KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, STATE LIBRARY

The fact that Kansas leads in corn, wheat, fruit and live-stock is of secondary importance to the fact that she leads in ideals and purposes, for material prosperity can come only as the results of applied ideals. The people who settled Kansas did not come primarily for money-making, but for the purpose of leaving their imprint on the destiny of the nation. They came to make history, but realized that history is of little value unless preserved in a way that it can mean something to posterity. The old word of mouth methods that have given us accounts of the struggles and achievements of our ancestors, have left us a priceless heritage of confidence and self-respect, but these methods do not meet modern conditions, and a place must be provided for the preservation of records, accessible to all, where those who enjoy a civilization bought by their predecessors may learn what this civilization cost, how it was gained, the high purposes back of unselfish devotion to a cause, and be moved to live up to the standards set by those who have gone before.

One of the first corporations to be formed within the boundaries of Kansas was the Historical and Philosophical Society of Kansas Territory. It was chartered by the Pro-Slavery legislature of 1855 with the following Kansans as incorporators: William Walker, the Provisional Governor of the old Nebraska Territory, D. A. N. Grover, David Lykins, John Donaldson, James Kuykendall, Thomas Johnson, William A. M. Vaughn, Lucien J. Eastin and A. J. Isacks. The object of the organization was the collection and preservation of historical matter, mineralogical and geological specimens, Indian curiosities and antiques and other matters connected with, and calculated to illustrate and perpetuate, the history of the Territory. However, the great deeds which were to make the history of Kansas, and shape the destiny of the nation had not yet been consummated, and nothing was accomplished by the society.

The next effort on this line was the organization of the Scientific and Historical Society, February 1, 1859, with Honorable L. D. Bailey as president, and Dr. S. C. Harrington, librarian. The address of the occasion was given by Samuel A. Kingman. This society was incorporated by the legislature February 7, with the following men as incorporators: Edward Clark, Charles H. Branscomb, R. G. Elliott, William Hutchinson, Charles Robinson, W. I. R. Blackman, Samuel C. Harrington, B. W. Woodard, James S. Emery, E. S. Lowman, James Blood, and Melancthon S. Beach. The society was enabled to make some valuable collections before it was wiped out by the Quantrill raid of 1863. It had two hundred and forty-four volumes of books, files of fourteen newspapers as well as natural curiosities and relies.

Nothing more was attempted until 1867, when a private organization called the State Historical Society was formed with purposes similar to those of its predecessors. The first meeting was held March 2, and the following officers were elected: Samuel A. Kingman, president; C. K. Holliday, vice-president; D. W. Stormont, treasurer; Andrew Stark, librarian; George A. Crawford, recording secretary; S. D. Bowker, corresponding secretary. A second meeting was held February 4, 1868, after which nothing more can be learned of the organization. If it had any collections they were lost.

The present Kansas State Historical Society had its inception at the meeting of the State Editorial Association, April 7 and 8, 1875, at Manhattan. A resolution, introduced by D. W. Wilder, named Floyd P. Baker, D. R. Anthony, John A. Martin, Solomon Miller, and George A. Crawford as a committee to organize a Historical Society and to ask the legislature for an appropriation of $1,000 per year to cover the expense of collecting and preserving historical matter. The resolution was adopted and the Kansas State Historical Society was organized December 13, 1875. Articles of incorporation were prepared and acknowledged before a notary on the 14th and filed with the Secretary of State on the 15th. The incorporators were: Samuel A. Kingman, president of the society; George A. Crawford, vice-president; Colonel John A. Martin, editor of the Atchison Champion, treasurer; Floyd P. Baker, editor of the Topeka Commonwealth, secretary, and D. W. Wilder, Solomon Miller and D. R. Anthony. The directors included the incorporators and the following additional names: Honorable R. B. Taylor, editor of the Wyandotte Gazette; Honorable M. W. Reynolds, editor of the Parsons Sun, and Colonel S. S. Prouty.

