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William Elsey Connelley papers, 1878-1931

Tintype of William Elsey Connelley

Kansas State Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection 16

Finding aid by Michael L. Keil
July, 1998

Descriptive Identification
Administrative Information
Biography
Scope and Content
General Comments
General Arrangement
Contents

Descriptive Identification:

Connelley, William Elsey, 1855 - 1930
Papers, 1878 - 1931
50 boxes (19 ft.)

This collection contains the papers, 1878 -1931, of William Elsey Connelley, author and  secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society from 1914 to 1930.  The collection contains personal papers, manuscripts, and research materials collected and used by William Connelley in his published works.  Included are manuscripts by Wiley Britton, E. D. Smith, Thomas Gunnell, Horatio Cushman, Col. Henry Inman, and others.  This collection is not the entire body of the Connelley papers.  Other collections may be found at the University of Oklahoma; University of Texas; University of Kansas; University of Missouri-Kansas City; the Wyandotte County, Kansas, Historical Society; the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library;  and the Denver Public Library.

Administrative Information:

The Kansas State Historical Society purchased the collection from Eldora Farley in 1969.

Biography:

William Elsey Connelley (March 15, 1855 - July, 1930), was educator, businessman, author, president of the Kansas State Historical Society (1912), and secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society from February, 1914, until his death in July, 1930.  He married Julia Frances Witten in 1873 (d. 1881), and had two children.  In 1885 he married Sarah A. Fife and they had two daughters, one of whom lived to adulthood.  Connelley was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from Baker University in 1911. He also served as president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Society, the Kansas Sons of the American Revolution, and was a member of numerous other civic organizations and a Mason. 

Connelley was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, on March 15, 1855, the oldest of five children.  During the Civil War his father served in the Union army with the 45th Kentucky Mounted Infantry.  His mother died in 1862, leaving Connelley to care for his siblings until his father returned from the war in 1865,  “ruined in property and health.”   Connelley’s educational opportunities were limited and he was primarily self-educated.  Despite his limited formal education,  at the age of seventeen he became a school teacher in Johnson County, Kentucky, where he remained for ten years. 

In 1881 Connelley moved to Wyandotte County, Kansas, where he taught school until 1882.  From 1883 to 1887 he served as the Wyandotte County clerk.  Connelley became involved in the wholesale lumber business in Springfield, Missouri, from 1888 to 1892.  He was in the banking business in Kansas City, Kansas, and in the land, title, and abstract business in Beatrice, Nebraska.  He worked for the Topeka publishing house of Crane & Company until 1902, when he was appointed special pensions examiner.  By August of 1903, Connelley was  involved in the oil industry in southeast Kansas, around the Chanute area.  In 1905 Connelley wrote a call for a meeting of independent oil men in Kansas which resulted in the organization of the Kansas Oil Producers Association.  Connelley was an active participant in the crusade against the Standard Oil Company in Kansas, leading eventually to the dissolution of the Standard Oil Trust by the United States Supreme Court.

Connelley authored fourteen major books.  From 1899 through 1900 he contributed five volumes to Crane’s Twentieth Century Classics: Provisional Government of the Nebraska Territory, James Henry Lane, Wyandot Folk-lore, Kansas Territorial Governors, and John Brown.  Other works include:  Overland Stage to California with Frank A. Root (1901), Life of John J. Ingalls (1903), An Appeal to the Record (1903), The Heckwelder Narrative (ed., 1907), Doniphan’s Expedition (1907), Quantrill and the Border Wars (1909), Ingalls of Kansas (1909), Eastern Kentucky Papers (1910), and Life of Preston B. Plumb (1913).  Connelley also compiled a five volume History of Kansas (1917, 1918, and 1929) and a five volume History of Kentucky with E. M. Coulter, edited by Judge Charles Kerr (1922). 

Connelley contributed numerous articles to journals and magazines.  Included in these were articles to scientific journals on the folklore and ethnology of the Wyandot tribe.  He is credited with compiling the first ever written vocabulary of the Wyandot language and made extensive investigations into the history and language of the Delaware, Shawnee, and other native American tribes.  It was said of Connelley that he “understood the American Negro and the American Indian perhaps better than any other resident of Kansas.”   In addition to his pioneering work in the area of Native American studies, Connelley’s work on John Brown, Quantrill, the Civil War on the Border, the Doniphan Expedition, and the Overland Stage were considered by many to be significant contributions to the study and understanding of these subjects.

Although he was not a scholar or a professional historian, Connelley’s writings incorporated many of  the now acknowledged principles of historic research.  His analysis and conclusions were based on careful research of the documentary evidence as well as extensive interviews with many of the individuals involved in the events under investigation.  This style often led him to conclusions that were frequently at odds with the ones currently accepted, as well as with their proponents.  Not interested in “waving the bloody flag” or in perpetuating or destroying myths, only in recording what the documentary and oral evidence demonstrated, Connelley frequently found himself embroiled in disputes with various individuals concerning the conclusions he reached.   Of course, Connelley was not immune from his own prejudices, which often found their way into his writing, but this is the bane of many writers.  One of his unfulfilled goals was to edit a volume of John Brown’s papers because “the time has come when the student demands to see important documents as they were written, and they will tolerate no editing and correcting of important papers and letters.” 

Connelley is probably remembered best for his sixteen year tenure as secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society.  It was during this time that the Society and museum moved into the then newly constructed Memorial Building at 10th and Jackson in downtown Topeka.   He wanted the Society to maintain a reputation as a significant repository of artifacts and records, and worked to continue the growth of the collections and membership.  One area he devoted much attention to was the relation between the Society and educators.  Connelley attempted to extend the influence of the Society throughout the state through the public school system, and devoted much time and effort to this.   

