Dr. James Naismith

Dr. James Naismith (1861-1939) = Presbyterian Minister. Physician. Professor. Best known as the Inventor of Basketball. Born in Canada to John & Margaret (Young) Naismith who passed away when he was but eight or nine, he was raised by his grandparents and an uncle.
He attended courses at both the Presbyterian College and McGill University in Montreal, Canada and from there, in 1890 he entered the School for Christian Workers college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was there that James Naismith came up with the new game. He was inspired by a Canadian game he played as a child, but instead of using rocks, he created his game to be played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets.

From Springfield, Naismith went to Denver where he finally acquired a medical degree at the Gross Medical College in 1898 and later, in the same year, he joined the University of Kansas faculty at Lawrence, Kansas. He initiated the first collegiate Jayhawks basketball game at the University.
Following the 1936 Olympics, he was offered thousands of dollars for endorsements of various tobacco products, which he rejected on principle -- tobacco was harmful to young people.
James was a papa to several children and a happy husband. He remained at Lawrence until his death in 1939. 

More to Read:

1. Basketball: Its Origin and Development. By James Naismith. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE; 1996. 
2. Basketball History

3. Canadian History for Kids

4. Kansas Medical License Application

5. Kansas Sampler

6. Ten Interesting Facts about James Naismith

7. Where Basketball was Invented

8. Findagrave #753 

9. Naismith's Obituary

Places to See in KS:

1. Allen Fieldhouse (Booth Family Hall of Athletics Museum), KU Campus, 1700 Naismith Drive, Lawrence

2.  Naismith Hall-Campus Student Housing, Lawrence

3. Watkins Community Museum of History, 3rd floor, 1047 Massachusetts, Lawrence
4. Memorial Park Cemetery, East 15th, Lawrence 

Citation: "Dr. James Naismith." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 7 January 2019. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver (1860-1943) – Professor Scientist of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Best known for his work with the peanut. George Washington Carver was born to a slave woman named Mary owned by his German foster parents Moses and Susan Carver. Since the Carvers did not have any natural children of their own, they raised George and his brother James after their mother was stolen by night riders during the Civil War.

George loved God's creation and had a way with plants and animals. He wanted to learn more about the mysteries of God's creation and left home at age 11 to get his education. Between 1873 and 1877, he attended the services at a African Methodist church in Neosho, MO. Later, around the year 1883, George joined a Presbyterian church in Minneapolis, Kansas. We know this because the Church Registry Roll book has been preserved.

George was talented in many areas. Not only was he good with plants, but he also loved music and art.

He wanted to attend college, but was denied admission to Highland University in Doniphan County, Kansas because he was black. He then tried farming in Kansas and soon afterward was accepted as an art major at Simpson College in Iowa, later transferring to the present Iowa State University and earning two degrees in Agriculture.

In 1896, Carver accepted an offer from Dr. Booker T. Washington to come to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to teach. He could have become a rich man, but he freely shared his secrets. For example, he wrote a series of free Agricultural Bulletins for farmers that provided information on crops, cultivation techniques and recipes for nutritious meals.

After Carver died in 1943, Congress designated the Carver home in Diamond Grove, Missouri a National Park.

A Bit of Trivia:

1847 = The Missouri Legislature made it illegal to educate blacks. Also, the legislature prohibited slaves from gathering in any kind of assembly, barred any religious services that were led by a black minister (unless a white official was present), and flatly outlawed the immigration of free black people into the state.

More to Read:

1. George Washington Carver. By Henry Thomas. 1958.

2. George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist. By Janet & Geoff Benge.

3. George Washington Carver, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior tourist brochure

4. Missouri Legends: Famous People from the Show-Me State. John W. Brown. 2008.

5. Webster's Biographical Dictionary. G & C. Merriam, 1956.

6. George Washington Carver: Scientist and Inventor. By Judy Monroe.

7. George Washington Carver: Peanut Wizard. Laura Driscoll.

8. “George Washington Carver in Paola” By Joe Hursey. Miami County Historical Museum, Summer 2012 Edition. P. 6. 

9. "Negro Scientist, George Washington Carver" Official Manual "Blue Book," State of Missouri 1949-50. Secretary of State, Jefferson City, MO. p. 24
10. Carver Birthplace Association website 
11. The Peanut Man
12. Find-a-Grave Memorial

Places to Visit in MO. & KS.:

1. George Washington Carver National Monument, 5646 Carver Road, Diamond, MO.

2. Griot Museum of Black History & Culture, 2505 St. Louis Ave., St. Louis, MO.

3. See Carver's statue at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis, MO.

4. National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, 630 Hall of Fame Dr. Bonner Springs, KS.

5. Miami County Historical Museum, 12 E. Peoria, Paola, Ks.

6. Former Residence = 309 East Miami Street, Paola, KS.


Extras For the (Home) Educator:
1. Classroom Poster, (#T-38306) Trend Enterprises, IN. St. Paul, MN.
2. There are many resources at the US Department of Agriculture website such as the coloring book below. Put "George Washington Carver" into their search engine to see what's available.
2. USDA Honors Dr. George Washington Carver (1864-1943) Coloring & Activity Book. US Department of Agriculture.

3. Discovering with God. By Lois Dick. Child Evangelism Fellowship Press, Warrenton, MO., 1987. 
4. George Washington Carver's Kansas Trading Card! 

Historical Note: The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute of Tuskegee, Ala., headed for many years by Booker T. Washington (1859-1915) was associated with the National Baptist Convention, USA.

Holiday:

"March is National Peanut Month."

George Washington Carver

By Elizabeth McKinnon.

George Washington Carver liked peanuts,

He thought they were really a treat.

He made many products from peanuts,

From peanuts that we love to eat!

Citation: "George Washington Carver." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 14 February 2017. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight "Ike" David Eisenhower (1890--1969) = West Point Graduate. University President. Army General. 34th US President. Born in Denison, TX on October 14 to David Jacob and Ida Elizabeth Stover Eisenhower. He was their third son of seven. When Ike was nearly two years old, they moved to Abilene, KS. with a colony of River Brethren or the Church of the Brethren in Christ, a Mennonite sect from Pennyslvania and he grew up there. 

Ike and his "best girl,"  Mamie Geneva Doud (1896- 1979), were married on July 1, 1916 in Denver, Colorado, where Mamie grew up. Their first home consisted of two rooms at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The Army moved them frequently.  While stationed at Camp Meade, Maryland, sadly, their first son, Doud Dwight "Icky", then 3 yrs old, died of scarlet fever. Their second son, John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower, was born in Denver on August 3, 1922. John married Barbara Jean Thompson in 1947 and their four children , Dwight David, Barbara Anne, Susan Elaine, and Mary Jean, often visited the White House with their parents after Ike was elected to the US Presidency in 1952. Ike and Mamie moved into a rebuilt and renovated Executive Mansion after the Trumans left Washington, D.C.

During his eight years in office, he traveled more than three hundred thousand miles around the world on diplomatic missions to promote peace and justice. Ike had little time for relaxing, but occasionally he enjoyed porch-sitting on the upstairs balcony at the White House and on the back porch at their Gettysburg, PA farmhouse. Ike and the 86^th Congress chartered the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, KS. to honor the American farmer.

When he died on March 28 in Washington, DC., he was buried in Abilene, Kansas.

More to Read:

1. American Inaugurals: The Speeches, the Presidents, and Their Times. By Kristen Woronoff. Blackbirch Press, New York, 2002.

2. Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1st Inaugural Speech. Jan. 20, 1953 and his  2nd Inaugural Speech, 1-21-1957.

3. Presidents of the United States. Jane & Burt McConnell.

4. The Presidents In American History. By Dr. Charles A. & Wm. Beard, PhD. Julian Messner, New York, 1935; re-printed 1977.

