Medium: Text
Richard Realf to John Brown?
Date: May 31, 1858
The Englishman, Richard Realf, another of Brown’s trusted followers, wrote to his “uncle” (John Brown?) from Cleveland, Ohio, regarding the threat of arrest that faced him and some of his…
Medium: Text
Richard Realf to George Luther Stearns, Franklin B. Sanborn, et al.
Date: May 29, 1858
Richard Realf, a native of England and John Brown lieutenant, wrote to Stearns, et al, after the “temporary postponement of a certain enterprise,” to solicit their financial backing of a…
Medium: Text
John Henry Kagi to Adda
Date: May 15, 1858
John H. Kagi, one of John Brown’s most trusted lieutenants, wrote from St. Catherine, Canada, to inform his friend, albeit in “figurative” language, about the change in their plans–“all depends…
Medium: Text
Jermain Wesley Loguen to John Brown?
Date: May 8, 1858
Rev. J. W. Loguen, the Syracuse abolitionist and U.G.R.R. superintendant, wrote to John Brown in Canada regarding his plan to “go to the Mountains,” and asked whether or not Harriet…
Medium: Text
Edmund Burke Whitman to George Luther Stearns
Date: April 30, 1858
Whitman’s April 30, 1858, letter to Stearns described the harmonious work conducted by the “State Convention” and its nomination of state officers under the Leavenworth Constitution. That movement, he told…
Medium: Text
Edmund Burke Whitman to Franklin B. Sanborn
Date: April 30, 1858
Among other things, Whitman wrote to Sanborn from Lawrence on April 30, 1858, regarding increased activity on the region’s U.G.R.R. due in part to the fact that proslavery men in…
Medium: Text
Henry Thompson and Ruth Brown Thompson to John Brown
Date: April 21, 1858
From their home at North Elba, New York, April 21, 1858, Henry and Ruth (Brown) Thompson wrote separate letters to “Father,” John Brown. Henry Thompson assured his father-in-law that he…
Medium: Text
Circular Letter, Underground Rail Road Depot, To the Friends of the Fugitives from Slavery
Date: March 4, 1858
This printed, circular dated Syracuse, March 4, 1858, announce the dissolution of the Syracuse Fugitive Aid Society and directed all “Fugitives” interested in such assistance in the future to contact…
Medium: Text
Frederick Douglass to John Brown
Date: February 27, 1858
This brief letter from the prominent African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass simply sought to change a Philadelphia meeting date between Douglass and Brown from March 5 to March 10.
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John Brown, Jr. to Edmund Burke Whitman
Date: February 26, 1858
To his Kansas friend “General Whitman,” John Brown Jr. wrote from his farm in Ashtabula, Ohio, regarding his continued commitment to the cause of Kansas and the state of his…
Medium: Text
The new gold mines of western Kansas, second edition
Date: 1859
This booklet contains a description of the gold mines in the Cherry Creek and Pike’s Peak regions of Kansas Territory. It includes information on routes, camping places, equipment needed, and…
Medium: Text
Edmund Burke Whitman to Franklin B. Sanborn ?
Date: February 18, 1858
As a follow up to his more lengthy report of January 16, Whitman wrote from Lawrence on February 18, 1858, about the turbulent course of Kansas politics during the last…
Medium: Text
John Brown, Jr., to John Brown
Date: February 13, 1858
From Lindenville, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, John Jr. wrote his father on February 13, 1858, to report that he was ready to travel to Washington, D.C., if Brown wanted him to…
Medium: Text
Charles Blair to John Brown
Date: February 10, 1858
On February 10, 1858, Blair reported from Collinsville, Connecticut, on the status of the spear production; he had most of the material ready to assemble the entire lot, but “I…
Medium: Text
Edmund Burke Whitman to Franklin B. Sanborn
Date: January 16, 1858
E. B. Whitman wrote Sanborn this lengthy letter from Lawrence, describing the political events that had unfolded in the territory since the October 5, 1857, election. Among many other things,…
Medium: Text
John Brown to Mary Brown
Date: March 3, 1858
In this short, mostly personal letter from New York, John Brown wrote his wife that he was “having a constant series of both great encouragements & discouragements,” even though he…
Medium: Text
Thomas J. Marsh to George Luther Stearns
Date: December 18, 1857
Upon his return to the East (Boston), Marsh wrote to Stearns on December 18, 1857, to provide a relatively brief outline of his experience and accomplishments since leaving for Kansas…
Medium: Text
Martin Franklin Conway to Franklin B. Sanborn
Date: November 16, 1857
Shortly before he was to leave Washington, D.C., for a return trip to the territory, Conway wrote Sanborn in Concord, Mass., about his disappointment at again being separated from his…
Medium: Text
James Henry Lane to John Brown
Date: October 30, 1857
On October 30, 1857, from Falls City [Nebraska Territory ? ], Jim Lane wrote to urge Brown to do all he could “to get the guns to Kansas.” He actually…
Medium: Text
John Tecumseh Jones to John Brown
Date: October 13, 1857
“Ottawa Jones,” a mixed-blood Indian who lived on Ottawa Creek in Franklin Co., wrote John Brown on October 13, 1857, regarding a financial claim/account that he was trying unsuccessfully to…
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Henry H. Williams to John Brown
Date: October 12, 1857
With regard to the recent legislative election, Henry Williams of Osawatomie informed Brown that “it went off right” largely because the Free State men were throughly organized for their protection…
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S.G. Hubbard to John Brown
Date: October 6, 1857
S. G. Hubbard, a New Haven, Connecticut, supporter, wrote regarding one of Brown’s political tracts, the impossibility of fund raising for the cause during this time of financial crisis, the…
![W. B. Edmonds [E. B. Whitman?] to Hawkins [John Brown]](https://images.kansasmemory.gov/thumb500/k303350.jpg)
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W. B. Edmonds [E. B. Whitman?] to Hawkins [John Brown]
Date: October 5, 1857
From Lawrence, October 5, 1857 (election day), “W. B. Edmonds” (appears to have been assumed name of E. B. Whitman) wrote to tell Brown (under the alias Hawkins) that he…
Medium: Text
Samuel Lyle Adair to John Brown
Date: October 2, 1857
Samuel Adair wrote his brother-in-law John Brown from Osawatomie on October 2, 1857, to explain why he could not come see Brown in Iowa. Much of letter describes the general…
Medium: Text
John Brown to James Henry Lane
Date: September 30, 1857
At the end of September 1857, Brown wrote to tell Lane that it would “be next to impossible in my poor state of health” to travel to K.T. “on such…