Anyone wanting more information about William Elsey Connelley should search the catalogue of the library of the Kansas State Historical Society Center for Historical Research at Topeka, Kansas.  Numerous references to and about Connelley are listed, as well as contained within the manuscript collections of other of his contemporaries.

Scope and Content:

This collection can be broken into three major groupings; manuscripts, research material, and personal.  The bulk of the material focuses on the areas in which Connelley was interested and did the majority of his writing: the American West, Territorial Kansas and the Border Wars, Preston B. Plumb, John J. Ingalls, and Native Americans.  Much of the material is not original, rather it is typed copies of material which Connelley used, shared with others, or that others shared with him.  The exceptions to this are the handwritten interview notes that Connelley compiled during his research, and, of course, the letters.

General Comments:

Manuscripts:

Connelley accumulated various manuscripts on a range of topics over the years.  Some of these were sent to him by the authors as an aid to his research while others were sent for him to read and comment on before they went to the publisher.  The Inman manuscripts were obtained by Connelley as security for loans of money which Connelley made to Col. Inman over a period of years.  Inman died before Connelley secured the publishing rights for the manuscripts, and a dispute with Inman’s heirs over ownership of them ensued (see General Correspondence, box 42, folder 390)

In addition to Connelley’s manuscripts, manuscripts by the following are contained in the collection:

E. D. Smith                   –          box 2
Wiley Britton                 –          boxes 2 and 48
John Stewart                 –          box 3
Thomas Gunnell             –          box 4
Horatio Cushman           –          boxes 14 to 16
Col. Henry Inman           –          boxes 23 and 30
William D. Street            –          box 31
S. C. Turnbo                  –          boxes 32 to 35
Thomas Ingalls               –          box 44
Clyne Manuscript            –          box 22

Research:

A large portion of the collection is material related to Connelley’s research on various topics.  This includes material he copied from both original and secondary sources (much of which is typewritten).  There are many handwritten interviews with individuals who were eye-witnesses to events, as well as narratives by others.  The bulk of these items relate to Territorial Kansas and the Border Wars.  Finally, there is a large accumulation of letters with individuals who Connelley corresponded with during the course of his research, as well as correspondence with others who were conducting research of their own.  Much of this material is identified under the broad headings in the box and folder list, but the researcher should carefully study the list as the material is scattered throughout this collection.  Significant blocks of research contained within this collection are related to the following:

Quantrill, the Civil War in Kansas and Missouri, and Territorial Kansas.
Preston B. Plumb.
Native Americans
Doniphan Expedition.
John J. Ingalls.
Jedediah Strong Smith.

Correspondence: 

As mentioned above, there is a large block of correspondence related to the research of Connelley and others.  And, as noted, the correspondence is located throughout the collection.  Most of the remainder is best described as general correspondence.  Much of this is concerned  with the business of publishing and distributing Connelley’s books, replies to individuals seeking information regarding various topics and concerns, and some personal letters.  Of particular interest (besides those mentioned above) are:

The Standard Oil files - boxes 38, 39, and 44
The “Call of Kansas” controversy - box 41
Ownership and disposal of Inman Manuscripts controversy - box 42

General Arrangement of the Connelley Collection:

Biography:

The biography portion of the collection contains information relating primarily to individuals who have some sort of a Kansas connection.  Also included are manuscripts as noted above, along with a collection of letters of Eugene F. Ware to Connelley.  Of particular interest are the following:

A.  Manuscript of John Stewart, an African American missionary to the Wyandot mission in Ohio.
B.  Manuscript of Wiley Britton – concerns western and southwestern Missouri up to the Civil War.
C.  Manuscript of Thomas A. Gunnell – Gunnell was a country doctor in Missouri prior to the Civil War, and then a doctor with the Union Army.  Contains his  reminiscences of this period, including some accounts of treating slaves who had been punished by their masters.  Also has some material relating to the  early Indian Wars, early Kentucky, the Mexican American War, and the  Border War between Kansas and Missouri.

Preston B. Plumb:

The material contained in this section was accumulated while Connelley was researching and writing his book on P. B. Plumb.  The bulk of this material is collected in twenty-two volumes of notes which Connelley compiled doing the research for the book.  Volumes nineteen and twenty of the notes are missing from the collection, and their location is unknown.  The remainder of the material in this section is correspondence and related materials connected to the book.  Other material relating to P. B. Plumb may be found in Box 19, folder 157; Box 43, folder 404; Box 44, folder 430; and Box 48, folder 459.  

Civil War:

Material gathered by Connelley that relates to the Civil War in Kansas and Missouri, the Border War, Bleeding Kansas, and the Quantrill raids.  Other related material may be found in Boxes 1, 24, 35, 37, 42, 43, 44, and 46.  The researcher may also want to consult the files on Preston B. Plumb and John J. Ingalls as these two were active in Kansas during this same period.

Horatio B. Cushman:   

Cushman’s original manuscripts of his  History of North American Indian Tribes.  The manuscript numbering system appears to be one that Cushman used, and has, therefore, been maintained in this collection, along with the descriptors. 

Doniphan Expedition:

Materials collected by Connelley while researching this topic.  Other related materials may be found in Boxes 3, 4, 36, 40, 41, 44, 46, and 48.

John J. Ingalls:

Materials related to the research for Connelley’s work on Ingalls. 

