Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing Uncle Henry’s Letters to the Farm Boy (1897) by Henry Wallace. Wallace (1836-1916) was born and raised on a farm in Pennsylvania. He spent much of his life on the farm before becoming a writer. By the time of his death, Wallace had written a total of six books. The University of Iowa Special Collections Department houses a collection of Henry Wallace’s papers including some diaries.
Each chapter of Uncle Henry’s Letters to the Farm Boy addresses a different thing a farm boy might encounter throughout his life. The chapters include “the farm boy and his father,” “the farm boy and his future business,” and “the farm boy and his education” (all shown below). The book at Spencer is a second edition printing and is signed by Henry Wallace himself.
I found this book merely by coincidence. I stumbled upon it one day while walking through the stacks. I was curious to see if the title was as literal as it seemed, and it was. I always find books like this fascinating because it shows a glimpse into what life was like back then.
The front cover of – and selected pages from – Uncle Henry’s Letters to the Farm Boy by Henry Wallace, 1897. Call Number: RH B2381. Click images to enlarge.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing a glimpse into the lives of early pioneer homesteaders in Kansas. Coming from the R.H. Gandivan and R. Hugobook collection are photos (1883-1884) of early pioneers in front of their homes in Kansas. The collection consists of 24 photos from around the state. According to the finding aid, “the photographs depict pioneer families and their homesteads in the following Kansas counties: Clay, Jewell, McPherson, Mitchell, Ottawa, and Saline. Subjects include early pioneer houses and farmsteads, family groups, landscapes, and individual portraits.”
An entry in the Kansas Historical Society’s Kansapedia notes that “after the Civil War and before 1890 the population of Kansas increased by the greatest amount in its history. More than one million people streamed into Kansas seeking a new life on the frontier…Free and cheap land provided by the Homestead Act and the railroads attracted many settlers.” The Homestead Act was passed in 1862. Under its provisions, “settlers could claim 160 acres of public land. They paid a small filing fee and then had two options for getting title to the land…The Homestead Act led to the distribution of 80 million acres of public land by 1900.”
Houses in the late nineteenth century came in many shapes and sizes. The Old House Archives provide an idea of just how vast the design range was (though many have been updated as time goes on). Architectural Observer provides a brief glimpse into an empty late nineteenth century farmhouse.
A pioneer family and their farmstead in Mitchell County, Kansas, 1884. R.H. Gandiven and R. Hugoboom Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 547(f). Click image to enlarge.
A pioneer family and their farmstead in Mitchell County, Kansas, 1884. A note on the back of the photo reads “A little farm well tilled A house well filled A little wife well willed Mitchell ct Kansas, 1884.” R.H. Gandiven and R. Hugoboom Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 547(f). Click image to enlarge.
A family in Ottawa County, Kansas, 1884. R.H. Gandiven and R. Hugoboom Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 547(f). Click image to enlarge.
A common school in McPherson County, Kansas, 1884. R.H. Gandiven and R. Hugoboom Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 547(f). Click image to enlarge.
If you would like a glimpse into the life of a Kansan in the late 1800s, check out our earlier post featuring a Kansas farmer’s diary from 1896 or this post about letters and diaries of Kansas women in the 1860s. The library also houses the diary of Maude Egbert (a Kansas farm wife during the 1940s) and many others from throughout history.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
As summer begins to fade into the sunset and fall quickly approaches, harvest time will soon be in full swing. Agricultural practices were developed about 12,000 years ago with the domestication of crops and animals as humans shifted away from hunting and gathering practices to sedentary lifestyles. Agriculture in Kansas predates the state’s inception. Today, family-owned farms are the backbone of Kansas agriculture, making up about 64% of total farms. Kansas is a leading state in wheat, grain sorghum, and beef production. In addition to those crops, corn and soybeans are some of the most abundant crops grown in the state. Douglas County alone holds over 230,000 acres of farmland. Need more information on Kansas agriculture? The Kansas Department of Agriculture provides many statistics on the state’s involvement. There is even an interactive map to learn about each county’s agricultural contribution to the economy. Not quite sure what harvest time entails? The Iowa Farm Bureau offers great information on the great lengths farmers go to in order to ensure their crops are well cared for.
In honor of harvest time and our hard-working farmers, this week I am sharing a Kansas farmer’s diary. The 160-page diary tracks the anonymous farmer’s daily activities around their property in Winfield, Kansas, and offers insight into the complex processes of owning a farmstead between 1884 and 1899. A transcription of the pages shown here is provided below the photos. The numbers at the beginning of each line are dates; the quotation marks stand for “ditto,” or a repeat of the line above.
The library houses many personal libraries from everyday individuals in all stages of life. Items like this are irreplaceable and offer just a peak into what life was like in the past. You can find a previous That’s Distinctive! post covering the diary of Maude Egbert.
The front cover of the diary. Call Number: RH MS P885. Click image to enlarge.
Two pages from the diary, September and October 1896. Call Number: RH MS P885. Click image to enlarge.