5. Soldier of Democracy. By Kenneth S. Davis.

6. Eisenhower: The Inside Story by Robert J. Donovan. 

7. Our First Ladies: Martha Washington to Pat Ryan Nixon. Jane & Burt McConnell. Thomas Y. Crowell Co, New York, 1969.

8. The First Ladies. By Margaret Brown Klapthor. White House Historical Association, Washington, D.C., 1979.

9. Childhoods of the American Presidents. By William O. Foss. McFarland & Co, 2005.

10. Homes and Libraries of the Presidents. By William G. Clotworthy. McDonald & Woodward, 2008.
11. Ike's Air Force One Airplane
12. Dwight D. Eisenhower's Kansas Trading Card! 

13. Findagrave  #315

Places to Visit in Kansas:

1. Territorial Capitol-Lane University Musuem [f. 1865, Ike's parents married here], Lecompton, KS.

2. National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, 630 Hall of Fame Drive, Bonner Springs, KS.

3. Eisenhower Library, 200 Southeast Fourth St., Abilene, KS.

Citation: "Dwight D. Eisenhower." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 22 July 2015. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Elizabeth "Bess" Virginia Wallace Truman

By Dolores J. Rush.

Elizabeth "Bess" Virginia Wallace Truman (1885-1982) = Former First Lady. Favorite colors: Plum, Blue. Born in Independence, MO on February 13 to David Willock, a banker, and Margaret "Madge" Gates Wallace . She was the eldest and only daughter of four children. With blue-eyes and golden curls, Bess, in her future husband Harry S. Truman's estimation, was the "sweetest, prettiest girl" he had ever seen when he saw her for the first time in Sunday School at the age of six. She was very popular and she graduated from the Independence High School in 1901. She also attended the Barstow School for Girls in Kansas City, for a year.

When Harry moved to Grandview, MO. to help his father with the farm and while he was away at war, they wrote letters regularly.

They were married on June 28, 1919, at an Episcopal Church and lived in her widowed mother's home. In 1924, Mary Margaret, their first and only child, was born there.

When Harry became active in politics, first in Kansas City, then in Washington D.C., she traveled with him and fulfilled the social obligations of her position as a Judge's wife, a US Senator's wife, and First Lady after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During Harry's second term, they were denied the pleasure of living in the White House until early 1952, while the century-old Executive Mansion underwent a major renovation. During this time, they lived in Blair House instead. In  late 1952, she welcomed Mrs. Mamie Eisenhower as the new First Lady to the White House. She was looking forward to going home to Independence. Her chief enjoyments there were reading books from her library and devoting time to friends and family such as her daughter, Margaret, and Margaret's husband, Clifton Daniel, and Bess & Harry's four grandsons.

More to Read:

1. Our First Ladies: Martha Washington to Pat Ryan Nixon. By Jane & Burt McConnell. 1969.

2. The First Ladies. By Margaret Brown Klapthor. White House Historical Association, Washington, D.C., 1979.

3. American Inaugurals: The Speeches, the Presidents, and Their Times. By Kristen Woronoff. Blackbirch Press, New York, 2002.

4. The Presidents In American History. By Dr. Charles A. & Wm. Beard, PhD. Julian Messner, New York, 1935; re-printed 1977.

5. Presidents of the United States. Jane & Burt McConnell.

6. Childhoods of the American Presidents. By William O. Foss. McFarland & Co, 2005.

7. Homes and Libraries of the Presidents. By William G. Clotworthy. McDonald & Woodward, 2008.

8. Hospital Hill: an Illustrated Account of Public Healthcare Institutions in Kansas City, Missouri. James L. Soward, Kansas City: Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation, 1995

9. University Health/Truman Hospital History

10. Harry Truman and Solomon Young's Farm home. Read here. 
11. Sister-in-law, Miss Mary Jane Truman's biography.

12. Findagrave # 19671

Places to Visit:

1. Bess Truman's Birthplace (private residence with marker, near Bingham-Wagner's home), 117 Ruby Ave, Independence, MO.

2. National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame (Harry's plow), 630 Hall of Fame Drive, Bonner Springs, KS.

3. Bess Truman Clinic, Truman Medical Hospital Lakewood, 7900 Lee's Summit Road, Kansas City, MO.

4. Truman Heritage Festival - Harry's Hay Days, Grandview, Mo.
5. Historical Marker at the Truman Marketplace Shopping Center. 71/39 Hwy, Grandview

6. Truman Home, 219 North Delaware, Independence, MO.

7. Truman Library, 500 West US Highway 24, Independence, MO. (Bess and Harry are buried on the site of the Truman Library.)