Indians:

Native American folklore, stories, correspondence, missions, and the Clyne manuscript.
See also Boxes 1, 3, 14 - 16, 23, 24, 36, 37, 40 - 43, 44, 45, and 48.

Inman: 

Manuscripts of Col. Henry Inman which Connelley had possession of as security for loans made to Inman.  Inman passed away before being able to repay Connelley and before Connelley could secure the rights for publication from Inman.  See Box 30 for a draft of Inman’s “The Cruise of a Prairie Schooner”, and Box 42, folder 390, for correspondence relating to the dispute with the Inman heirs about the possession, disposal, and settlement of the debt owed Connelley.

Kansas:

A wide variety of material related to different events and individuals related to Kansas history.  Related items may be found in most of  the boxes of the collection.

Jedediah Strong Smith:

Articles, correspondence, manuscripts, and other material related to and accumulated during research about Smith.  See also Boxes 36 and 42.

S. C. Turnbo:  

The stories and reminiscences (“Ozark Stories”) of Turmbo plus his “History of the 27th Arkansas Confederate Regiment.”  Stories about southeast Missouri and northwest Arkansas.  Turnbo was an early settler in this area and wrote these stories for Connelley.

The West:

Primarily material collected as research by Connelley.  Covers a wide range of topics and related items can be located throughout the collection.

Correspondence Collections:

Primarily correspondence of Connelley, but many interesting subjects covered.  One of the important collections is the correspondence between Connelley, Edith Connelley Ross, and Grace Raymond Hebard.  Hebard wrote and published an important work about Sacajawea, the Indian guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Edith Connelley Ross was one of Hebard’s researchers, and both conferred with Connelley on matters relating to their research and the book.  Another important body of correspondence is that of L. V.  McWhorter of Yakima, Washington, who was an authority on the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest.  As mentioned earlier, this collection contains the Standard Oil fight files of Connelley. 

Connelley corresponded with many people who played an important role in Kansas history.  Among those represented in this collection are F. B. Sanborn, D. W. Wilder, and Walt Mason, just to mention a few.  Also included here is a copy of a letter to G. W. Brown in which Connelley answers Brown’s criticisms of his John Brown. (see footnote no. 5 of the biography).  Within this correspondence collection are also narratives, life sketches, drafts of Connelley’s Quantrill and the Border Wars, and other items.

Miscellaneous Speeches and Writings by W. E. Connelley:

Contains a wide assortment of material, including more narratives, statements, articles, life sketches, and other research in addition to the odd assortment of speeches and writtings.  Of particular interest may be the two files of materials on the Mormon Troubles in Missouri and the Mormon Trail (Box 48, folders 465 and 466).

Boxes 49 and 50 contain account books, business books, and reminder books of Connelley.  It is important to note that within the pages of the various books are notes that are related to some of the previously mentioned topics.  It would be advisable to thumb the pages of these books for material that may be useful to the researcher.  Some of this also relates to Connelley’s oil business and the expenses and income from that enterprise.

Organization and Arrangement:

The collection was organized under twelve broad topic headings which have been retained and identified above.  In most instances the material is arranged in a more or less alphabetical order.  There is much material related to similar topics located throughout the collection.  As much as possible these have been indicated and/or identified for the convenience of the researcher.

Contents:

    I      Biography Boxes 1 - 4
  II       Connelley’s Notes on Preston B. Plumb Boxes 5 - 12
  III      Civil War Box 13        
  IV      Cushman, Horatio B. Boxes 14 - 16
   V      Doniphan Expedition Boxes 17 - 18
  VI      Ingalls, John J. Boxes 19 - 20
 VII      Indians Boxes 21 - 22
VIII      Inman Box 23
  IX      Kansas Box 24-25
   X      Smith, Jedediah Strong Boxes 26 - 31
  XI      Turnbo, S. C. Boxes 32 - 35
  XII     The West Box 36
  XIII    Correspondence Collections Boxes 37 - 43
  XIV     Misc. Speeches, notes, writings, and personal records of W. E. Connelley Boxes 44-50

BOX AND FOLDER LIST

Box 1  Biography
Folder no.                    
1          Finding Aid
2          Bender, Bloody Bender Family
3-4       Brown, George W. (Indian Fighter)
5-8       Brown, John
9          Curtis, Charles
10        Denver, James W.
11        Gilpin, William
12-14    Lane, James H.
15        Lee, Thomas A.
16         Lincoln, Abraham
17-20    Ware, Eugene F.
21        Misc., Tom Stauth and the Battle of Adobe Walls, Skeletons on Coon Creek

Box 2
Smith, E. D. – Milly, vols. 1 & 2
Britton, Wiley – Pioneers of the Ozarks
Ware, Eugene F. – letters to Wm. E. Connelley, 1899-1916

Box 3
Folder no. 22-25
Connelley, Wm. E. – Shelby’s Expedition to Mexico
Lane, James H. – Documents relating to the dispute with and killing of Gaius Jenkins, 2 vols.
Stewart, John – The Missionary Pioneer

Box 4 
Gunnell, Thomas A. [et al.] – “A Spartan Band of Heroic Men,” 2 vols.
Sublette, William – material relating to trial and property dispute of the heirs of Sublette, 1902
Folder 26
Whitley, Colonel William – re: William Sublette

Box 5 Connelley’s notes on Preston B. Plumb
Index; vols. 1-4

Box 6 Connelley’s notes on Preston B. Plumb
vols. 5-10

Box 7 Connelley’s notes on Preston B. Plumb
vols. 11-15

Box 8 Connelley’s notes on Preston B. Plumb
vols. 16-18, 21, 22

Box 9 Drafts of Connelley’s Life of Preston B. Plumb

Box 10 Drafts of Connelley’s Life of Preston B. Plumb

Box 11 Correspondence relating to P. B. Plumb and the writing of Life of Preston B. Plumb
Folder no.
27-8     F. G. Brown and Co., Publishers
29        Cauby, Cora B.
30        Chandler, William E.
31        Curtis, Charles
32-33    Edwards, Mabel H.
34        Plumb family
35-36    Plumb, A. H.

