Henry Kuhn papers

Creator: Kuhn, Henry, 1830-1900

Date: 1864-1898

Level of Description: Coll./Record Group

Material Type: Manuscripts

Call Number: Manuscripts Collection 411

Unit ID: 40411

Restrictions: There are no restrictions on this collection.

Biographical sketch: County, township official; Indian agent; publisher. Of Atchison County, Marion, Kan.; Indian Territory (present Oklahoma).

Abstract: Correspondence, voucher stubs, personal papers, and other documents pertaining to the business and personal career of Captain Henry Kuhn. The collection consists of letters received by Henry Kuhn (bulk 1864-1877); letterpress books with copies of letters sent to and some letters received by Kuhn; a record book including a territorial map of Shannon Township, Atchison County, Kan., as well as a register of voters for Atchison & Shannon townships and an alphabetical list of section owners, all from the latter half of the 1850s; 1880s account books for materials acquired through Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and other miscellaneous papers. The materials date from when he was approximately 34 years of age to approximately 68 years of age. The correspondence is personal and professional in nature; the account books and volume are strictly professional in nature. Much of the correspondence regards Kuhn's banking and other financial interests, particularly in Leavenworth, Kan., as well as other business and personal affairs, including during his time as an Indian agent in the Oklahoma area.

Space Required/Quantity: 1.50 cubic feet

Title (Main title): Henry Kuhn papers

Titles (Other):

Captain Henry Kuhn papers
Henry Kuhn collection
Papers

Biography

Biog. Sketch (Full):

Henry Kuhn was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on 2 February 1830.

Henry and Ann Katharine Herr of Greencastle, Pennsylvania, were married on 26 December 1850. The couple eventually had eight children. In 1854 the couple moved to Atchison County, Kansas. Some of the positions that he held during his time there included being the first superintendent of public instruction and county surveyor. He helped organize the First National Bank and held a position on the bank’s board of directors.

Mr. Kuhn enlisted in the 8th Kansas Infantry in September 1861. He served under Colonel John A. Martin, later Kansas governor (1885 - 1889), until the end of the war. His last active rank was captain. From 1865 until 1891 he resided at Fort Leavenworth.

Some of his Leavenworth accomplishments include organizing the German Savings Bank, building the city’s first railroad, and suggesting that prisoners at the state penitentiary perform coal mining duties. He was chief clerk as well as acting agent for an Indian agency in Indian Territory (present Oklahoma).

His next move saw him in Marion County, Kansas. At that location he engaged in farming and raising stock. In 1890 he became associated with his son in law, C. E. Foote, in the publishing of the Marion Times. In February 1899 he moved back to Atchison and both purchased and published the Atchison Champion. However, in August his health began to fail and he retired.

In the autumn of 1899 he moved to Topeka, Kansas, where he died 11 June 1900.

Scope and Content

Scope and content:

The papers of Captain Henry Kuhn cover just about every aspect of this man’s adult personal and professional life. He obtained the sobriquet of Captain due to his Civil War military participation.

Correspondence forms the bulk of this collection. There are small gaps in this series. The years of 1872, 1873, and 1874 are missing, as are the years 1878 to 1884. However, the years that are available shed light on most of the man’s personal and professional dealings both as a civilian and as a military man.

The one volume has voucher stubs that deal with military beef purchases.

The sundry papers are a catch all for materials that would not fit into any other series. There is some incomplete correspondence, and some short reports on various subjects.

The letterpress books are copies of correspondence. This method of preservation was the carbon copy process of its day. However, some of the pages are illegible.

The account books give accounting information for materials that were acquired through Fort Sill. Some entries have more detail than others.

The last series, sundry materials, is truly eclectic. The majority of it though consists of Shannon Township, Atchison County materials.

Anyone with an interest in the adult life of Captain Henry Kuhn will find materials that would satisfy their research needs with the correspondence, letterpress books, and other materials that comprise this collection.

Contents: Ser. 1. Loose correspondence -- ser. 2. Sundry papers -- ser. 3. Letterpress books -- ser. 4. Account books -- ser. 5. Sundry materials

Locators:

Locator	Contents
007-01-04-08 to 007-01-05-02
017-02-01-02	Oversize volume

Related Records or Collections

Indexes: A partial index to his correspondence is housed with the collection.

Index Terms

Subjects

Creators and Contributors

Kuhn, Henry, 1830-1900

Crozier, Robert, 1827-1895

Martin, John A., 1839-1889

Auld, David Walton

Ryan, Thomas, 1837-1914

Challiss, Luther C., 1829-1894

Ingalls, John James, 1833-1900

Adams, F. G. (Franklin George), 1824-1899

Additional Information for Researchers

Restrictions: There are no restrictions on this collection.

Use and reproduction: Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The user is cautioned that the publication of the contents of this collection may be construed as constituting a violation of literary property rights. These rights derive from the principle of common law, affirmed in the copyright law of 1976 as amended, that the writer of an unpublished letter or other manuscript has the sole right to publish the contents thereof unless he or she affirmatively parts with that right; the right descends to his or her legal heirs regardless of the ownership of the physical manuscript itself. It is the responsibility of a user or his or her publisher to secure the permission of the owner of literary property rights in unpublished writing.

Cite as: Henry Kuhn Collection, 1864–1898, Collection No. 411, Library & Archives Division, Kansas State Historical Society.

Action note: Processed by Joseph P. Laframboise, 2007