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Letters of Sallie J. Williams

 Collection
Call Number: RH MS P188

Overview

Letters written to Sallie Williams from a daughter, her husband J.F. Williams, and other various relatives. The letters from her husband are from when he was on trips with members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes while serving as an Indian Agent.

Dates

  • Creation: 1873 - 1896

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Biography of Sallie J. Williams

Sallie Williams was the wife of John Farmer Williams, who worked with the Arapaho and Cheyenne Native Americans at the Darlington Indian Agency in Indian Territory (later the state of Oklahoma).

Extent

2 folders (25 items + 1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Scope and Contents

Letters from J. F. Williams to his wife are written on two trips, the first with some Arapahos to Topeka, Kansas to testify in court concerning a murder case, and the second with representative Arapahos to Washington, D.C. to meet U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. Williams mentions Powder Face (and his wife and brother), Big Mouth, and some other individuals, including a woman that he refers to in disugst as the "thing" because she got drunk, but for the most part he refers to the Native members of these trips as a group, not individually.

There are some letters from the Williams' daughter, who was staying with an aunt in Garnett, Kansas to learn household management and to go to school. The remaining letters are addressed to Sallie Williams from other relatives and discuss family affairs, household management, the Chicago World's Fair, and general conditions of the times.

Photographs in the collection include images of Williams, Williams' colleague J.D. Miles, and some members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho.

Physical Location

RH MS P188

Physical Location

RH MS-P P188

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift, Maude Arnett, Lawrence, 1952.

Title
Guide to the Sallie J. Williams Collection
Subtitle
Letters of Sallie J. Williams
Author
Finding aid prepared by kpz 11 April 1973. Finding aid encoded by mg, 2004. Finding aid revised by skt, 2010. Finding aid revised by mwh, 2021, 2023.
Date
2010
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in English.
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/4061433478
Preferred citation
Sallie J. Williams Collection, Kansas Collection, RH MS P188, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334