Box 12
Folder no.
37        Plumb, A. H.
38        Misc. correspondence
39        notes
40-41    Biographic materials
42        Clippings

Box 13 Civil War (Interviews and correspondence relating to Quantrill and Border War)
Folder no.
43        Anderson, Bill
44        Dryden, H. C.
45        Battle of Independence, Sterling Price, Burning of Osceola
46        Jennison, Col. Charles R.
47        Sanborn, F. B.
48-53    Quantrill, William Clark
54         Quantrill and the second raid on Lawrence
55        Battle of Rock Creek
56        Wilson, Hill P. , letter
57        Lincoln, Abraham, notes
58        Price, Sterling                                       

Box 14 Cushman, Horatio B., 1822-1899 (Original manuscripts – “History of North American Indian Tribes.”)
Folder no.
59        Inspector Wright’s speech to the Cherokee at Talequah Dec. 10, 1898
60        Clippings, misc. items
61        Introduction
62        MSS. 1st – Seminole
63        MSS. 1st – Cherokee
64        MSS. 2nd – Pasqual, Yuma chief, History, Characteristics
65        MSS. 3rd – Cheyenne
66        MSS. 3rd – Choctah, Creek, Seminole, Chickasah, Cherokee, summary

Box 15 Cushman (continued)
Folder no.
67        MSS 4th – Kansas, Black Kettle, Sheridan, Custer
68        MSS 4th – Indian frauds, Lewis B. Gunkel’s report, Seminole, Creek, Cherokee, summary
69        MSS 5th – Report of the Dawes Commission Dec. 2, 1894, Cherokee summary
70        MSS 5th
71         MSS 5th – Choctah, Treaties and Exodus
72        MSS 5th – Choctah, Reports of the Labors of the Missionaries East of the Mississippi River
73        MSS 6th
74        MSS 7th
75        MSS 7th – The Nestorians, or the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel, Cherokee

Box 16 Cushman (continued)
Folder no.
76        MSS 7th – The Nestorians, or the Lost Tribe of the House of Israel
77        MSS 9th
78        MSS 10th
79        MSS 11th
80        MSS 12th
81        MSS 18th
82        MSS – Traditions
83        Statistics of tribes in Indian Territory, 1872
84        letters to H. B. Cushman
85        letters of Harry C. Revercomb

Box 17 Doniphan Expedition
Folder no.
86        “Col. Alexander W. Doniphan – His Life and Character” by D. C. Allen
87        Bent and St. Vrain, letters of Thomas F. Dawson
88        Articles by James H. Birch
89        letters of George Boone
90        letters and statement of Edward J. Glasgow
91-94    letters and statements of Merideth T. Moore
95        letters of C. R. Morehead
96        letters of Selma Mullins and Margaret Yount, La Salle clipping

Box 18 Doniphan Expedition (continued)
Folder no.
97        New Orleans Picayune, letters from Jim Augustus
98        D. C. Allen, letters and notes
99        letters of Rollin J. Britton
100       Alexander Doniphan, copies of official reports Mar. - Dec., 1847
101       Doniphan statue at Richmond, Mo., correspondence
102       Max Frost, Interview with Alexander Doniphan, 1880
103       Oden Guitar, letters, story, interview
104       letter of Mrs. Fannie Frazee Hamilton
105       Information about Harper who killed Meredith
106       Heatherly War
107       Stephen W. Kearny, copy of letterbook June 7, 1846, to Feb. 22, 1847
108       James Kirker, Deserters, James T. Hughes, Joseph Faust, Robert Barnett, Yount, Sacramento
109       Correspondence of James W. Magoffin 1846-48, letter of W. E. Connelley to Charles Curtis about publishing of papers
110       letters of Milton Moore, Roland Hughes, and O. P. Ray
111       letters of Selma Mullins about the Mexican Veteran’s Pensions, Teamsters (Traders) Battalion
112       Traders Battalion, Maj. Samuel Owens
113       letters of Mrs. Rush Campbell Owens about Maj. Campbell
114       Interview with James Peacock, “Slayer of ‘Jim Crow’ Chiles, badman, retires from Office”
115       Life Sketch of Sterling Price
116       John Smith story
117       letter of R. P. C. Wilson
118       Interviews with William H. Woodson, F. M. Cockrell
119       Gen. Wool’s mistake, Expedition of Wool and Taylor, Capt. Reid’s fight at El Paso