8. Third Street Social restaurant, 123 SE 3rd Street, Lee's Summit, MO (click on "About;" historic building along w/ photos of Harry). 

Bess Truman was born here!

Citation: "Elizabeth 'Bess' Virginia Wallace Truman." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 14 April 2015. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

George Champlin Sibley

Major George Champlain Sibley (1782-1863) = Factor of Fort Osage. Surveyor. George left Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis and headed up the Missouri River to build Fort Osage. He kept a journal of his trip and noted on September 5, the boats were unloaded, tools laid-out, and a sketch of the fort's layout was drawn. Paint indicated which type of buildings went where – red for blockhouses, green, the factory and his home, and blue for the officer’s quarters. A trading post and a church was soon built close by. After signing a treaty with the Osage Indians, Fort Osage was christened on November 10, 1808.

The War of 1812 caused the evacuation of the Fort from 1813 to 1815 and when George returned, he brought back his bride of fifteen years, Mary Easton (1800-1878), born in Rome, New York, the daughter of Rufus Easton, St. Louis' first postmaster. They married in September of 1815. Fountain Green, a home he built for them outside of the fort, was filled with furniture, books and a piano. The Indians were fascinated by the piano and would gather outside whenever Mary played. They adopted three children, orphans of their long-time Osage friend, Sans Oreille.

When missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (Boston, Massachusetts) arrived at Rapid de Kaw (Collen’s Ford) in 1821 to build Harmony Mission School at the request of some of the Osage Tribal Chiefs, Sibley was there to oversee the work on the construction of a government trading post near the mission. In 1825, Sibley, Ben, Alexander Majors' father, and others surveyed the Santa Fe Trail, a distance of about 775 miles.

After Sibley's retirement, George and Mary joined Old Blue First Presbyterian Church (f. 1818) in St. Charles. They are buried on the Lindenwood University campus.

Historical Note: Chester Harding painted a portrait of George Sibley sometime in the 1830s. Mr. Harding also painted a portrait of Daniel Boone.

More to Read:

1. Jackson County Pioneers. By Pearl Wilcox. 1975.

2. “Genealogy News Bytes” April 2008. (e-newsletter); "Letters Received by Agents from All of the Factories" (microfilm) and "Indian Trade Letters, January 19, 1822, Serial 60" (microfiche) at Midwest Genealogy Library, 3440 South Lee’s Summit Road, Independence, MO

3. Seeking a Newer World: The Fort Osage Journals & Letters of George Sibley. By Jeffery Smith. 2003

4. A Condensed History of the Kansas City Area: Its Mayors and Some V.I.P.s 1850-1950 ” Assembled by George Fuller Green. City Historian. The Lowell Press; Kansas City, MO. 1968.

5. Empires, Nations and Families: History of the North American West 1800-1860. Anne F. Hyde. University of Nebraska Press, 2011.

6. Wikipedia article

7. Santa Fe Trail Map, either obtained from the National Trails System Office or the Santa Fe Trail Association, Larned, KS

8. The Survey and Maps of the Sibley Expedition, 1825, 1826, & 1827. By Stephen Schmidt & Richard E. Hayden. Santa Fe Trail Association, August 2011. 
9. Kansas City, Missouri: Its History and Its People 1808-1908 By Carrie Westlake Whitney, S. J. Clarke, Chicago, IL, p. 28

10. Findagrave  Memorial #21640843

Places to Visit in Mo. & KS:

1. Missouri River
2. DAR "Trail to Ft. Osage" marker, Main St, St. Charles, MO.  

3. First Presbyterian Church (est. 8/30/1818). Founded as the Old Blue Church by Rev. Salmon Gidding and Rev. M. Matthews. St. Charles. St. Charles County.