A bookcase in the office of A. W. Wilder, then Auditor of State, was set apart to receive the collections. The fact that the Society was organized by newspaper men has always been of great advantage, as the newspaper fraternity have taken special interest in adding to the collections, and much valuable material has been gained in this way that is lacking in the collections of other states, where the files of newspapers are not so complete. The first books acquired by the society were from the library of Chief Justice Samuel A. Kingman. These books related to the early history of the State and are very valuable. No money had been received from the legislature, and the membership fees, which were $2.00 per year, or $20.00 for life, were the only source of income. In 1876 Mr. Baker resigned and on February 4th of that year, F. G. Adams took his place as secretary. This was the beginning of an important epoch. Mr. Adams later was assisted by his daughter Zu, who was then a school girl. The two worked together at first without direct remuneration, and later as the first paid secretary and assistant. The services of both to the State lasted for the rest of their lives, and were ably and conscientiously performed.

VIEW OF PRIVATE OFFICE, SECRETARY OF KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MEMORIAL BUILDING, TOPEKA

[Photograph by Willard, Topeka.]

In 1877, the legislature took cognizance of the Historical Society and appropriated the sum of $3,000 for the purpose of adding to the collections, and ordered thirty bound volumes of each state publication to be delivered to the secretary for his use in exchanging with other states. The Webb Collection was acquired out of these funds for the sum of $400. This collection was in the form of seventeen scrap books, kept by Doctor Thomas H. Webb of Boston, when he was secretary of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. One book contains clippings from newspapers all over the United States relating to John Brown, and the other sixteen are clippings about the Territory of Kansas in the years 1854-'55,-'56. On July 1, 1876, the collections were removed from the bookcase in the auditor's office to a newly finished room under the stairway leading to the Senate chamber. In April, 1877, Secretary Adams published a list of the accessions, which filled an eighteen page book, and showed considerable labor in accumulating and cataloguing. Among the accessions were the files of eighteen old newspapers, and one hundred and seventy-three current publications, and numerous books and pamphlets. Mr. Adams was without pay until 1879, when the yearly sum of $2,500 was appropriated with the provision that no more than half of it should be spent for services. The Society was made a trustee of the State, its duties prescribed, regulations made governing the expenditure of money, and the management placed in the hands of a Board of Directors to be elected by the society. The allowance of State publications was raised from thirty copies to sixty. In the two years from 1877 to 1879, one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven volumes were added to the library.

At no time in the history of the society until the building of the Memorial Hall, were the quarters adequate. The work of Secretary Adams was always handicapped for lack of space to properly arrange the material. From its very beginning Kansas had one of the best historical collections of any western state, second only to the collection at Madison, Wisconsin, but much of the matter was not accessible to the public both on account of space, and lack of sufficient clerk hire. In 1882, the collections were moved to a room in the west wing of the State House. In 1886, the legislature made provision for additional clerk hire. The accessions now numbered forty-eight thousand three hundred and five. It was 1894 before the much needed space was granted. The society was given three additional rooms in the south wing of the State House. Secretary Adams said at that time: "The rooms now occupied are in different parts of the basement, inconvenient for use and access to the public." The available space was about one-seventh of that occupied by the Wisconsin Historical Society. In 1895, the legislature voted the society two rooms of the east wing when the capitol building should be finished.

In 1899, the death of Secretary Franklin G. Adams occurred, after twenty-three years of service. His daughter Zu had become the librarian and was a great help to him in his declining years. The accessions had grown during his time from a few volumes in a bookcase to a library of one hundred and fourteen thousand three hundred and seventy-six books, pamphlets and papers. Mr. Adams came to Kansas in 1855, and helped make the history which he was so zealous in preserving. He had a genius for collecting, and his personal connection with historic people enabled him to enrich the Kansas collections with original documents, papers, letters, and manuscripts which could not otherwise have been acquired.