Box 19 Ingalls, John J. (biography)
Folder no.
120       Life Sketch
121       letters to his father
122       copies of letters to his father Oct, 5, 1858, to May 15, 1861, as printed in the Kansas City Journal, 1904 to 1905
123       letters to his wife and children
124       letter to Gov. St. John Feb. 15, 1879, and letter to Gov. Martin Feb. 6, 1885 regarding credentials
125       letters to E. F. Ware Apr. 30, 1874 to (?) 1879 (copies)
126       letters to D. W. Wilder
127       Misc. letters of J. J. Ingalls
128       Eulogy for Tarleton Pendleton, black servant of the Ingalls family
129       Statement of Frank Root, statement of W. J. Buckhorn on how Ingalls was nominated to succeed Pomeroy
130       Speech of A. M. York that defeated Pomeroy
131       N. B. Stevens “Lincoln Predicted the Future for Ingalls”
132       C. S. Gleed “Both Sides of Ingalls”
133       “Ingalls and the Women”
134       Ingalls on Socialism
135       Told of Ingalls
136       John J. Ingalls “The Immortality of the Soul”
137       Reply to Bishop McCabe
138       Ingalls on anarchy, a  letter to Edwin M. Marsh Feb. 1, 1890
139       Two Ingalls Scenes
140       E. C. Manning “The Passing of Ingalls”
141       Extract from Society in Washington: Its Noted Men, Accomplished Women, Established Customs, and Notable Events by Randolph Kein, 1887
142       Ingalls - Voorhees encounter
143       “The Kansas Senator Discusses the Recent Alliance Victory” from the Kansas City Star, Dec. 11, 1890
144       “A Photographic Interview” from The (New York) World, Apr. 13, 1890 (no photos)
145       Ingalls on Leland
146       Tale of Topekas First Hanging (Ike Edwards)
147       Plagarism controversy over the poem “Opportunity,” letter to W. E. Connelley, clipping, “Ingalls is Defended”
148       letters of Samuel Young Lum to Mrs. J. C. Wood
149       Death of his mother
150       Misc. clippings
151       Misc. items
152       “A Literary Masterpiece by Capt. King”
153       Notes by W. E. Connelley (includes information about Lane and Jennison)
154       W. E. Connelley “Lane and Ingalls”, letters, notes
155       W. E. Connelley “Mrs. Mary Ingalls: The First White Woman in Kentucky”
156       W. E. Connelley on Walt Mason
157       W. E. Connelley notes about John J. Ingalls, rumored affairs with married women and illegitimate children, notes about P. B. Plumb and rumored affairs with married women 
158       Article about “Ingalls Book”
159       letters about Memoirs of John J. Ingalls

Box 20 Ingalls, John J. (continued)
Folder no.
160-2    MSS and notes, Memoirs of John J. Ingalls
163       letters of Sheffield Ingalls to W. E. Connelley
164       letters of Margaret Hill McCarter
165       W. E. Connelley misc. correspondence re: Memoirs
166       W. E. Connelley correspondence with Mrs John J. Ingalls
167       Ralph Ingalls criticism of the manuscript

Box 21 Indians
Folder no.
168       Algonquin stories and notes
169       Cherokee, Sam Houston
170       Chickasaw, correspondence
171       Delaware tombstone inscriptions at White Church, Wyandotte Co., Ks.
172       Osage and Kansa camping circles
173       Potawatomie allotment rolls, letters
174       Potawatomie MSS., notes
175       Sacajawea (Bird Woman), paper by Dr. Grace Raymond Heber, copies of interviews, correspondence with W. E. Connelley
176       Shawnee, notes, information about Techumseh and The Prophet
177       Shawnee, old deeds, other documents on Shawnee land
178       Shawnee, railroad through Shawnee lands
179       The Old Shawnee Mission
180       Shawnee Mission Memorial Foundation
181       Draft of folklore, Pawnee, Manabohzo, Chichasaw
182       The Red Swan
183       Hiawatha, or Manabohzo
184       Significance of the name of the capital of Kansas (Topeka)
185       Historical background of Wyandotte Co., Ks.
186       W. E. Connelley correspondence

Box 22 Indians (continued)
Folder no.
187-9    languages and vocabulary
190       Wyandot, MSS., religion
191       Wyandot, How the Sun was Made
192       Wyandot, Miss Clyne’s manuscript
193       Wyandot, Methodist Episcopal Church, Thomas Johnson
194       Diary of John Thompson Peery, copy
195       The Indian Leader, Dec. 20, 1929, to Jan. 10, 1930

Box 23 Inman  (MSS. of Col. Henry Inman held by W. E. Connelley)
Folder no.
196       “Pick” Smith, the Scout
197       “California” Joe’s First Elk
198       Fables and Jingles of a Modern “Mother Goose”
199       The Ruins on the Rio Pecos in New Mexico
200       The St. Clair’s and Capt. Frazier
201       My Bear Hunt
202       John Randolph of Roanoke
203       The Miners Revenge
204       Account of Tobacco
205       Fort Larned, KS
206       Marguerite
207       Winona
208       An Arkansan
209       Stories
210       Short Stories
211       The Colonel’s Daughter
212       MSS. The Rescue
213       The Rescue
214       Western Sportsmen and Recreation Pointers
215       The Last of the Buffalo
216       Drawings and Photos (?)

Box 24 Kansas
Folder no.
217       George W. Bebee, Last territorial governor of Kansas
218       R. G. Elloitt, The Big Springs Convention
219       Biographical sketches – Thomas Carney, Charles Gleed, Arthur Capper, John McDonald, Nicholas Smith
220       W. E. Connelley notes on interview with G. W. Brown
221       G. W. Brown letter to Mrs. Robinson about the exclusion of materials from the Kansas State Historical Society archives, letter of Mrs. Brown to Mrs. Robinson      
222       W. E. Connelley – Statement of William Crutchfield about the first Lawrence raid
223       Milton Tabor, The First Administration of Gov. Jonothan M. Davis
224       Old Kansas Forts
225       letter of Charles F. Scott about the 1873 Bond Scandal
226       William L. Huggins and the Kansas Industrial Act and the Court of Industrial Relations
227       Gen. Joseph E. Johnson, copies of his diary relating to Kansas, 1857
228       W. E. Connelley, location of historic sites around Lawrence
229       Lewis L. Littlefield, copy of speech “Kansas and its Defenders”
230       Joel Moody “A Brochure of Kansas History: The Marais des Cygnes Massacre”, letter of John N. Rice to Moody
231       The Missouri Republican, Jan. 1, 1854, to 1856 and 1861 to 1862, copy
232       D. O. McCray “Administration First Term of Gov. Ben S. Paulen”
233       John Speer, Robinson’s Puritan Ancestry
234       Robinson’s Meeting to Denounce Lane
235       F. B. Sanborn, the early history of Kansas, letter to W. E. Connelley, letter about Frank Elwell, Francis Preston Sterns, and the Alcotts (family of Louisa May Alcott)
236       W. E. Connelley interview with Ben F. Simpson
237       S. N. Simpson, memorial building at Lawrence
238       John Speer, United States v John Speer, collections of Internal Revenue for Kansas