4. Lindenwood University (f. 1827), 209 S. Kings Highway, St. Charles

5. Fort Osage, 107 Osage Street, (formerly: Six Mile), present-day Sibley.

6. Fort Osage Historical Marker, put into place by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas City,

 7. Try to trace the old Mission Road. It began between Lexington and Fort Osage, running through Van Buren Township in Jackson County to the north bank of the Marais des Cygnes River in the extreme southern part of future Bates County, near Papinville above the point where it merges with the Osage River.

 7. National Trails Museum, 318 W. Pacific, Independence (across the street from the Bingham-Wagner home).

 9. Santa Fe Trail

 10. Papinville Historical Society Museum, Market Street,  Bates Co. and the Marais des Cygnes River

11. Sibley's Ridge, US 56, Larned, KS. (August 31, 1825, Sibley Survey Campsite)

The Trail to Fort Osage
Western Trailhead
Ca. 1808
The trail from St. Charles to Fort Osage was likely the earliest American Overland Trail across present-day Missouri. Its origins date to 1808. William Clark, then a Brigadier-General in Louisiana's Territorial Militia, accompanied the St. Charles Dragoons to this site for the purpose of Building a US Fort and Government-Trading House.
Under the Guidance of Daniel Boone's son, Nathan Boone, the expedition traveled through open prairies to Arrow Rock, and from there along a path parallel to the Missouri River, passing in the vicinity of the later towns of Marshall, Grand Pass, Waverly, Dover, Lexington, Wellington, Napoleon, Levasy and Sibley.
Dedicated October 31, 2010
Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution-Fort Osage Chapter, NSDAR.

For the Educator:

Educational Experiences Outdoor Field Trips

Teachers Guide to Missouri Town and Fort Osage

Fort Osage Curriculum Guide

Citation: "George Champlin Sibley." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 20 November 2014. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hobbs Keckley

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hobbs Keckly (c. 1820 - 1907) = Light-skinned black slave. Teacher. Best known as former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s modiste (dressmaker). Elizabeth was born into slavery near Dinwiddie Court House, Virginia to Agnes, a woman owned by Colonel Armistead Burwell. There is some question as to who Lizzie’s biological father was. Was he her mother’s sweetheart, George Pleasant Hobbs, a slave on a neighboring farm? Or was it, as Agnes confessed on her death bed, Master Burwell?

Several years after Lizzie’s birth, George moved to Tennessee with his owner Grum, eventually losing touch.

In an era when certain civil liberties were forbidden to slaves such as marriage, voting, and going to school, Elizabeth learned to read and write as well as domestic duties. When she was fourteen, Burwell sent her to work in his minister son, Robert’s household. There she was given to Alexander Kirkland, a white man whom she had a son by. The pair, Lizzie and George W.D., then 18 months old, were sent to live with Robert’s sister, Anne, and her husband, Hugh A. Garland when Kirkland died.

Garland, a merchant and later the attorney for the defendant in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case, moved to St. Louis, MO. From his heirs in 1855, she was able to obtain their emancipation papers for $1200. Shortly thereafter, she married James Keckley, then separated from him after eight years. She moved first to Baltimore, Maryland and then to Washington, D.C. to establish her dressmaking business.

In 1859, her son attended Wilberforce University, Xenia, Ohio and in 1861, was killed during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri.

Elizabeth died in her sleep on May 26, 1907. Rev. Dr. Francis Grimke officiated at her funeral and she was buried in the Harmony Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Historical Fact: On July 13, 1787, when the Northwest territory (Ordinance) was signed into being (this included the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota), slavery was prohibited in the territory, except for indentured servants, which meant a slaveholder could send a slave from out of the territory to work his land or harvest his crops for a limited length of time in the territory, but this "servant" could not be bought or sold within the territory. There was also a fugitive slave law clause, so any slave who was caught escaping through the territory would be returned to their master, however, in 1848, Illinois passed a law making it a free state.   

More to Read:

1. Behind the Scenes. By Elizabeth Keckley. Edited by Frances Smith Foster. RR. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago, First published 1868; reprinted 1931; 1998.

