch’s mother) in Massachusetts on January 14, 1857. He thanks her for donating clothing to his family and to other poor emigrants in Kansas. He tells her that a band of proslavery men robbed him and burned down his house, leaving him living in a tent with his wife and six children. Despite his struggles, Lewis, a Welsh immigrant, expresses hope about the future of Kansas: “It must be made a Free State. It shall be a Free State.”
Date
January 14, 1857
From James Boyer to Unknown
Title
From James Boyer to Unknown
Description
On December 2, 1863, James Boyer, Deputy Provost Marshal for Chariton County, Missouri, writes a letter from Brunswick, Missouri to an unknown recipient. Boyer tells his correspondent he is grateful "for your kind offer of 95 cents on the dollar for my vouchers." He adds that he is "anxiously looking for the authority spoken of by you for recruiting."
Date
December 2, 1863
From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Title
From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description
This is an excerpt from a letter written on December 1, 1854 by Frederick Starr to an unknown recipient. Starr describes a recent “outrage on the ballot box” during elections in Kansas, when “Some 1200 or 1400 Missourians armed with bowie-knives & revolvers took the polls.” Starr says that many free-soilers were unable to reach the polls at all, and declares that “Big times are coming.” He adds that circumstances in Weston, Missouri “look dark.”
Date
December 1, 1854
From Fred Brown and Sara Ann Brown to Michael H. Jose
Title
From Fred Brown and Sara Ann Brown to Michael H. Jose
Description
Fred Brown and his wife Sara Ann write a letter to Michael Jose on October 14, 1866 to share news of mutual acquaintances, including several that were killed by Bushwhackers or by members of the Missouri Militia during the War. They describe an atmosphere of political unrest in Vernon County but express a hope for peace in the aftermath of the conflict, stating “lets all do our next fighting at the Ballot Box.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
October 14, 1866
From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
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
From Mrs. Silliman to My Dear Brother
Title
From Mrs. Silliman to My Dear Brother
Description
This letter, dated August 24, 1862, is from Mrs. Silliman to her brother. She describes the “horror” of life in Warrensburg, Missouri, which has been invaded by both Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, and is now “swarming with runaway slaves.” She complains about her health and says that the black girl who was caring for her was lured away to Kansas by soldiers. She also describes how her son Oscar avoided military service: “he was exempted from drafting, as not being ‘able bodied,’ caused by an internal injury.”
Date
August 24, 1862
From Edward Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
Description
Edward Fitch writes a July 26, 1855 letter from aboard a steamboat on Lake Erie. He tells friends in his hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts that he is en route from Boston to Osawatomie, Kansas. He describes the other members of his travelling party, a group of nineteen emigrants he is taking to Kansas for the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Object Type
Letter
Date
July 26, 1855
Oath of Loyalty of Philip W. Shambaugh
Title
Oath of Loyalty of Philip W. Shambaugh
Description
This document establishes that Philip W. Shambaugh has taken an oath of loyalty to the United States and to the state of Missouri. Shambaugh declares that “I have Not During the Present Rebellion, willfully taken up arms, nor levied war against the United States nor against the provisional government of the state of Missouri.” The oath is dated October 29, 1862 and is signed by Shambaugh and a clerk.
Object Type
Government Document
Date
October 29, 1862
From Edward Fitch to Dear Brother
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
From Frederick Starr to Dear Father, Mother, and Boys Great and Small
Title
From Frederick Starr to Dear Father, Mother, and Boys Great and Small
Description
On October 18, 1854, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to “Father, Mother, and boys great and small.” Starr reports that the newly-formed Self Defensive Association of Platte County, Missouri has begun to "rid the country of all pests,” including “Emigrant Aid Societies, Abolitionists and free soilers.” Starr calls the Association a “mob society,” and says they have already arrested two men, ordered all free blacks to leave the area, and established a night patrol to secure slaves and “catch the Abolitionists.” Starr adds that he refused to sign the Association’s resolutions when invited to do so.
Object Type
Letter
Date
October 18, 1854
Oath of Loyalty of George P. Hedrick
Title
Oath of Loyalty of George P. Hedrick
Description
This document establishes that George P. Hedrick has taken an oath of loyalty to the United States and to the state of Missouri. Hedrick declares that “I have not, during the present rebellion, willfully taken up arms, or levied war against the United States, nor against the provisional government of the state of Missouri.” The oath is dated October 29, 1862 and is signed by Hedrick and a clerk.
Object Type
Government Document
Date
October 29, 1862
From Mrs. Silliman to My Dear Relatives
Title
From Mrs. Silliman to My Dear Relatives
Description
This letter, dated August 24, 1862, is from Mrs. Silliman of Warrensburg, Missouri to her “dear relatives.” She complains that since the war began, Warrensburg has transformed from a small, quiet town into “a thoroughfare for soldiers, jayhawkers, bush whackers . . . assassins & marauders.” She says that her son Oscar’s business has been stagnant, and that they might move to Arkansas until the war is over.
Date
August 24, 1862
From Frederick Starr to Unknown
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.
From George W. Collamore to William P. Dole
Title
From George W. Collamore to William P. Dole
Description
This letter, dated April 21, 1862, is from George W. Collamore to Hon. William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Writing from Washington, DC, Collamore provides an account of his "recent visit to the Loyal Indians who were obliged to flee from their pursuers (the rebel Indians and Texans) in the dead of Winter and are now encamped on the Neosho River" in southern Kansas. Collamore states that these Indians, numbering about 8,000, have suffered and many have died from exposure and lack of food.
Date
April 21, 1862
From James Boyer to A. Comingo
Title
From James Boyer to A. Comingo
Description
On December 23, 1863, James Boyer, Deputy Provost Marshal for Chariton County, Missouri writes from Brunswick, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri, in Lexington, Missouri. Boyer informs Comingo that his check on the Treasury at St. Louis has been drawn at Washington, DC in favor of enrolling officer Joseph Standley. Boyer states that he also received two checks drawn at Washington as "payment in full" for services rendered by James Sportsman as enrolling officer for Subdistrict No. 30.
Date
December 23, 1863