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From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description
This unsigned May 20, 1858 letter is presumably from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his father in Massachusetts. Fitch criticizes the Lecompton Constitution and the English Bill due to their proslavery stance. He fears that those in the Kansas territory will accept the English Bill since it offers large amount of public lands to Kansas settlers. Though Fitch fears Kansas' entrance into the Union as a slave state, he ends his letter in an optimistic tone, remarking that it would be as impossible to make Kansas into a slave state “as it would be to make Hell out of Heaven.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
May 20, 1858
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description
Edward Fitch writes a letter to his parents from Lawrence, Kansas on May 5, 1861. He tells them that if Missouri secedes, Kansas will have to fight. He asks how people in Massachusetts feel about the war, and expresses hope that the “Yankees” will go to battle with the South and not stop until slavery is eradicated. “War is terrible,” he says, “but sometimes it is necessary for the good of the whole world.”
Date
May 5, 1861
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description
Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts on February 24, 1856. He says that the Free State Legislature plans to meet next month in Topeka, and that President Pierce has proclaimed them traitors. Fitch predicts that the Missourians will attack Kansas, “but if they try it we shall have a bloody time out here.” He finishes the letter on March 9 and tells his parents that the Legislature met in Topeka, and that no violence occurred.
Date
February 24, 1856-March 9, 1856
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description
Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter to his father in Massachusetts on January 20, 1856. He criticizes the Know Nothing Party, arguing that the people of Massachusetts would be more adamant abolitionists if they witnessed the effects of slavery. He contends that, “the great question of Slavery is to be the question before the country.” He includes a copy of a statement that James Henry Lane wrote on January 4, 1856, declaring his intention to present to the United States the new Constitution adopted by the state of Kansas at the Topeka Convention.
Date
January 20, 1856
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description
In a June 29, 1856 letter to his parents in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas predicts the onset of war and states that he is happy about it, “for the North needs something to wake them up once.” He also expresses happiness about the recent presidential nomination of John C. Fremont. He anticipates that there will be trouble at the July 4 convention of the Topeka Legislature, stating, “I hope for the best, but fear for the consequences.” He recommends that his parents read the book "Six Months in Kansas" by Hannah Anderson Ropes.
Object Type
Letter
Date
June 29, 1856
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description
Edward Fitch writes a letter to his father on September 19, 1855, four days after the Bogus Legislature’s Gag Law has gone into effect. He says he attended a meeting where he and others illegally spoke out against the Gag Law. He adds that Governor Shannon showed up “but refused to speak . . . he is a Dough face, Dough head + a Fool Knave Rascal and all.”
Date
September 19, 1855
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description
In this November 21, 1856 letter to his parents, Edward Fitch describes attending a fundraising dinner in Lawrence, Kansas for the Free State Prisoners in Lecompton. He reports that Governor Geary was not there and that, according to rumors, Judge Lecompton had ordered Geary arrested. He mentions that Governor Robinson and Lieutenant Governor Roberts were both in attendance and gave optimistic speeches about the future of Kansas as a free state.
Object Type
Letter
Date
November 21, 1856
From Edward Fitch to Dear Mother
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Mother
Description
Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter to his mother in Massachusetts on June 15, 1856. He voices disappointment with James Buchanan and predicts that if John C. Fremont is not elected president, Kansas will be admitted to the Union as a slave state. Yet he expresses optimism that “the death knell of slavery has been tolled.” He reports that Colonel Sumner has been gathering troops in Palmyra, Kansas, and he predicts that violence will ensue. He adds that in Lawrence, a number of Free State men have been robbed, and that “Men are being found dead more or less every little while.”
Date
June 15, 1856
From Sarah A. Fitch to My Dear Mother
Title
From Sarah A. Fitch to My Dear Mother
Description
Sarah A. Fitch writes a letter to her mother on April 24, 1861 from Lawrence, Kansas. She discusses her son's health and reports that her husband Edward has postponed his trip to St. Louis after hearing news of the war’s commencement, and says, “I feel as tho I could fight when I read of the outrageous conduct of the South.” She mentions the possibility of Missouri seceding and predicts that Missourians will face trouble if they do not “let Kansas alone.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
April 24, 1861
Edward Fitch
Title
Edward Fitch
Description
This black and white portrait depicts Edward Payson Fitch. He was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts in 1857 and was one of the early settlers in Kansas Territory. On August 21, 1863, he was killed in Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. An intruder shot him in the heart, then burned down his house with his body still inside. His wife and three children escaped.
Object Type
Image
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description
In a May 26, 1856 letter to his father in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch describes the Sack of Lawrence that had occurred six days earlier on May 21, 1856. He mentions that Governor Shannon has called for protection “for fear we should rise up and exterminate him and the Pro-Slavery party.” He expresses his own fear that the Free State Party will be defeated and that Kansas will become a slave state. He also fears for his personal safety, saying he "shall not dare to stay at my cabin without a rifle or gun at my bedside." He adds that he hopes John C. Fremont will win the upcoming presidential election.
Date
May 26, 1856
From Edward and Sarah Fitch to Dear Mother
Title
From Edward and Sarah Fitch to Dear Mother
Description
Edward Fitch, along with his wife Sarah, writes a letter to his mother in Massachusetts on December 8, 1861. They describe their family’s Thanksgiving celebration in Lawrence, Kansas, where they served a baked turkey and twenty-five pies. Edward goes on to criticize James Henry Lane and accuses him of stealing money. He also expresses disappointment about the removal of John Fremont from military command: “He has been grossly abused by men in high places because they thought he was getting to be more popular than they themselves were.”
Date
December 8, 1861
From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Title
From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Description
In a July 23, 1856 letter to the editor of the Hopkinton (MA) Patriot, Edward Fitch writes that “two or three” men were killed for attending a meeting of the Free State Legislature in Topeka. He says that U.S. Troops have been disarming members of the Free State party and that Border Ruffians have driven out and captured a number of Free State men. He ends the letter by stating that the people of Kansas will not allow themselves to be taxed by the Bogus Legislature.
Date
July 23, 1856
From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Title
From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Description
This letter, dated July 4, 1856, is from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to the editor of the Hopkinton (MA) Patriot. Fitch states that the Free State Legislature was supposed to convene that day in Topeka, but Colonel Sumner arrived with armed troops and, under orders from Washington, commanded everyone to leave. Fitch declares that “unless the North awakes and men (not fools) are placed in the Presidential chair this fall, Civil War must follow.” He also discusses a group of women who, in response to local rum selling, "took possession of the Liquor, which they spilled without mercy." He signs the letter “Yours for Free men, Free speech, Free Kansas, and Fre-mont.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
July 4, 1856
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description
In an April 28, 1861 letter to his parents in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas declares, “did you think that you would ever live to see it—a Civil War, the most horrible of all wars.” He informs them that he has joined an artillery company. He adds that the military “is organising in large numbers” in Lawrence, but he expresses his fear that if Missouri secedes from the Union, Kansas will not have enough arms or ammunition for defense. He also expresses concern that the Cherokee and Choctaw tribes will fight for the South.
Date
April 28, 1861