2. Biography

3. Hugh A. Garland, of St. Louis, MO. Lawyer and Author Biography

4. "A Virginia state senator found headstones on his property. It brought to light a historic injustice in D.C." By Gregory S. Schneider. Washington Post. 26 Oct 2020. Microsoft News.
5. St. Louis Courthouse Postcard by Raphael and Tuck
6. Findagrave #7153815 and #106853064

Places to Visit:

1. Old St. Louis Courthouse. 11 N. Fourth St. St. Louis. (Place of Dred and Harriet Scott's Trial. Dred Scott is buried here.)

2. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, 6424 West Farm Road 182, Republic, MO.

Citation: "Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Hobbs Keckley." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 20 March 2012. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Mattie Florence Rhodes

Mattie Florence Rhodes (1871-1890 ) = Presbyterian. Mattie was born on July 1 to John E. and Catherine Dillman Rhodes. She was the third child of four. Her siblings were William Brooks, Jennie Dillman, and Irma Edna. She grew up in America’s dream home: a cottage surrounded by pretty garden flowers and a picket fence. Like most any other little girl during that time period, she was taught home arts early and received a work basket with a small silver thimble, an emery bag to sharpen her needles, and spools of thread for her birthday since she enjoyed sewing.

Mattie was a member of Mrs. A.G. (Louise) Trumbull’s Sunday School class at Central Presbyterian Church (f. 1857). The ten young ladies called themselves the “Little Gleaners” and pledged to help others. So Mattie and her friends began a sewing circle to furnish linens for a bed at the children’s hospital and sew clothing for the less fortunate. To obtain supplies, the Sunday school class made and sold gingham aprons (25 cents) and potholders (10 cents). They also hosted lawn socials and bicycle teas.

While they distributed the clothing they had made, Mattie discovered that single mothers had a difficult time earning a living because there was no one to watch their children, therefore, they had to keep their little ones with them. Mattie wondered how she could help and began to dream of a safe place where their precious babies could be cared for while their mamas worked.

Before Mattie died from typhoid fever on October 1, she gave the inheritance her father left her ($500) to her friends. Six years later, after they raised more money to go with Mattie’s, the “Little Gleaners” were able to realize Mattie’s dream of a day nursery for working parents’ children.

More to Read:
1. Mattie Rhodes Website
2. Mattie Rhodes Art Center Brochure
3. Elmwood Cemetery: Stories of Kansas City. By Bruce Matthews. Kansas City Star Books, KCMO; 2010.
4. "Tour Elmwood Cemetery’s Outdoor Museum of Kansas City"  History Brochure
5. Mattie Rhodes Youth Center YouTube Channel. 
6. Findagrave #101569459

Places to See in MO.
1. Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery, 919 W. 17th St., Kansas City,
2. Central Presbyterian Church, 3051 Campbell (Armour & Campbell), Kansas City
3. Elmwood Cemetery, 4900 Truman Road, Kansas City

Citation: "Mattie Florence Rhodes." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 7 July 2011. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Alexander Majors

Alexander Majors ( 1814 - 1900). Best known for his shipping firm and for the Pony Express. Alexander emigrated with his parents, Ben & Lauraina, to Missouri territory in 1819 from Kentucky. They settled in the future Jackson County. Elder Ben Majors, Alexander's father, was ordained previous to Concord Cumberland Presbyterian's organization along with Ezra Gregg in April of 1826. Within ten years Concord divided; one group moving to Independence and the other to Westport. After Alexander grew up, he became a ruling elder in the Westport Cumberland Presbyterian church and served for many years.

Alexander married his sweetheart, Katherine, who had migrated with her parents, James and Rebecca Stalcup from Tennessee. At first, they were farmers, but after seven children (five daughters & two sons), he began to carry freight to Santa Fe in 1848. Alexander decided each man he hired for his freight company and Pony Express had to agree to a code of conduct during employment: (oath paraphrased)

Before the great and living God, I hereby do agree to conduct myself as a gentleman while in the employment of Russell, Majors, and Waddell. I will uphold the principles of the Bible and in every respect I will be honest, faithful to my duties, and act so as to win the confidence of my employers. I will under no circumstances use profane language, nor drink any intoxicating liquors, nor quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm. Should I fail to follow the standards of the company, they have the right to terminate my employment without due payment; so help me God.

Alexander also did not believe in working on Sundays.

