HISTORY OF KANSAS
POPULATION OF KANSAS BY COUNTIES.
FROM THE UNITED STATES CENSUS OF 1860, 1870 and 1880,
AND THE STATE CENSUS OF 1865 AND 1875.
County 1860. 1865. 1870. 1875. 1880.
_________ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______
Allen 3082 2737 7022 6638 11463
Anderson 2400 2659 5220 5800 8991
Arapahoe ..... ..... ..... ..... 3
Atchison 7729 8929 15507 20191 26488
Barbour ..... ..... ..... 367 2661
Barton ..... ..... 2 2106 10326
Bourbon 6101 7961 15076 16879 20518
Brown 2607 2891 6823 8728 12830
Buffalo ..... ..... ..... ..... 191
Butler 437 294 3035 9840 18591
Chase 808 870 1975 3000 6089
Chautauqua ..... ..... ..... 7634 11078
Cherokee 1501 ..... 11038 13393 22075
Cheyenne ..... ..... ..... ..... 37
Clay 163 238 2942 6648 12320
Clark ..... ..... ..... ..... 163
Cloud ..... ..... 2323 7195 15348
Coffey 2842 3383 6201 7239 11456
Comanche ..... ..... ..... ..... 372
Cowley ..... ..... 117 8927 21561
Crawford ..... ..... 8160 9383 16642
Davis 1163 1189 5526 4765 6996
Decatur ..... ..... ..... ..... 4180
Dickinson 378 442 3043 6911 15621
Doniphan 8083 9595 13969 13923 14624
Douglas 8637 15814 20592 18365 21773
Edwards ..... ..... ..... 234 2419
Elk ..... ..... ..... 5300 10665
Ellis ..... ..... 1336 942 6183
Ellsworth ..... ..... 1185 1761 8529
Foote ..... ..... ..... ..... 411
Ford ..... ..... 427 813 3123
Franklin 3030 3695 10385 10039 16852
Godfrey 19 ..... ..... ..... .....
Gove ..... ..... ..... ..... 1197
Graham ..... ..... ..... ..... 4262
Grant ..... ..... ..... ..... 10
Greeley ..... ..... ..... ..... 3
Greenwood 759 1188 3484 6642 10560
Harper ..... ..... ..... ..... 21139
Hamilton ..... ..... ..... ..... 68
Harvey ..... ..... ..... 5050 11478
Hodgeman ..... ..... ..... ..... 1708
Howard ..... ..... 2794 ..... .....
Hunter 158 ..... ..... ..... .....
Jackson 1936 296 665 684 10722
Jefferson 4459 5853 12526 11654 15574
Jewell ..... ..... 207 7652 17524
Johnson 4364 6093 13684 14582 16958
Kansas ..... ..... ..... ..... 9
Kearney ..... ..... ..... ..... 159
Kingman ..... ..... ..... ..... 3730
Labette ..... ..... 9973 14568 22753
Lane ..... ..... ..... ..... 634
Leavenworth12606 24256 32444 27738 32345
Lincoln ..... ..... 516 2492 8586
Linn 6336 6543 12174 11546 15326
Lyon 3197 2248* 8014 9578 17379
Marion 74 162 768 5904 12471
Madison 636 ..... ..... ..... .....
Marshall 2280 2349 6901 10818 16147
McPherson ..... ..... 738 6202 17145
Meade ..... ..... ..... ..... 296
Miami 4980 6151 11725 12680 17806
Mitchell ..... ..... 485 5182 14917
Montgomery ..... ..... 7564 12177 18124
Morris 770 1141 2225 4595 9228
Nemaha 2436 2638 7339 7103 12468
Neosho 88 777 10206 9763 15136
Ness ..... ..... 2 ..... 3322
Norton ..... ..... ..... 901 7004
Osage 1113 1169 7648 10281 19654
Osborne ..... ..... 33 3466 12472
Ottawa ..... 178 2127 4430 10325
Ottoe 238 ..... ..... ..... .....