Sept 1896
5. Bred Blood red Heifer 6. Alen Williams came 7. “ “ went home 7. Homer [Started] to school 7. Began cutting clover
15. Went to K.C. got 60 Barls 23. cts. 6 for Hauling (29.) 15 R.R. 3 cars & Engine Recked 16. Johns 15th Birthday “ working at reck 17. “ “ “ 18. “ “ “ 19. “ “ “ 20. “ “ “
23. Barled 24 Barls of Aples
30. Dehorned 3. red Heifers 30. White Sow crop in Ear Bred 31. Bred white Sow 31. Hauled 72. B. Coal
(1) The September 17, 1896, issue of the Olathe News reported extensively on this event under the headline “A Rousing Rip-Roaring Republican Rally! All of Johnson County Out on Parade Arrayed in the Royal Color of the Sunflower and the Goldenrod!”
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
There will be no That’s Distinctive! post next Friday, May 19. Posts will resume on May 26.
This week on That’s Distinctive! we offer a glimpse into a day in the life of Maude Egbert (1878-1955). The library houses a diary of hers that documents an entry a day for five years. This five-year diary kept by Maude Egbert of Clyde, Cloud County, Kansas, provides a regular accounting of her life as a farm wife during World War II. Activities or events she noted include sewing, entertaining and visiting friends and family, cooking, house cleaning, canning, personal health, farm activities like threshing, acquiring a swarm of bees, creek and river flooding, and the weather. Throughout the diary she calls her husband “Dad.”
The diary Maude used is called Five-Year Horoscope Diary: Your Destiny Day by Day. It was written by Samuel Nisenson and published in 1936 by World Syndicate Publishing. Maude used her diary from 1943 to 1948, although there are some large gaps where she did not fill it out. There are also some pages where the years are written out of order.
The front cover of Maude Egbert’s diary, Five-Year Horoscope Diary: Your Destiny Day by Day, 1943-1948. Call Number: RH MS B77. Click image to enlarge.
The introduction of Maude Egbert’s diary, 1943-1948. Call Number: RH MS B77. Click image to enlarge.
The pages for April 7th and 8th in Maude Egbert’s diary, 1943-1948. Call Number: RH MS B77. Click image to enlarge.
April 7, 1943 got my chickens Thrashed the alfalfa & [kaiffer?]
19[44] Ruth Martha & Teddy [Maude’s daughter and granddaughters] came for Easter vacation
1948 Esther & Emma [Mayson?] Went to Mile Society I visited Mrs Crouse Orville [Maude’s son] made garden to day
19[47] Doris [Maude’s granddaughter] took my washing to do Dad was sick yesterday & to day Roy ate dinner with us
April 8, 1943 Mary [Maude’s granddaughter] & I went fishing cought a nice mess. Dad went to [illegible]. bought a disk had a light [rain?] the first since [illegible] second
19[44] Ruth Esther & Doris [Maude’s daughter, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter] went to Concordia the little girls stayed with me Orville finished planting the oats Dad and Cliff fixed the wind mill. Planted some potatoes
19[45] Dad and I spent the day with Roy and Jessie Billy has the Penmonia [pneumonia] but is better Spent the evening with [illegible]
1948 Orville & Esther made garden & we went to spent the day croceting [crocheting]
1947 Cleaned the brooder house & Dad cleaned the big Chicken house
The pages for May 27th and 28th in Maude Egbert’s diary, 1943-1948. Call Number: RH MS B77. Click image to enlarge.
May 27, 1943 Washed to day. Dad planted corn. Marys [Maude’s granddaughter] birthday to day.
1944 Marys [Maude’s granddaughter] birthday to day rained all day Dad was sick all day
19[45] We all went to church. ate dinner with Mary [Maude’s granddaughter] as it is her. birthday Teddy [Maude’s granddaughter] stayed with Betty Lou at A [Hats]. for a few days
1946 Ruth Ted & Martha [Maude’s daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter] came for a few days
19[47] Dear Diary I am still sick
May 28, 19[43] Martha [Maude’s granddaughter] spent the day at Orvilles [Maude’s son]. Sewed on my dress Dad finished planting corn on. this place
19[44] Cleaned the brooder house & put in roost. Had our. first fried chicken. Roy Jessie and Billy Bob spent the afternoon with us.
19[45] Did general house work & put up my clean curtains
1946. Gene and Elizabeth came. Ruth Ted [Maude’s daughter and son-in-law] Doris [Maudes’ granddaughter] Cliff & I all went fishing. Esther and Genes came in the afternoon. Gene and Elizabeth stayed all [illegible] at [illegible]
Harvesting wheat in Kansas, 1914. Photograph by L. M. Ulmer, Abbyville, Kansas. The back of the postcard says this: “Much wheat is harvested in Kansas, with a header cutting 10 or 12 feet. The header is pushed into the grain by six or eight horses, a sickle clipping the heads and a rolling canvas elevating them into a headerbarge drawn alongside, and in it conveyed to stacks in convenient places, to be threshed later.” Call Number: RH PH P2606. Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
