Photocopy of a handwritten letter, dated September 10, 1854, from free-state newspaperman Josiah Miller (Kansas Territory) to his parents in South Carolina. The unsigned letter, described by Miller as his first to them from Kansas Territory, details his plans for fighting slavery in the territory through his newspaper (the Kansas Free State, which on January 5, 1855 became the first newspaper published at Lawrence).

In this unsigned letter, Miller writes of his first contacts in the Territory, his efforts to develop and promote his newspaper enterprise, his zeal to use it as a weapon against slavery in the Territory, and his newly-formed partnership with Robert Elliott of Cincinnati. He details his reasons for selecting Kansas Territory, rather than Iowa, for his land investment and residency.