Kansas City Manuscript Collections

Handwritten records of the Pleasant Grove Grange, southern Jackson County, MO, including correspondence, brief minutes, voting results, financial reports, store inventories, and a small, bound book of rituals.

Correspondence, notes, printed material, clippings, and reports about the Collective, a politically left-leaning organization at Penn Valley Community College.

The collection contains the papers of the Kansas City architect Frederick C. Gunn. These papers generally consist of personal papers and diaries, family papers relating to Gunn's parents, Major Otis Gunn and Mary Gunn, and papers related to Gunn's architectural business.

Huffaker was a teacher at the school operated in the Westport Methodist Church and later the new, public, Main School, which eventually the Allen School. Includes his diary that he used to record the books he read at college.

The organizational records of the Missouri Equal Rights Amendment Coalition for which Smithson was an active leader. Includes correspondence, minutes, reports, working papers, and tape recordings.

Minutes of the monthly meeting and irregular business meetings, official and unofficial correspondence, scrapbooks, news clippings, programs, financial records, roosters, newsletters, general administrative files including work done by Pen Women, and photographs.

Local author and historian Bradley's collected notes, drawings, pamphlets, maps, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs which she intended for a book on the life and work of Louis Curtiss, noted Kansas City architect.

The estate was owned by Robert Snyder Sr. located near Camdenton, MO. Photographs of the mansion (interior and exterior) and the surrounding countryside, including the Niangua River, caves, and fish. Also correspondence, pamphlets, clippings, and notes for publishing.

Minutes, contacts/leases, correspondence, and maps for an oil and coal company which operated in Coal County, OK. Kansas City realtor Newton Booth Childs (1849-1925) was an officer of the company.

Black and white and color film and video of interviews and regional feature stories of KCMO-TV broadcaster known on air as Harold Mack.

News clippings, correspondence, state voting records, campaign materials, and speeches about the Equal Rights Amendment collected by Morris, field coordinator for the Missouri Equal Rights Amendment Coalition and vice president of the Kansas City Chapter of the Women's Political Caucus.

The administrative records of the Women's Jazz Festival: minutes; correspondence; financial records; public relations; fundraising records; planning for the festivals, competitions, and scholarships; audio tapes; and a small number of slides and photographs.

Motion picture film documenting building built by the Swenson Construction Company, who built such buildings at the Jackson County Courthouse and the Kansas City City Hall. Also home movies made by Swenson of family activities.

Miscellaneous papers dealing with business affairs of Pendergast, Sr., political boss of Kansas City, MO, and his son. Also home movies taken by Pendergast Jr.

Daybook of financial transactions for Cogswell's store in Independence, MO. Indexed listing the names of customers.

Delivery Room Record book of an African-American physican, listing names of patients; the attending nurse; and the date, time, and clinical details about the delivery. All of the patients appear to have been African-American.

Hardy served as chairman of the Mayor's Commission on Civil Disorder, appointed by Mayor Ilus Davis to study the city's disturbances of 1968. includes correspondence, reports, interviews and statements, clippings, and printed and published materials, the final report and recommendations.

Photographs and motion film of Carl Kay (1901-1945) in his role as musician and photographer depicting big bands, KMBC radio musicians, and the Kansas City places.

Scrapbooks of newspaper clipping and other materials relating to Hillelson, Kansas City city council member, U.S. Congressman, and civic leader. Also film of a local television show that Hillelson hosted while Congressman on government issues.

Wiziarde was Whizzo the Clown, much beloved television personality airing and at other venues in the Kansas City area and Topeka, KS. Includes news clippings, correspondence, Whizzo show ideas, magazines, photographs, circus contracts, posters, masks, banners, flyers and videotape and film.

Minutes, dues records, yearbooks, calendars of events, scrapbooks, and publicity files of the Club formed by American Association of University Women (AAUW) members who wished to have more control at the local level: to be a "non-profit group whose purpose would be to foster good fellowship among college women and to support local projects of a non-controversial civic, educational, and social service nature."

Motion picture films taken by Feeback, a professional television cameraman in Kansas City, MO. The subjects of the film include, Old Westport, Volker Park, WHB, KMBZ and KCMO radio.

The Records, heavy with photographs, document the business and activities of the company and the Milgram family. Among the many topics are the American Royal, Jazz, the Ban Johnson League and other amateur sport.

