Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections

Overview Biography of George Ellis written in 1953 by Howard C. Raynesford titled George Ellis, First Lieutenant, Company I, 12th Kansas Infantry. Ellis served as Lieutenant in the Kansas Infantry during the Civil War and was killed in battle. Ellis County and the town of Ellis in Kansas was named in his honor. Also included is a genealogy of the Ellis family, a photograph, and a photocopy of his military commission. Raynesford also gives a brief account of the...

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Edith Clarke's papers include correspondence and genealogical material about her family; correspondence with many prominent Lawrence, Kansas citizens and University of Kansas professors; papers pertaining to the University of Kansas Library and other libraries in Kansas around 1900; personal financial records, bank statements and tax receipts; and numerous photographs, greeting cards, and calling cards.

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The accounts in this collection relate to Reuben Randlett's experiences in the 1856 sacking of Lawrence, Kansas; his activities as a spy among the raiders; the Battle of Black Jack; the dissolution of the Free State legislature in Topeka on July 4, 1856; and Randlett's captivity by William C. Quantrill in 1862. The collection also includes a photograph of Randlett.

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This collection contains correspondence, items related to Isaac Van Hoesen's military career during the United States Civil War, a scrapbook, photographs, and other material regarding Van Hoesen's political, business, and personal affairs throughout his life.

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This collection consists of letters and notes from Samuel F. Tappan sent to William E. Connelley regarding Tappan's involvement with and recollection of the territorial border wars in Kansas. The letters were written a half-century after the fact.

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William Priestly and his wife, Ellen, settled in Lawrence, Kansas area in the early 1870s; together they had nine children. This collection contains family correspondence from 1890-1920, and some personal records, including Civil War quartermaster reports filed by William Priestly.

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Poem about border wars in Lawrence, slavery and the Civil War, written by a soldier near Hardeeville, S. C. Location and date written in cryptogram. Typed transcript is available in the accession file.