Pawnee ..... ..... 179 1006 5349
Phillips ..... ..... ..... 2817 12042
Pottawatomie1529 2119 7848 10342 16347
Pratt ..... ..... ..... ..... 1890
Rawlins ..... ..... ..... ..... 1626
Reno ..... ..... ..... 5114 12776
Republic ..... ..... 1281 8050 14945
Rice ..... ..... 5 2455 9297
Riley 1224 1813 5105 7066 10408
Rooks ..... ..... ..... 567 8062
Rush ..... ..... ..... 451 5498
Russell ..... ..... 150 1054 7357
Saline ..... 473 4248 6359 13861
Scott ..... ..... ..... ..... 43
Sedgwick ..... ..... 1095 8162 18928
Sequoya ..... ..... ..... ..... 568
Seward ..... ..... ..... ..... 5
Shawnee 3513 3458 13121 15389 29120
Sheridan ..... ..... ..... ..... 1574
Sherman ..... ..... ..... ..... 9
Smith ..... ..... 66 3915 13904
Stafford ..... ..... ..... ..... 4768
Stanton ..... ..... ..... ..... 5
Stevens ..... ..... ..... ..... 12
Sumner ..... ..... 22 4925 20944
Thomas ..... ..... ..... ..... 161
Trego ..... ..... 166 ..... 2535
Waubansee 1623 1081 3362 4694 8761
Wallace ..... ..... 538 ..... 686
Washington 383 ..... 4081 8548 14825
Wichita ..... ..... ..... ..... 14
Wilson 27 ..... 6694 9752 12764
Woodson 1488 1307 3827 4472 6539
Wyandotte 4827 4827 10015 12385 19152
Total 107206 140179 364399 531156 996296
* Only partial return
EARLY DISCOVERIES.
The soil of Kansas was first trodden by Europeans in the winter of 1541-
2, by a Spanish expedition from Mexico, under Coronado, who passed
through the State from south to north. The general direction of his
march may now be indicated by a line drawn from Barbour County to Nemaha
County.
In the year 1719, Kansas was visited by a Frenchman, M. Dustine, who was
sent from New Orleans. He traveled up the Osage and Kansas Rivers as far
as the mouth of the Republican, and then went over two hundred miles in
a westerly or northwesterly direction, thus crossing Coronado's trail
near the point where Fort Riley is now situated. He took possession of
the entire country, in the name of France.
The next year a large expedition was sent from New Mexico by the
Spaniards, to conquer the Indians who had been friendly to the French.
The Missouris and Pawnees were at war, and the Spaniards attempted to
form an alliance with the former to destroy the latter. They mistook a
Missouri for a Pawnee village, and laid their plans before the tribe
which they proposed to destroy. The Pawnees delayed their answer until
their warriors could assemble, and then two thousand of their braves
fell upon the invaders and destroyed the whole body except one priest,
who returned to Santa Fe.
Fort Orleans was then established by the French on an island in the
Missouri River, near the mouth of the Osage, and a continuous trade was
carried on with the Indians.
In 1762, Louisiana, including all Kansas, except that portion which lies
south of the Arkansas River, and west of the Twenty-third Meridian west
from Washington, was ceded by France to Spain, and, in 1800, was
retroceded by Spain. In 1803, Louisiana was purchased by the United
States. That part of the State not included in the Louisiana purchase
was ceded by the State of Texas in 1848.
In 1823, the overland commerce between Missouri and Santa Fe was
established, and, two years later, the "Santa Fe Trail" was surveyed by
the United States Government. Fort Leavenworth was established in 1827.
The Baptist Shawnee Mission was begun in 1831, and the Methodists' one
year later. The site of Fort Scott was selected as a military post in
1842.
In 1850, the Government surveyed the military road from Fort Leavenworth
to Fort Kearney.
In 1853, Fort Riley was established. In 1845, the Mormons assembled near
the present site of Atchison, to commence their journey across the
plains, and from that time the soil of Kansas has been crossed in all
directions by the trails of emigrants bound for the Rockies and beyond.
Until the spring of 1854, traders, missionaries and Indian agents were
the only white persons to whom the country was open.
TERRITORIAL HISTORY.
May 30, 1854, President Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska bill and it
became a law. The following is copied from the act:
[Section 19.] And be it further enacted, That all that part of the
territory of the United States included within the following limits,
except such portions thereof as are hereinafter expressly exempted from
the operations of this act, to wit, beginning at a point on the western
boundary of the State of Missouri, where the thirty-seventh parallel of
north latitude crosses the same; thence west on said parallel to the
eastern boundary of New Mexico; thence north on said boundary to
latitude thirty-eight, thence following said boundary westward to the
eastern boundary of the Territory of Utah, on the summit of the Rocky
Mountains; thence northward on said summit to the fortieth parallel of
latitude; thence east on said parallel to the western boundary of the
State of Missouri; thence south with the western boundary of said State
to the place of beginning, be, and the same is hereby, created into a
temporary Government, by the name of the Territory of Kansas; and when
admitted as a State or States, the said Territory, or any portion of the
same, shall he received into the Union with or without slavery, as their
constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission. Provided,
That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to inhibit the
Government of the United States from dividing said Territory into two or
more Territories, in such manner and at such times as Congress shall
deem convenient and proper, or from attaching any portion of said
Territory to any other State or Territory of the United States. Provided
further, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to impair
the rights of person or property now pertaining to the Indians in sold
Territory, so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty
between the United States and such Indians, or to include any territory,
which, by treaty with any Indian tribe, is not, without the consent of
said tribe, to he included within the Territorial limits or jurisdiction
of any State or Territory, but all such territory shall be excepted out
of the boundaries, and constitute no part of the Territory of Kansas,
until said tribe shall signify their assent to the President of the
United States, to be included within the said Territory of Kansas, or to
affect the authority of the Government of the United States to make any
regulation respecting such Indians, their lands, property or other
rights, by treaty, law or otherwise, which it would have been competent
to the Government to make if this act had never passed.