Box 25 Kansas (continued)
Folder no.
239       The First Homicide of the Territorial Kansas Troubles
240       Pamphlet – “The Border Ruffian Code in Kansas”
241       Territorial Kansas, misc. materials
242       Spanish Exploration of Kansas – Our Earliest Knowledge of Kansas, Coronado’s March to Quivera, Gov. Onates’ Explorations in Kansas, Juan Padilla: The Pioneer Missionary of Kansas
243       Indians – W. E. Connelley conclusions on maps, letter of Mark E. Zimmerman to W. E. Connelley
244       Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867
245       Address of Gov. Clyde M. Reed, Oct. 11, 1929
246       75th Anniversary of Lawrence celebration, “The Lamp of Experience”
247       Ceora B. Lanham, Kansas War Worker (WW I)
248       W. E. Connelley letter to George W. Reed, removal of a totem pole
249       Misc. Kansas items

Box 26 Smith, Jedediah Strong
Folder no.
250-6    W. E. Connelley’s Maps, #1 - 17, of the route of Smith’s explorations
257-61 W. E. Connelley correspondence with E. D. Smith, 1911-1918
262       W. E. Connelley misc. letters and correspondence
263       Correspondence of W. E. Connelley, E. D. Smith, Prof. Harrison C. Dale, and F. S. Dellenbaugh

Box 27 Smith, Jedediah Strong (continued)
Folder no.
264       W. E. Connelley correspondence with Robert B. Stanton265       W. E. Connelley Correspondence with Thomas F. Dawson
266       W. E. Connelley correspondence with Isaac H. Russell
267       Autobiography of E. D. Smith
268       letter of Harold C. Short to E. D. Smith about a survey party killed by Cheyenne in 1874
269       copies of Smith, Jackson, and Sublette papers, portion of the journal of Col. J. J. Warner, “Jedediah Smith” by William Waldo
270       Contract of Jacob H. Pritchett with William Sublette and Robert Campbell
271       “The Pegleg Mine” copied from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Oct. 18, 1891          
272       copy of the Harrison G. Rogers Journal of the Southwest Expedition, 1826
273       W. E. Connelley statement of George W. Martin concerning the William Beggs article about the James White journey through the Grand Canyon
274       Stories of Smith’s early life, misc. documents
275       Misc. documents and letters
276       “The Old Santa Fe Trail: Some Aspects of the Santa Fe Trail, 1848 - 80" by Ralph P. Bieber
277       Copy of a letter of Capt. L. B. Dougherty to his father, Aug. 29, 1854, re: Report of old Massacre
278       General Ashley
279       “A Terrible Voyage” by John Frank, Lippincott’s Magazine, vol. 2, 1868
280       “Jedediah S. Smith” from The Illinois Monthly Magazine, date unknown
281       Copy of Last Will and Testament of Jedediah Strong Smith, inventory of personal property, letter of Mary Edith Buhler.
282       letters of (?) T. J. Elliot to E. D. Smith about Jedediah Smith’s route through Pend Orielle Valley and map

Box 28 Smith, E. D., Drafts of his Life of Jedediah Strong Smith
Vol. I and II originals, copy of MSS. before final revision
Folder 283 MSS. of Life of Jedediah Strong Smith

Box 29 Smith, E. D.
Drafts of his Life of Jedediah Strong Smith

Box 30 Inman, Henry
Drafts of his “The Cruise of a Prarie Schooner”

Box 31 Street, William D.
“Twenty Years Among the Indians and Buffalo,” 3 vols.

Box 32 Turnbo, S. C.
Folders 284-296 Typewritten stories and reminiscences of Turnbo

Box 33Turnbo, S. C.
Ozark Stories, Index, vols. 1-3

Box 34 Turnbo, S. C.
Ozark Stories, vols. 4-7

Box 35 Turnbo, S. C.
Folder 297 “History of the 27th Arkansas Confederate Regiment”
MSS. and drafts of same