The residence Alexander built for his family in 1856 is the third-oldest structure in Kansas City. In the day when closets were taxed as rooms, he had several built into his home as well as glass windows.

NOTE: I wish to thank Nancy Ehrlich, a Heartland Presbyterian Historian for graciously sharing information with me on the Presbyterian church in Missouri. I would be remiss without her help.

More to Read:

1. Alexander Majors: The Man Behind the Opening of the West Tourist Brochure.

2. Kansas City Directory Alexander Majors’ Great Transportation Line to Pike’s Peak Tourist Brochure.

3. Seventy Years on The Frontier. By Alexander Majors. 1873 (or 1892).

4. Jackson County Pioneers. By Pearl Wilcox. 1975.

5. Tramping Through Western Missouri. By Martin Rice. 1893; reprinted 1994.

6. Frontier Freighter: Alexander Majors. By J. L. Wilkerson. Acorn Books, 2000.

7. The Pony Express: A Photographic History. By Bill & Jan Moeller. Mountain Press, 2002

8. Pony Express: A Hands-on-History Look at the Pony Express. By Mary Tucker. Teaching & Learning Company, 2004.

9. Here Lies Kansas City. Wilda Sandy. 1984.

10. National Historic Trails Auto Tour Route Interpretive Guide: Western Missouri Through Northeastern Kansas, National Park Service, US Dept. of the Interior, Sept. 2005.

11. National Pony Express Association

12. Following the Santa Fe Trail: A Guide for Modern Travelers. Marc Simmons, 1986.

13. Findagrave #7097
14. Wm. Bradford Waddell Findagave #7098

Listen to this Story about Buffalo Bill Cody who rode for Alexander Majors on this Old Time Radio Broadcast on the Internet Archive. It originally aired in the 1930s! 

Historical Note: Territory v. Benjamin Cochran, Jan. 1, 1856

Places to Visit in MO. & KS.

1. Alexander Majors Historic House and Park, 8201 State Line Rd., Kansas City.

2. Russell, Majors & Waddell Park, Ward Parkway & 83rd Street, KCMO

3. Lexington Museum, Library Building, 112 South 13th St., Lexington, MO. (a replica of a Pony Express saddle, print of Russell, Majors, & Waddell & other Santa Fe Trail memorabilia)

4. Hollenberg Pony Express Station, on State Route 243 two miles northeast of Hanover, KS.

5. Pioneer Park, Westport Road & Broadway, Kansas City, MO 

6. 1963 Westport Historical Society Marker Dedicated to the Memory of the Pioneers Who Settled the Town at the Westport Shopping Center, 1002 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO.

7. Patee House (Pony Express Business Office), 12th & Penn Street, St. Joseph, MO.

8. Pony Express Museum, 914 Penn, St. Joseph, MO.

9. Original Pony Express Home Station NO. 1 Museum, 106 S. 8th St., Marysville, KS.

10. National Frontier Trails Center, 318 W. Pacific Ave, Independence,

11. The Santa Fe Trail

12. Both Red Bridges (old & new), spans the Blue River, connecting the two ends of Red Bridge Road between Blue River Parkway and Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO. Park at Minor Park and walk both, taking note of the historic people posted on the new along with their biographies. But be careful! Traffic will be heavy during rush hour. (Note: There are a couple of other historical spots in the general area -- east side, abt. a quarter of a mile south of the bridge, on the bluff above the river, near the first picnic shelter, is a marker for the Pottawatomi Trail of Death and on the east, up on the hill are Santa Fe Trail swales, marked by a DAR marker).  (Renew the Blue River) 
13. Westport Historical Society, 4000 Baltimore, Kansas City

14. Westport Presbyterian, 201 Westport Road, Kansas City (burned 12/29/2011)

15. Union Cemetery, 227 E. 28th Terr, Kansas City, MO 64108-3277

Our Field Trip:
My husband and I visited the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, MO. during its 150th anniversary celebration. I took a photo of the Pony Express Motel sign while there. (click on photo to enlarge)

Citation: "Alexander Majors." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 3 April 2010. History Nut of Missouri, USA.