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the medical field, railroads, politics, and items Kansas City physician Lewis personally found interesting. Topics include the University of Kansas City Medical department (not to be confused with UMKC), various medical associations, historical sketches of people, papers written by Dr. Lewis, and the Women's Medical College of Kansas City, MO.

Research materials, manuscript drafts, correspondence, interviews and other recordings for historian and author Miller's work, including his book, Truman: The Rise to Power. Also personal files including on William Jewell College at which he was a student leader, and other projects and topics he researched and wrote upon.

Minutes and membership records of the Cora Lyman Chapter, Past Presidents Assembly of the National Federation of Music Clubs; Curriculum for music classes in the Kansas City, KS Public Schools and the Wichita Public Schools; the Kansas City Musical Club Bulletin; and various programs, directories and other items relating to music in Kansas City area.

Wally was a professional photographer with the Kansas City Journal, a businessman, and an inventor. Photographs of famous local and national individuals. Places and events. Motion picture film of family activities and Wally's interests in trains and aviation. Also materials relating to his interests and the production and promotion of his businesses and inventions.

Records of the Jesuit mission to the Potawatomi Indians located in present Linn County, KS, which moved to present Pottawatomie County, KS and became St. Mary's College (Saint Marys, KS.). Mission and college records, reports sent to superiors, and priests' diaries. Includes early missionary records of births, deaths and marriages in Buchanan, Clay, and Jackson Counties, MO.

Organizational records of a now disbanded Garden Club in Kansas City, MO. Includes board and regular meeting minutes, financial records, attendance lists, a small amount of correspondence, yearbooks, and photographs.

Minutes, newspaper clippings, printed materials, publications, administrative files, reports, surveys, studies, photographs, slides, audio/visual media, memorabilia, and scrapbooks.

Correspondence from William Clyde McClelland, a dentist and was a maker of dental prosthetics to his wife, Flossie, and daughter Virginia during his business travels. Also family photographs, clippings, publications, and ephemera.

Reports, correspondence, clippings, and photographs for the Campaign, an activity of the American Red Cross to relieve farmers affected by drought in the 1930s. Among other items and services, the Red Cross provided seed, food, school lunches, and cash.

Family Bible, a pocket Bible, and photocopies of family records for Drips, who prominent in the western fur trade.

History and description of the Kansas City Museum, including printed material, photographs, clippings and personal reminiscences.

Manual High School debate society of Minutes, charter and other organizational papers, and printed material. Also records, rosters, and printed material relating to the Manual Debaters' alumni association.

Correspondence regarding the invitation of Kansas City guests to the dedication and includes responses from the invitees.

The collection consists of two illustrated catalogues produced by the Buford and George Manufacturing Company. The contents of the catalogue pertain to saddlery and other equestrian accessories.

Notebooks kept by Braecklein, a Kansas City druggist kept later in his life. They are chiefly diaries, but also contain notes for his study of Spanish, sketches, and clippings.

An account book for merchants on the Kansas City Levee, and perhaps the first Jewish establishment in the city.

Weekly time books for a major Kansas City contractor and builder, each for a separate construction project: First National Bank, C.A. Burton Building, Victor Building, New England National Bank, Loose-Wiles Building, and Rothenberg and Schloss Building. Includes the names of laborers, number of hours worked, pay rate, and weekly totals.

Personnel directory, daily log, general orders, calendars for the Kansas City World War II era civil defense operation.

Personal papers of church and civic leader and advocate for family, women, children and automobile safety.

Minute books and documents relating to land development company for the West Bottoms area (now called the Central Industrial District) location below the west bluffs of Kansas City, MO.

Correspondence and telegrams congratulating Brownson upon his retirement from Western Union Telegraph Company after 55 years. Also a brief history of the telegraph in Kansas City.

The collection contains the memoir of Frederick W. Moody. The memoir contains stories regarding his immigration to the United States from England in 1857, his travels to New Mexico, Colorado, and early life in Kansas City and Westport.

"The Snow Fox", a fictionalized history of the Rine family before and during Revolutionary War times, written by Rine.

Research correspondence and typed transcripts of historical documents, and Photostats of original documents from the National Archives concerning the event in Kansas City, MO on August 13, 1863.

Reminiscence of Kansas City written to Dr. W.L. Campbell, by Geary, early settler, real estate agent and former City Clerk of Kansas City, MO.