Box 36 The West
Folder no.
298       Battle of North Platte Bridge, correspondence of W. E. Connelley with G. M. Walker and Major T. J. Anderson
299       The Old Santa Fe Trail, the Baird Correspondence
300       Beckwourth, “What Moore Saw of James P. Beckwourth” from The Daily Kansas City Journal of Commerce, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 1859
301       William Bent, The Siege of Fort Atkinson
302       William Bernard “Westport and the Santa Fe Trade”
303       Buffalo, W. E.Connelley correspondence with L. C. Fouquet, M. S. Garretson, and S. A. Coffman
304       W. E. Connelley correspondence with F. M. Lockwood about Comstock, E. F. Ware and the affair of the daughter of Spotted Tail
305       Cowboy Poems
306       Covered Wagon Centennial of 1930.
307       “The Great Plains Trade” copied from the Kansas State Record, Oct. 27, 1860
308       Billy Dixon, W. E. Connelley correspondence with Mrs. Olive Dixon, clipping
309       Dr. Josiah Gregg
310       Indian captives, “James Moore Narrative, 1784" and “Captivity and Escape of Mrs. Ingalls, 1756"
311       Lost mines and related materials
312       Pawnee Capital
313       letter of J. J. Peale about Pond City (or Pond Creek)
314       Capt. Phillip St. George Cooke, Journal of the annual caravan to Santa Fe, May 27 to July 21, 1873. Detachment of U. S. Dragoons led by Cooke
315       “‘California’ Joe, Scout and Indian Fighter” by Josiah M. Ward
316       Capt. Clifton Wharton, copies from order and letter book, 1834
317       Maj. Clifton Wharton, copy of journal, 1844
318       Wild Bill, discards of W. E. Connelley, including:

  • Appendix
  • Notes to chapter VIII
  • Note 4
  • A tribute from a neighbor
  • Discards from chapter II
  • Discards from chapter IV
  • Discards from chapter V
  • Discards from chapter VI
  • Discards from chapter VII
  • Discards from chapter X
  • Wild Bill, by John E. McCann
  • Pages 9-11 [of Connelley's manuscript?]
  • Discards from chapter I
  • Discards re Wild Bill's marksmanship
  • Discards from chapter VIII
  • [Fragments of chapter V, pages 3-4]; notes to chapter V

319       misc. items

Box 37 Collections of Correspondence
Folder no.
320-2    W. E. Connelley correspondence with Edith Connelley Ross and Grace Raymond Hebard. Also contains typed copies of interviews and other materials related to Hebard’s book on Sacajawea.
323       Eugene Bandel letters (copies), 1856 - 1860, relating to Territorial Kansas
324       Eugene Bandel diary (copy), 1857
325       Olga Bandel correspondence
326       letters of David Boyle (Ontario, Canada, Historical Society) to W. E. Connelley
327       letters of J. E. McDowell to W. E. Connelley
328       letters of F. B. Sanborn to W. E. Connelley
329       “Our Boston Literary Letter”
330       letter of W. H. Sproul to W. E. Connelley
331       letters of S. F. Tappan to W. E. Connelley
332       W. E. Connelley correspondence with Judge Samuel M. Wilson about the 150th Anniversary of Lexington, KY
333       letters of D. W. Wilder to W. E. Connelley
334       “Daniel W. Wilder, The Father of Kansas History and Literature”
335       D. W. Wilder Life Sketch by W. E. Connelley

Box 38 General Correspondence
Folder no.
336       Documents relating to the Wyandotte Co., Ks., Republican Convention, Apr. 11, 1896
337       letters of F. G. Adams to W. W. Scott
338       General Correspondence
339       General Correspondence, 1897.
340       General Correspondence, 1898
341       General Correspondence, 1899
342       General Correspondence, 1900
343       General Correspondence, 1901
344       General Correspondence, 1902
345       General Correspondence, 1903
346       General Correspondence, 1904 (also contains much material relating to Connelley’s oil interests)

Box 39 General Correspondence (material relating to the Standard Oil Fight)
Folder no.
347       General Correspondence, 1905
348       General Correspondence, 1906
349       Standard Oil Fight file

Box 40 General Correspondence (continued)
Folder no.
350       General Correspondence, 1907 Jan.-Mar.
351       General Correspondence, 1907 Apr.-Dec.
352       General Correspondence, 1908
353       General Correspondence, 1909
354       W. E. Connelley correspondence with D. C. Allen (Doniphan Expedition)
355       W. E. Connelley correspondence with L. V. McWhorter (Indians)
356       letters of George R. Peck to Mary Clark, 1908-09
357       W. E. Connelley correspondence with Walt Mason

Box 41 General Correspondence (continued)
Folder no.
358       General Correspondence, 1910
359       General Correspondence, 1911
360       General Correspondence, 1912
361       General Correspondence, 1913
362       General Correspondence, 1914
363       W. E. Connelley correspondence with D. C. Allen
364       The “Call of Kansas” authorship controversy, 1914, correspondence
365       W. E. Connelley correspondence with L. V. McWhorter, 1910-12
366       W. E. Connelley correspondence with L. V. McWhorter, 1913-14

Box 42  General Correspondence (continued)
Folder no.
367       General Correspondence, 1915
368       General Correspondence, 1916
369       General Correspondence, 1917
370       General Correspondence, 1918
372       General Correspondence, 1919
372       General Correspondence, 1920
373       General Correspondence, 1921
374       General Correspondence, 1922
375       General Correspondence, 1923
376       General Correspondence, 1924
377       General Correspondence, 1925
378       General Correspondence, 1926
379       General Correspondence, 1927
380       General Correspondence, 1928
381       General Correspondence, 1929
382       General Correspondence, 1930
383       General Correspondence, 1931
384       General Correspondence, undated
385       W. E. Connelley correspondence with W. E. Barton, Lincoln in Kansas, Delahay and Hanks family
386       Letters of C. F. Collins, U. S. army regulations of 1842, Ft. Riley, KS
387       W. E. Connelley correspondence with G. M. B. Hawley, Quantrill and his marriage
388       W. E. Connelly, Grace Raymond, and Edith Connelley Ross
389       Letter of C. Ross Hume, 2 letters of H. Shanklin, Indian Agent, July, 1866 and May 31, 1867
390       W. E. Connelly correspondence relating to the possession and disposal of the Inman manuscripts, Inman’s indebtedness to Connelley
391       Letters of L. V. McWhorter
392       Letters of Mark E. Zimmerman
393       Telegrams of George Ross to Esther M. Clark

