Box 1

FF 1

Contains the letter of John Brown written to his cousin Reverend Luther Humphrey on November 19, 1859 while he was a condemned prisoner and under sentence to death by hanging on December 2, 1859 for his act of treason in raiding Harper's Ferry, Virginia. He wrote the letter from Charles Town, Jefferson County, Virginia. This letter was thought at one time to be the original, which was found in 1927 among the papers of the late Theodore Morrison, librarian of Fairmount College, Wichita. This letter was in an envelope addressed to Morrison's father, Dr. N. J. Morrison, Olivet, Michigan, postmarked Brooklyn, New York, March 2, 1864. However, this letter is a lithographed facsimile reproduction of the original. The original letter was owned by William G. and Daniel R. Taylor of Cleveland, Ohio. Before William's death, he gave the letter in May 1943, to Storer College, in Harper's Ferry, as a gift. At one time seven different people claimed to have the original letter, of which Dr. Morrison's was one.

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FF 2

Contains the envelope addressed to Dr. N. J. Morrison, Olivet, Michigan, postmarked Brooklyn, New York, March 2, 1864, which contained the John Brown letter.

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FF 3

Contains a letter and envelope addressed to Dr. Flora C. Clough, Department of English Literature, Municipal University, Wichita, Kansas from Boyd B. Stutler, Chief Clerk, Printing Department, State of West Virginia, State Board of Control, Superintendent of Public Printing, Charleston, dated February 7, 1927. Stutler tells Miss Clough that he is a collector of John Brown literature and was interested in the discovery of an original Brown letter. To his knowledge, he thought the original letter belonged to the Taylors in Cleveland, Ohio.

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FF 4

Contains a letter and envelope addressed to Miss Clough from Stutler, dated February 15, 1927, stating that he believed that the Wichita letter was the original.

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FF 5

Contains a letter and envelope addressed to Miss Clough from Stutler, dated March 14, 1927, stating that he thought that the Brown-Humphrey letter is probably worth at least two hundred dollars, but perhaps could be worth much more.

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FF 6

Contains a letter addressed to Mr. Downing P. O'Harra, Librarian, University of Wichita, Wichita, Kansas from Stutler. Stutler informs O'Harra that the Brown-Humphrey letter that the University holds is not the original but a lithographed facsimile. The report of the investigation appeared in the Colby Library Quarterly.

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FF 7

Contains a copy of the May 1947 issue of the Colby Library Quarterly where the report of the investigation of the Brown-Humphrey letter appeared stating that the Wichita letter is a lithographed facsimile and the original was owed by the Taylor brothers in Cleveland, Ohio and then given to the Storer College in Harper's Ferry. The article was written by Stutler and is entitled, "John Brown's Letter." Stutler was the managing editor of the American Legion Magazine and his collection of John Browniana was the only sizeable one left in private hands.

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FF 8

Contains two newspaper articles on John Brown: one entitled, "A Letter from John Brown: Communication Written Thriteen Days Before His Death Is Found in a Trunk at Wichita University." It appeared in the Wichita Beacon in February 1927. It describes the letter and how it was found. However, the letter confuses the city "Charleston" for "Charles Town." The other article appeared in the Kansas City Times, dated December 12, 1934 describing Brown's life.

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FF 9

Contains a letter from Laura Heiswanger of the University Library at the University of Kansas to Downing P. O'Harra, Librarian at the University of Wichita, dated January 25, 1960. Neiswanger thanks O'Harra for letting her use the Brown-Humphrey letter for a display of John Brown material.

Box 1

FF 10

Contains a photographic copy of a portrait of John Brown. It was photographed from the portrait by Mrs. Helen Brodt, painted in 1864 at Red Bluff, California.