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Date: January 25, 1861
In this “Private” reply to his political rival, Ewing apparently responded to a request from Jim Lane for information about troops and munitions at Fort Leavenworth. Ewing provided some detailed…
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Date: January 24, 1861
This brief letter to Charles Robinson in Lawrence was to inform the “governor” of Ewing’s activities on his behalf and to send him a copy of one of the half…
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Date: January 22, 1861
In January 1861 Ewing wrote several letters to members of Congress and others of influence in Washington on behalf of Charles Robinson’s appointment as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This one,…
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Date: January 22, 1861
To Congressman, soon to be U.S. senator, John Sherman of Ohio, Ewing wrote to encourage Sherman to support Charles Robinson’s appointment as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. “It is a matter…
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Date: January 20, 1861
As with the January 17 letter to his brother, Ewing, Jr., stressed the significance of Robinson’s appointment as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in this letter to his father in Lancaster,…
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Date: January 17, 1861
To his brother Hugh Ewing, who was apparently visiting family in Lancaster, Ohio, Thomas Ewing wrote concerning his upcoming trip to New York and Washington. His major focus was the…
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Date: December 18, 1860
With regard to the “difficulties in Linn and Bourbon Counties,” Ewing wrote William Riley Griffith of Marmaton, Bourbon County, regarding their shared belief that the Republican Party should not condone…
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Date: September 27, 1860
In late September 1860, Ewing wrote Marcus J. Parrott, the territory’s delegate to Congress (Washington, D.C.) regarding prospective railroad legislation. Ewing thought it was time Parrott made himself “heard on…
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Date: June 24, 1860
In this letter from Leavenworth to E. Peabody in St. Joseph, Mo., Ewing sought information about ongoing railroad projects to better inform his and the public’s decision in an upcoming…
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Date: June 5, 1860
In this letter to Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden, Ewing urged support for the pending Kansas bill, which would have brought Kansas into the Union under the Wyandotte Constitution, by…
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Date: May 19, 1860
Ewing wrote this letter to John J. Brasee of Lancaster, Ohio (Ewing’s hometown), in response to an apparent inquiry into the grounds for and the chances of someone acquiring an…
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Date: May 20, 1860
Mention was made in the Ewing letter to Andrew J. Isacks in Washington, D.C., of the development of the Smoky Hill route to the gold fields and railroad legislation. The…
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Date: May 6, 1860
On May 6, 1860, ten days before the Republican convention convened in Chicago, Illinois, Ewing wrote to Abraham Lincoln at Springfield, Ill., regarding the fact that the Kansas Republican delegation…
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Date: May 1, 1860
In a letter to Charley Ewing, his younger brother, Thomas Ewing made some interesting observations about national presidential politics and parties. He was hopeful that the Republican Party in convention…
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Date: April 21, 1860
Three days after he argued for the defense in a fugitive slave case, Ewing, Jr., reported to his father (Thomas Ewing, Sr., Ohio) that his “argument on the motion [i.e.,…
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Date: March 30, 1860
In response to a letter of March 27 from Charles Robinson, Lawrence, Ewing wrote regarding the governor’s forthcoming trip to Washington. Ewing mentioned several issues but was mainly concerned about…
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Date: March 22, 1860
Ewing addressed a number of issues in this letter to former territorial Kansas attorney general Andrew J. Isacks (1854-1857), who was in Washington, D.C. presumably lobbying Congress on behalf of…
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Date: March 9, 1860
Thomas Ewing, Jr., wrote from Leavenworth to his father in Ohio seeking his assistance with a legal matter involving claims to the land “reserved to certain half breeds of the…
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Date: February 23, 1860
Ewing’s friend and business associate, Hamp B. Denman, went to Washington, D.C., to seek appointment as register of the U.S. Land Office in Lecompton. President Buchanan “–that damned old scoundrel!”–rejected…
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Date: February 23, 1860
Along with a request that his friend Thomas Vernon purchased a list of used books for him in New York City. Ewing commented on the presidential nomination and the fact…
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Date: February 2, 1860
In a lengthy letter to his father back in Lancaster, Ohio, Thomas Ewing, Jr., provided some observations and analysis of the Kansas political scene, especially as it pertained to the…
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Date: January 26, 1860
In this letter to a friend in Greencastle, Indiana, Ewing made numerous observations about the state of Kansas politics, of which he wrote: “Politics in Kansas you know are a…
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Date: December 21, 1859
In the wake of John Brown’s execution, Ewing wrote to congratulate the renowned Whig congressman, governor, and U.S. senator from Massachusetts, Edward Everett, for the sentiments expressed by Everett and…
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Date: December 16, 1859
Ewing wrote Republican Congressman John Sherman in Washington, D.C., to implore him not to support the appointment of William Montgomery (D., Pa.) to the Committee on Public Lands. The Pennsylvania…
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Date: September 14, 1859
Although not specifically stated, it seems clear that this letter to Maria Maher, “a first rate servant” girl who had “served us [the Ewings] so long and so well,” addressed…