Box 43  General Correspondence (miscellaneous)
Folder no.
394       W. E. Connelley to F. C. Adams, 1896-98
395       W. E. Connelley to G. W. Brown, Jan. 21, 1903  pertaining to Brown’s criticism of Connelley’s book on John Brown
396       W. E. Connelley to D. W. Wilder, June 7, 1900, biographical in nature
397       W. E. Connelley correspondence about “Buffalo” Bill and “Wild” Bill
398       W. E. Connelley misc. correspondence
399       Biographical sketches, Isaiah and Joel Walker
400       Biographical sketches, Russell and Charles B. Garnett
401       Biographical sketches, Abelard and Quindaro Nancy (Brown) Guthrie
402       Misc. articles about Kansas
403       The Snake Clan of the Wyandot
404       Narratives about Preston B. Plumb and bribes
405       Narratives on Quantrill and the Border War, Civil War
406       Quantrill and the Border Wars, first draft of book
407       Portion of Quantrill book published in 1910

Box 44 Miscellaneous Speeches and writings by W. E. Connelley
Folder no.
408       Speech – DAR, April 19, 1901, and Mar. 30, 1926
409       Speech – Kansas City, Ks., High School, Nov. 12, 1901
410       Speech – Retiring KSHS President’s address, 1913
411       Speech – Hanover, Washington Co., KS, Sept. 25, 1913
412       Speech – Kansas State History Teachers Ass’n., Nov. 13, 1914
413       Speech – Old Settlers Meeting, Dec. 5, 1914
414       Speech – Wyandotte Co., KS, Historical Society, Apr. 4., 1918
415       Speech – Westside Forestry Club, June 31, 1918
416       Speech – Kansas Baptist Convention (1929?)
417       Speech – Kansas City, MO, Ministerial Alliance, Dec. 10, 1928
418       Speech – Shawnee Mission Cemetery, June 7, 1930
419       Watkins Memorial History of Kansas
420       “Kansas and its Defenders”
421       Kansas and Standard Oil
422       Abraham Lincoln’s Visit to Kansas
423       W. E. Connelley writings about Kansas
424       Lost Mines and Treasures
425       Kansas Authors Club
426       W. E. Connelley biographical and genealogical materials
427       W. E. Connelley writings relating to Eastern Kentucky Papers
428       Thomas Ingalls manuscript
429       Life sketch of H. E. Valentine
430       Statements of Curley Harrison and Capt. Alfred C. Pierce re: P. B. Plumb
431       Statement of Jacob Ephrim re: early Kansas
432       “Characters and Incidents of the Plains” and “Folk-lore of the Bible”

Box 45 Miscellaneous Papers and Writings by W. E. Connelley
Folder no.
433       Poems and writings of Edith Connelley Ross
434       Origins of the Indian names of States and Rivers
435       Indian – Folk-lore
436       Misc. Writings and papers

Box 46 Miscellaneous Notes and Writings
Folder no.
437       Sketches – Gen. Stephan W. Kearny, James Magoffin, Thomas Hart Benton, Hugh Fife family, John Reed family
438       “A Curious Sermon” from the Brandon, Miss., Register
439       R. I. Holcombe article about Massacred Soldiers and Todd’s Bushwhackers
440       Jim Lane, Lane’s Trail, Uncle Chester Thomas
441       “The Killing of Archie B. Clements” by G. N. Moses
442       Statements of A. J. Phillips, James Christian, George W. Martin, J. B. Edwards, B. F. Simpson, Valentine Gunselman, Mrs. Wade, and William Rogers (Kansas history)
443       Order Book, Co. D, 5th Reg., Kansas Brigade, 1861
444       Hager family in America
445       Hughes Pension Claim
446       R. M. Snyder and Hahatonka, MO
447       Documents and Records of Charles and W. H. Clift
448       “Whither are we Drifting?” by Samuel Garner Isett
449       Materials relating to KSHS and the GAR
450       Misc. notes and materials
451       Doniphan Expedition, George R. Gibson

Box 47 Miscellaneous Notes and Personal Records
Folder no.
452       W. E. Connelley Personal Records
453       A. Reeder and J. Armstrong
454       Property inventories and descriptions
455       Annual Report of the Sons of Veterans, 1915
456       Contract for sale and publication of the Standard History of Kansas
457       Documents and statements relating to the Wyandotte Co., KS, Republican Primary election of 1896

Box 48 Miscellaneous Notes and Personal Records
Folder no.
458       Misc. notes – B. F. Simpson, F. M. Parker, Eva Harding, G. N. N. Yates, Mark W. Delahay
459       Misc. notes – re: Plumb
460       Misc. notes – re: Indians
461       Misc. notes – The Humboldt Placer Mining Claims
462       Misc. notes – “Wild” Bill Hickok, Lewis and Clark, Sacajawea
463       Life Sketches – Rev. Jacob Spencer,William Carpenter, Rev. charles Bluejacket, Mrs. M. J. Peery, Rev. N. Scaritt, Silas Armstrong
464       MSS – Wiley Britton
465       Mormon Troubles in Missouri – copies of documents and papers
466       Misc. notes – Mormons, Mormon Trail
467       Misc. notes and Personal records
468       Misc. letters

Box 49 Account books, Reminder books, Business records

Box 50 Account books, Reminder books, Business records