This collection contains a survey for a sub-division of six acres of land in Westport, Missouri, belonging to the estate of Christian Glanz. The Survey was hand-drawn by A. M. Allen.

Original records of the Town Company which was the origin of Kansas City, MO. Includes minutes and financial accounts of the corporation: lists of lots sold, notes receivable, distribution of proceeds, holdings, and minutes of the proprietors' meetings. Also research on the town site, the Town Company, its Founders, and the Town of Kansas from its origin until 1850.

Newspaper clippings from the local Kansas City area newspapers about the people who contributed to the campaign and the amounts they gave, poems related to the war and the campaign, and pictures and histories of the Kansas City men who died in the war. Many Red Cross ads are also included, as well as ads from companies that supported the campaign.

The Missouri River Navigation Association Records contains photographs and negatives depicting different aspects of engineering and activities along the Missouri River.

Personal and business papers of George Kessler, noted landscape and city planning architect who among many national and international projects designed the Kansas City, Missouri, park and boulevard system. (Microfilm from the Missouri History Museum.)

Newspaper clippings discussing every aspect of Kansas City including politics, city planning, recreation, education, scandals, streets, health, law enforcement, the state constitution, taxes, and elections among many other issues of the day.

Noted historian Gregg's hand written research notes concerning Fort Osage and the three major routes (the Santa Fe Trail, the Oregon Trail, and the California Trail) to California during the 1800's. It includes personal histories, Indian affairs, the California Gold Rush, Missionaries, various wars, the Walker family and other related subjects.

Correspondence in both Japanese and English; some financial material; class notes; one photograph; and some ephemeral material. Furuichi graduated from the Kansas City-Western Dental College and was a dentist in Kansas City KS.

Personal and business correspondence, and financial records for Taylor, president and chairman of the board of the J.C. Nichols Company.

Audiotapes, film, and videotape of the Southwick's children's shows appearing on KMBC-TV, and other shows on radio and television.

Kept by Hutchens of Lamar, Missouri, a farmer, dry goods store owner, and manager of the Barton County Farm, the ledger includes record of sales; expenses, income from produce; and lists of inmates working at the Farm.

Journal ledger of the Summers and Company dry goods/grocery of Parkville and Kansas City. Also records of Summers service as justice of the peace in Kansas City.

The Emelie Levin Papers contain materials related to Emelie Levin's career in social services, her experience as the executive director of Jewish Family and Children's Services, and her affiliation with the National Council of Jewish Women. Also included in the collection are unidentified photographs and obituaries for Samuel Sosland.

Organizational records of the Club including minutes, correspondence, publications, financial records, programs, scrapbooks, and photographs. The mission of Kiwanis is to serve the children of the world. Our members help shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, mentor the disadvantaged and care for the sick.

Organizational records of this philanthropic and service organization. Includes minutes, newsletters, directories, yearbooks, information on various community agencies supported by the organization through the work of its members.

Renderings and photographs of buildings designed by Meyn and Fennel in Kansas City MO and KS. Also includes microfilm of plans and specs.

General ledgers of the Kansas City, KS office of a major national oil company.

Records of a local regiment of the Missouri National Guard. Includes log and copies of correspondence and muster rolls and general and special orders.

Account book for Kansas City, MO Public Works including the Engineers, Public Repairs, Public Improvements and Sewer Departments.

Volume 31 (1902) and Volume 73, with an index (1914-1915). Gives the name of the accused, charge, and disposition of the case.

Account journal for the Department for expenses. Includes invoices pasted to pages.

Register listing names and amounts of tax on land transactions in Kansas City, MO.

Jackson County Court [road]records 1833-1908 includes establishment of roads, vacation of roads, streets, alleys; Assessors Office records 1866-1891 include roads, alleys, streets, roadway and sidewalk tax assessments

Invitations and announcements of club and fraternity parties. Several well-known musicians of the era (such as Bennie Moten) played at these parties. Also a photograph of the Sigma Chi Psi football team and a scrapbook with Fraternity News clippings related to Perkins' Sigma Chi Psi, of which he was a member and an officer.

Mayoral, personal, and professional papers documenting Davis' political, legal, and civic contributions. Davis is considered the most important Kansas City, MO mayor of the 20th century.

George worked for the Bureau of Animal Husbandry in the United States Department of Agriculture in Kansas City. Consists of photographs of the Kansas City, KS and Stockyards area.