George W. Martin succeeded Mr. Adams as secretary. The State House was now finished and the south wing of the fourth floor was placed at the disposal of the Historical Society. There were six rooms available at once, and two more later. There were now one hundred and nineteen thousand, one hundred and twenty-one accessions besides the museum and the battle flags. Much of this material had been dumped in heaps, where it had lain for years, and the work of moving and arranging it required considerable time. The celebration of the quarter-centennial had been put off for one year awaiting the removal to the new quarters. This was completed in December, 1901, and the celebration was held on the 17th. Judge Samuel A. Kingman, first president, and Daniel W. Wilder, one of the founders, both gave addresses. Secretary Martin congratulated the society on having at last secured ample quarters in which to expand for a generation, but it was not more than five years till the rooms were again over-crowded.

In 1905, the legislature made the Historical Society a State department of archives and required each State officer to turn over all documents, not essential to the conduct of his department, to the Society for reference. The first lot of manuscripts were turned over by General J. W. F. Hughes, of the Adjutant's office.

VIEW OF THE READING ROOM, LIBRARY OF THE KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MEMORIAL BUILDING, TOPEKA

[From Photograph by Willard, Topeka]

The Centennial celebration commemorating the first raising of the United States flag over Kansas and Colorado, was held in Republic County, at Pike's Pawnee Village, September 26 to 29, 1906. The Historical Society had charge of the program for the 27th and addresses were given by George W. Martin and Reverend J. A. Sutton, and articles were written by William E. Connellely, James R. Mead and John B. Dunbar, of Bloomfield, New Jersey.

By January 1, 1908, the accessions had reached three hundred thousand and the secretary asked for additional help and more space. In 1909, the legislature provided for the building of Memorial Hall, which solved the difficulty as far as adequate quarters were concerned, but which was not available until 1914. The money for this edifice came through war claims, but as these claims could never have been proven without the records preserved by the Historical Society, the State could at least afford to furnish the Society with as much room in the new building as needed in order to properly care for these records, which are of great financial, as well as educational value. This was done, but before it was ready for occupancy, both the Secretary, George W. Martin, and the Librarian, Miss Zu Adams, had passed away. Miss Adams had known no other work but that of the Society, in which she took a deep interest. Her death, April 12, 1911, was a great loss. George W. Martin was one of the earliest newspaper men of the State. He lived through most of the history as it was in the making, and the Historical Society is the richer for his experience. He passed away March 27, 1914.

The work of removing the collections to the new building fell to the present Secretary, William E. Connelley. The task was attended with great difficulties. The cost of the moving was variously estimated from $5,000 to $25,000, but there was only $700 on hand which could be used for the purpose. The dedicatory services of the Memorial Hall were held May 27, 1914, and the moving was done that summer. The Museum, the Goss Collection, and the Historical Collections were all taken to the new building in ten weeks time and at an expense of less than $2,000. The employees did the work with the aid of a one horse wagon, instead of letting the job to a contractor, and saved the State thousands of dollars. The Museum and Goss Collection occupy the entire fourth floor. On the third are reading rooms and shelving space for books, and on the second is the G. A. R. headquarters, the Auditorium, and the historical books with reading tables and offices for clerks. The offices of the Secretary, Treasurer, and Librarian of the Society, the head quarters of the Spanish-American War Veterans, the Department of Archives and office of the clerk of archives and shelving for the newspaper department are on the first floor.

The accessions at present number six hundred and sixty-one thousand, one hundred and twenty-nine, of which two hundred and fifty-two thousand five hundred and four are library volumes, some fifty thousand are manuscripts, ninety-five hundred portraits and pictures, eight thousand and thirty maps and atlases, ten thousand relics in the museum, and a total of three hundred and thirty-one thousand and ninety-five pieces in the Department of Archives which includes separate manuscripts and manuscript volumes. There is a co-operative arrangement with the State Library to avoid duplicating historical books.

The officers of the society elected at the annual meeting in 1916 are as follows: Charles S. Gleed, President, George P. Morehouse, first Vice-President; Robert M. Painter, second Vice-President; William E. Connelley, Secretary; Mrs. Mary Embree, Treasurer; Miss Clara Francis is the Librarian.