The people of the Eastern States had expected the bill to pass, and both
North and South were prepared for the fight between slavery and freedom.
In March, 1854, Eli Thayer, of Boston, Mass., proposed the establishment
of a society whose chief object should be the settlement of Kansas by
Free-Soilers. The society was organized under the name of the "New
England Emigrant Aid Society," with a capital limited to $1,000,000;
only one-tenth of this sum was used by the society.
Secret societies were formed in Missouri and other Southern States,
whose object was to settle Kansas with Pro-slavery men, and to drive out
and hinder the Free-Soilers from coming in. Two months after the
President signed the Kansas-Nebraska bill, the first party of New
Englanders reached the borders of Kansas, and, the next day, August 1,
founded the city of Lawrence; a similar colony founded Topeka, December
5, 1854.
In June, 1854, the Leavenworth Town Company was organized in Missouri,
and, in July, the Atchison Town Company; during the summer, both towns
were commenced by Pro-slavery men.
By the act of Congress creating the Territory, Fort Leavenworth was
named as the temporary seat of government.
The first officers of the Territory of Kansas were: Andrew H. Reeder, of
Easton, Penn., Governor; Israel B. Donaldson, of Illinois, United States
Marshal; Daniel Woodson, of Lynchburg, Va., Secretary; Samuel D.
Lecompte, of Maryland, Chief Justice; Saunders W. Johnston, of Ohio, and
Rush Elmore, of Alabama, Associate Justices; John Calhoun, of Illinois,
Surveyor General; T. J. B. Cramer, Treasurer. October 7, 1854, Gov.
Reeder arrived in the Territory, and established the executive office
temporarily at Fort Leavenworth.
November 29, 1854, an election for Delegate to Congress was held. Gen.
J. W. Whitfield, the Pro-slavery candidate, was elected.
A census was taken in January and February, 1855, which showed a
population of 8,601, with 2,905 voters.
An election of members of the Territorial Legislature was, held March
30, 1855. As in the preceding November, many Missourians crossed the
river and voted, swelling the number of votes to 6,307. Gov. Reeder
refused to issue certificates of election until he was compelled to do
so by the use of pistols in the hands of those who claimed to be
elected. The Governor ordered a new election in the districts where the
fraud had been committed. This election was held May 22, 1855.
Gov. Reeder called a session of the Legislature to meet at Pawnee. This
was a town near Fort Riley, laid out by some of the officers of the
fort, in the fall of 1854. By order of Jefferson Davis, Secretary of
war, the boundaries of the Military Reserve were so enlarged as to
absorb the town, which was destroyed by the United States troops in the
fall of 1855.
The Territorial Legislature, convened on Monday, July 2, 1855. Thomas
Johnston was elected President of the Council, and Gen. Stringfellow,
Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Free-Soil members, elected
in May, were unseated, and the Pro-slavery men, elected in March, were
seated in their places.
The Legislature located the seat of government at Shawnee,
notwithstanding the Governor's veto, and, on July 6, adjourned to that
place.
It re-assembled at Shawnee Mission July 16. The Missouri code of laws
was enacted, changing the words where necessary, to make State apply to
Territory.
The patronage of the Territory was given to the Legislature and its
appointees, so that the present and future Governors should be powerless
to secure fair play to the people. Gov. Reeder vetoed all their bills,
on the ground that they were not legally constituted, but the bills were
passed over his veto.
The Free-Soil men had met in a convention at Lawrence, June 25, and came
to the conclusion that whatever laws might be passed by the Legislature,
could have no authority over them. President Pierce removed Gov. Reeder,
August 1, 1855, and Secretary Woodson became Acting Governor until the
arrival of Hon. Wilson Shannon, of Ohio, who was appointed Governor.
At an election ordered by the Shawnee Legislature, on October 1, Gen.
Whitfield was elected Delegate to Congress; he was the only candidate,
and two-thirds of his votes came from Missouri. October 9, the Free-Soil
party held an election for the same office, and chose Gov. Reeder.
Congress refused to admit either of them - Gov. Reeder, because he was
not elected in accordance with the regulations of the Territorial
Legislature, and Gen. Whitfield, because the frauds at his election were
too manifest to be overlooked.
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DONIPHAN COUNTY 1882 PLAT BOOK, PART 1