Fraker played coronet, was a music teacher, and conductor of the Third Missouri Infantry Band. Consists of handwritten music manuscripts, sheet music, correspondence, photos, and scrapbooks relating to his training and career.

Photograph negatives of events, people and places taken by the newspaper's photographers. In general these images were not used but were taken at the same time as those that were published.

Correspondence to and from Lowe during his time as General Agent for the Union Pacific Railroad.

Humphrey was an actress and director and taught theater at the University of Missouri in Columbia and in Kansas City. Includes scripts, teaching notes, and other material relating to plays with which she was involved at the Missouri Repertory Theatre and other theaters in the Kansas City, MO area.

Norton and Peterson were professors in the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri Kansas City. Includes newspaper clippings, reports, scripts, correspondence and other miscellaneous items relating to research project, particularly African American musicians and related programs

Goodrich was an attorney, Jackson County Circuit Judge, Curator of the University of Missouri, and general counsel for the Commerce Trust Company. Includes business records and correspondence, along with personal receipts and correspondence to and from Goodrich. Some deal with the bankruptcy of businesses in Kansas City and annual reports, notices publications related to Commerce Trust Company and other local and national corporations.

Engineers' field books and documents relating to the surveying and construction of the Kansas City & Kansas Southwestern Railway, and electric interurban between Independence, KS, Topeka, KS and Kansas City, MO.

The records of Union Cemetery Association contain minutes, financial and legal documents, correspondence, lists of plot owners, a scrapbook of clippings, a stock book, and photographs concerning the cemetery shared by the towns of Kansas City and Westport, Missouri, dated 1857-1954.

Duplicates of documents, media, and items placed into the Century Box to be opened at the beginning of the 21st century.

Mrs. Edwin C. White was a well-known music teacher in Kansas City, MO. Newspaper clippings of famous musical artists, music programs from Kansas City's Orpheum Theater, Shubert Theater, and others. Also items from the Society of Music Teachers and related to her students.

Classroom presentations, photographs of musicians, a brief history of the Institute, and various other miscellanies related to the Institute, once part of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music.

Noted journalist in 1930s China, intelligence officer for the Flying Tigers, Wisconsin local historian and author. Includes research notes and writing by Rosholt on China and the Far East.

Administrative files of the KC150 Committee to plan events for Kansas City's sesquicentennial celebration. Includes correspondence, chronological files, financial and legal materials, various databases, marketing and public relations, special events planning, committee minutes, sponsor files, videotapes, printed and published materials, and photographs.

Films, scrapbook material concerning Tom Pendergast. Loan for copying.

16mm movie film

An artificial collection of land title abstracts from various sources.

Scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings, photographs, manuscript materials, publications, and research notes of a variety of Kansas City area events and topics, such a early settlers and civic leaders, built environment, art and culture, education, government, and commercial activities.

Newspapers clippings and notes pertaining to the history of the town of Westport, MO, now part of Kansas City.

Begun as the Progressive Club, Oakwood was the primary county club for the Jewish community of Kansas City. Organizational records including minutes from Annual and Board of Directors meetings, financial reports, by-laws, constitutions, and amendments, architectural drawings, correspondence, and photographs.

Organizational records of the regional chapter including administrative files, case files, and position files.

Political ephemera, both local and national, including campaign material, printed material, and newsletters.

Video oral history interviews of individuals whose experiences highlight past events that have shaped Kansas City.

De Goode was one of the engineers who helped build WDAF-TV. Newspaper clippings, correspondence, and photos on all aspects of the opening and running of the television station in Kansas City, MO.

The Scrapbook of Children’s Literature consists of a single scrapbook containing newspaper clippings of children’s stories, poems, and pictures that appeared in The Youth’s Companion, an American Children’s magazine. The clippings are undated and were pasted over a business ledger from Cleveland, Ohio. The Youth’s Companion, later known as The Companion-For All the Family, was an American children’s magazine, which began publication in 1827 and ran until its merger with The American Boy in 1929. The magazine was published in Boston, Massachusetts, by the Perry Mason Company.

Administrative materials of the Board which oversaw operation of American Cablevision's public access channel. Also information from Ecumedia, an interfaith, nonprofit television show on Channel 30 of American Cablevision, and the Metropolitan Inter-Church Agency (MICA), a council of churches that brought the Christian community together.