Letters of Edward and Sarah Fitch: Lawrence, Kansas, 1855-1863

Topeka, KS: Kansas State Historical Society (Sections reprinted from Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains, 1989). Staplebound, magazine format, 44 pages. Part I of the Fitch letters was published in the spring 1989 issue of Kansas History; Part II was published in the summer 1989 issue. Protected by museum binder (see our photos). Clean and unmarked; stapled binding intact. Pristine copy.

ABOUT THE LETTERS OF EDWARD AND SARAH FITCH: A collection of little-known letters from a couple who were on the frontlines of the anti-slavery movement leading up to the Civil War. They were in Lawrence, Kansas when William Quantrill and his raiders burned the town, killing more than 180 defenseless civilians. After Part I of the Fitch letters was published in the spring 1989 issue of Kansas History, approximately 100 additonal letters were discovered by a descendant of the Fitch family and were published as Part II in the summer 1989 issue.

ABOUT THE EDITOR: John M. Peterson, a native of Logan County, Kansas, has B.S. and M.A. degrees from the University of Kansas. Before his retirement he was employed in budget work for the U.S. government in the Washington, D.C. area. The difficult and time-consuming task of transcribing these letters was undertaken by Dorothy Norris with some help from other volunteers and staff members of Watkins Community Museum, Lawrence, Kansas.