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Title: From Sue Brawner to All at Home
Description: This letter of July 24, 1859 is from Sue Brawner in Linneus, Missouri to “all at home.” She describes a recent trip from Lexington, Missouri to Linneus via the city of Brunswick. Along the way she and her traveling companions visited relatives. Sue writes of staying with Tom, a relative in Linneus who owns several slaves: “They have a black girl as large as I am.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 24, 1859

Title: 1860 Missouri Census Table
Description: This ca. 1860 printed document presents the results of the 1860 Missouri census, showing the population of whites, “free colored” and slaves in each county. The table lists the total state population as 1,182,012, with 1,063,599 whites, 3,572 Free Colored, and 114,931 slaves. Lafayette County has the largest slave population with 6,374 slaves. The table also reveals a small American Indian population in Gasconade and Jackson Counties.
Object Type: Government Document

Title: From James M. Boyer to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated November 23, 1863, is from James M. Boyer, Deputy Provost Marshal of Chariton County, Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Boyer asks Comingo to clarify policies on intercepting "rebel correspondence." He also asks if he will be protected under the law in cases of mistaking innocent letters for contraband.
Date: November 23, 1863

Title: 1860 Presidential Election Returns from Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, and Clay Counties, Missouri
Description: These are the election returns from Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, and Clay Counties in Missouri for the Presidential election held on November 6, 1860. In Caldwell County, Bell received 367 votes; Douglas 263 votes; Breckenridge 186 votes; and Lincoln 43 votes. In Carroll County, Douglas received 752 votes; Bell 552 votes; Breckenridge 276 votes; and Lincoln 3 votes. In Clay County, Bell received 1,045 votes; Douglas 528 votes; Breckenridge 305 votes; and Lincoln “Nairy Vote.” The Chariton County document accounts for votes from each electoral precinct in the county, but does not provide a list of votes for the individual candidates.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 7, 1860-November 10, 1860

Title: From William Heryford Jr. to Lisbon Applegate
Description: This letter, dated March 24, 1865, is from William Heryford, Jr. to Lisbon Applegate in Keytesville, Chariton County, Missouri. Heryford states that he had contracted a black girl named Rose to work in his home for a year, but her master, Mr. Hyde, violated their contract by taking her home prematurely. Heryford requests that Applegate hire an attorney for him, and complains that “Mr. Hyde is the last man friend . . . to take advantage of me after the many favors Ive done him during this unholy war.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: March 24, 1865

Title: Indenture of Robertson Moore and David L. Cavanagh
Description: This April 1864 document declares the upcoming sale of the late John C. Cavanagh’s real estate and his three slaves, Abe, Lucy, and Eliza. Robertson Moore, Sheriff of Chariton County, announces that he will auction off Cavanagh’s property outside of the courthouse in Keytesville, Missouri.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: April 1864

Title: Parole for Lisbon Applegate
Description: This document certifies the parole of Private Lisbon Applegate of Company C, Reserve Corps Regiment, Texas Infantry C.S.A, by order of Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby. Applegate, a resident of Chariton County, Missouri, was paroled in Marshall, Texas on June 30, 1865.
Date: June 30, 1865

Title: Claim of Rias Lewis against Jonah Moore
Description: This is the legal claim of Rias Lewis, “a free man of color,” against Jonah Moore for $40 in unpaid wages. The claim is dated September 26, 1854 and is signed by a justice of the peace, a public administrator, and two witnesses in Chariton County, Missouri. A note on the back indicates that the debt was settled in court on August 10, 1855. Attached to the claim is the original agreement for Lewis to work for Moore, signed by both parties and dated February 12, 1850.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: February 12, 1850-August 10, 1855

Title: From Lisbon Applegate to William Heryford, Jr.
Description: This letter, dated January 15, 1865, is from Lisbon Applegate in Keytesville, Chariton County, Missouri, to William Heryford, Jr. Applegate reports that he sold Heryford’s hogs, but has not yet sold his cows: “the buyers here are endeavoring to get stock at almost nothing, taking advantage of the disturbances in the country.” He adds that many local citizens plan to leave the area because of the current turmoil.
Date: January 15, 1865

Title: Diary of Dr. J.H.P. Baker
Description: This is an excerpt from the diary of Dr. J.H.P. Baker, an army doctor working under the command of Gen. Joseph O. Shelby. The entries included here are from October 10-27, 1864. Baker discusses conscription, bushwhackers, travelling across Missouri, and marching to Price’s headquarters. He mentions the Battle of Boonville, the Second Battle of Lexington, the Battle of the Big Blue, the Second Battle of Independence, the Battle of Westport, and the Battle of Cedar Creek.
Object Type: Diary
Date: October 10, 1864-October 27, 1864

Title: From Lisbon Applegate to William Heryford, Jr.
Description: This letter, dated November 25, 1864, is from Lisbon Applegate in Keytesville, Chariton County, Missouri, to William Heryford, Jr. He informs Heryford that his hogs are “left in a bad fix” because “the negro boy Cyrus who was left by you to attend to them was this week taken away by the soldiers (his master having gone off with Price).” Applegate also reports the death of Heryford’s uncle and the shooting of a mutual friend, John R. Hyde.
Date: November 25, 1864

Title: Kansas and Nebraska 1856
Description: This color map, entitled “Kansas and Nebraska 1856,” was printed by J.G. Wells in New York.
Object Type: Map
Date: 1856

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865