It has been said by people whose work takes them to the historical libraries of the country, that the Kansas collections are superior to all others in the respect that they preserve a history of the people instead of a mere history of the great men. The biographies of the most ordinary persons are kept, and the activities of the plain people who make up the world are not overlooked.

                                          ELIZABETH N. BARR.

The Kansas Natural History Society, which later became the Academy of Science, was organized at Lincoln College (now Washburn), Septem ber 1, 1868. Professor B. F. Mudge was president; J. S. Whitman, vice president; John Barker, secretary; Frank Snow, treasurer; and John A. Banfield curator. At the third annual meeting, held at Lawrence, Sep tember, 1870, the scope of the Society was extended to include all the sciences. In 1871, the name was changed to the Academy of Science, and two years later the organization was incorporated as a State institution. It was made a co-ordinate department of the State Department of Agriculture and used the same offices. The reports of the Academy were published in connection with those of the Agricultural Department and the State was at no expense until 1895, when the legislature made a yearly appropriation of $500 for a stenographer, and $300, for postage.

The Goss Ornithological Collection was donated to the State in 1881, and ten years later was turned over to the Academy of Science. In 1897 a curator was provided by the legislature. Professor B. B. Smythe, who had been interested for a number of years in the work of the Academy, took this office. The Goss Collection was separated from the Academy in 1905.

The Secretary of the Academy was placed on a salary of $1,000 a year in 1903, and from that time to the present, the total yearly appropriation to the Academy for all purposes has been $1,300. The organization has fostered an important work and one vital to the development of the natural resources of the State. This is due largely to the fact that the scientific men interested have labored gratuitously. The geological survey of the '90s, which was done under direction of the University of Kansas, and credited to that institution, was brought about by the efforts of the Academy of Science. It has catalogued the plants and minerals of the State. It exchanges with more than five hundred similar societies all over America and Europe, and has given Kansas a standing in respect to scientific research. These scientific investigations have a practical bearing on the industrial problems of the people as is shown by the following selected from the thirty-eight subjects treated in 1914:

1. Corn oil as a substitute for olive oil.
2. The search for potash in Kansas.
3. The value of cheap water power in Kansas, and how to obtain it.
4. Increased efficiency of telephone communication by utilization of its by-products.
5. Commercial opportunities with Kansas plants of medicinal value.

Through the secretary, W. W. Swingle, A.M., the Academy is bringing eminent scientists to the State to lecture to the general public free of charge. These men could not be secured at any price without the influence of a scientific organization. The Academy is beginning an oil and gas survey of the State at its own expense.

                                          ELIZABETH N. BARR.

The Territorial Legislature of 1858 founded a library under the management of a Commission consisting of the Governor, Secretary of State, President of the Council, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Librarian. The Librarian was appointed by the Governor. Rules governing the care and use of books were passed in 1859. In 1861 the services of the Librarian were discontinued and the property, consisting of maps, charts, pamphlets, and books were put in the care of the State Auditor. Here they remained until 1870 when an appropriation was made and a Librarian provided for. David Dickinson was appointed to the position. A catalogue system was inaugurated and the Librarian was requested to stamp the books, "Kansas State Library." There were then six thousand, three hundred and six volumes. Upon the death of Mr. Dickinson in 1879, Samuel A. Kingman became Librarian. He was succeeded in 1881 by Hamilton J. Dennis, who died October 12, 1894. James L. King then became Librarian and was succeeded by Mrs. Annie L. Diggs, in 1898. Mr. King again became Librarian in 1902, and holds the position at the present time.

For the first twenty years the Library increased at the rate of about one thousand volumes per year. There are now one hundred and thirty-five thousand volumes collected through a period of fifty-eight years. It is one of the best law libraries in the West.

                                          ELIZABETH N. BARR.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME 1 & 2
BIOGRAPHIES — VOLUMES 3, 4, & 5
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

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