This material relates to a project proposed by KIAANAFH  former Board Member Lyle Gibson, of Kansas City KS.  Currently, he is the Division Chair of Social Sciences and  Professor of History of the Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City, Missouri.  Gibson is the author of “Black Tie White Tie: Chronicle of an American Family, 1739-1940” and co-producer of a film based on his book.  Both works reinforce the idea that each person has a story within the American story.   The story presented in those works, and in the project proposed herein, is about some of his ancestors who settled in the Fort Scott area in the 19th century.  This story and the accompanying photos and the proposed markers could constitute an important addition to the historical stories and sites already presented in the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area (FFNHA) in the Ft. Scott area.  The KIAANAFH members are invited to express to us their reaction to our proposal that we resubmit this material idea to the FFNHA.

STORY—African and Native American settlement in Fort Scott, Kansas:  between 1861 and 1866, many displaced individuals fled war torn areas from Missouri, Indian Territory, and Arkansas and found refuge at Fort Scott, Kansas. There was also a modest post- Civil War migration in the early 1870s into Fort Scott of Free Blacks from Illinois.  Many Free Blacks, escaped slaves, and Native Americans (mostly Cherokee) were among the numbers.  Free blacks such as the Joshua Hill family, the John Morgan family of Overton County, Tennessee and Cherokee slaves Celia Chambers—slave of Jeff Parks, and Abbie Ball-Mayhew—slave of Moses Ward—enumerated on the Final Dawes Roll, established, although briefly, a life for themselves in Fort Scott.  Abbie and Celia during their stay at Fort Scott served as cooks for the union soldiers.  Although many Native Americans returned to Indian Territory in 1866, many of the free blacks remained and established themselves by taking part in land ownership and the agrarian lifestyle—they were later joined by free blacks such as the Reverend Henry Mayhew,  James Mayhew of the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and Joel Curtis from Clinton County, Illinois.  Henry Mayhew, born free in Bond County, Illinois in 1822 to Daniel Mayhew, Sr. and Elizabeth Curtis (Curtis was the daughter of Henry Curtis, Jr., and Mary Goins of Orange County, North Carolina, both of African, European, and Native American heritage) owned and operated a castor-oil factory from which he supplied castor-oil  to most of the western states.  He also organized a church of approximately 65 members, and later provided land for the “Mayhew Cemetery”. His brother James Mayhew was born in 1834 in Clinton County, Illinois.  Joel Curtis, uncle of Henry and James Mayhew, relocated to Baxter Springs, Kansas where he worked as a barber. (See Sources at end).

Proposed Site and Marker possibilities of relevance to Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area:
•	Joshua Hill;  An historical marker should be placed at the West Plains Cemetery Bourbon County, Kansas, site of the Joshua Hill homestead.
•	Reverend Mayhew; An historical marker should be placed at 511 Shute street, or the corner of Mullen and Shute streets, Fort Scott, Kansas.
•	Native Americans and their slaves; An historical marker should be incorporated into the existing designated area of the Fort Scott National Historic site.

The accompanying photos relate to these individuals:
•	Reverend Henry Mayhew
•	Eliza Hickman Mayhew (wife of Henry Mayhew)
•	Hezekiah Mayhew (son of Henry and Eliza Mayhew)
•	Hezekiah Mayhew and daughter Rosa Mayhew Jackson
•	Rosa Mayhew Jackson; born in Fort Scott, KS (daughter of Hezekiah Mayhew)
•	Thomas Jefferson Mayhew; born in Fort Scott, KS (son of Hezekiah Mayhew)
•	Minnie Mae Mayhew-Harvel (daughter of Uriah Mayhew; grand daughter of Henry and Eliza Mayhew; Minnie was born in Fort Scott, KS) Lyle Gibson’s wife is the grand daughter of Minnie Mayhew-Harvel.
•	Mrs. Minnie Curtis (wife of Richard Curtis; Richard was the grandson of Henry and Eliza Mayhew)
•	Henry Mayhew born in Fort Scott, KS (son of Uriah Mayhew; Uriah was the son of Henry and Eliza Mayhew)
•	John Cooper Pendergrass is buried at the National Cemetery in Fort Scott, served with the 10th Calvary during the late 19th century and during the Spanish American War.  Arnold Scofield discussed J.C. Pendergrass during his presentations and tours of the National Cemetery at Fort Scott. (Pendergrass was a cousin—three times removed, to Henry Mayhew); the group photo of the NCOs of the 10th calvary, JC Pendergrass is on the back row standing, third from the left.

  Sorces used for the above narrative: