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The Correspondence Series consists of 16 boxes. Twelve boxes are organized in chronological order while two boxes are arranged in alphabetical order and two boxes are transcribed copies of the original letters and are organized in chronological order.
The Subject Series is contained in one box and the contents are arranged in alphabetical orders. This series include information such as the Abijah and Lucy Adams Cady Family, custom forms, land deeds, merchandise lists, and information on the town of Tyingham, Massachusetts.
The Printed Materials are housed in five boxes. Four of the boxes contain almanacs dating from 1779 to 1869. Some of the almanacs included are the 1847 Brother Jonathan’s Almanac, The Cultivator’s Almanac and Cabinet of Agricultural Knowledge of 1840, the 1851-1855 and 1863-1864 Middlebrook’s New England Almanacs, The Old Farmer’s Almanac of 1852 and 1869, and the 1787 copy of the Weatherwise’s Town and Country Almanack.
Other items in the Printed Materials include N. P. Willis’ book, Sacred Poems dated 1851, newspaper clippings reference to Market Prices of 1836-1869, and the Farmer and Mechanic Newspaper and the Niles’ Weekly Register.
The Oversize Series consists of letters by Catherine Pinneo dated 1838 to 1839, a 1954 Agriculture Census Questionnaire, the Farm Field Stockman journals, and three newspapers: Current Events, The Scientific American, and The Youth’s Company.

These photograph albums generally document the history of Kansas State University and Manhattan, Kansas.

The Pillsbury Family Papers (1848-1958), contain a diary, a survey book, correspondence, literary works, research, and printed material. The papers, consisting of approximately 150 items, are housed in two document boxes. The papers are divided into six series l) diary, 1858-1860, 2) survey book, (1860); 3) correspondence, 1848-1958, 4) literary works, 1932-1940; 5) research; and 6) printed material. The major portion of the collection consists of material from Annie Pillsbury Young, daughter of Josiah H. and Alnora (Pervier) Pillsbury. The first and second series containing a diary (1858-1860) and a survey book (1860) of Josiah H. Pillsbury have significant historical information about his life in the Zeandale Township area, as well as his civil engineering pursuits. The copy of the diary has been translated by Mrs. E.M. Platt of Manhattan, Kansas, as it was in Isaac Pittman shorthand of 1850-60 period. The location of the original diary is unknown. The second folder contains page markers containing notes taken from the copy of the diary. Page numbers have been recorded on the markers for future reference. The diary of Josiah H. Pillsbury documents family history of the Pillsbury clan from 1858 to 1860 in the Zeandale Township area. Recorded are trials of illness and disease, weather hazards, and political turmoil of the period. Through the diary, however, Josiah H. Pillsbury remains a devoted family man, dedicated to preserving a community for which a family could be proud to reside. The work ethic was ingrained in him, as exemplified by being a carpenter, farmer, surveyor, newspaperman, political delegate, teacher, assistant clergyman, and postmaster, during his lifetime. Josiah H. Pillsbury was meticulous with numbers. The survey book (1860) has records of transactions for school, house, and fence building. A major portion is devoted to surveying for road construction into the Manhattan, Kansas area. The correspondence of the Pillsbury Family Papers is the third series in the collection. It is basically composed of letters of Annie Pillsbury Young, daughter of Josiah H. and Alnora (Pervier) Pillsbury. The time period ranges from 1848 through 1958. Mrs. Young was a prolific writer with numerous personal as well as business letters in the seven folders. Many of the letters involved correspondence with her sister Nellie on family concerns. Much of the business correspondence pertained to family genealogy. Folder four contains early letters dated 1871, Folder five contains typescript from 1848 to 1872, The location of the originals is unknown. Both sections give insight into the strong commitment to religion and family life of the Pillsbury family. Also, a firm belief that migrating to the Kansas area was the way of the future. Literary Works comprise the fourth series in the collection. Annie Pillsbury Young devoted time to writing essays and poetry. Some of the material appears to be partially autobiographical, such as "When Mother Was A Girl". She presented many of these writings to the newspaper for printing and to the literary societies' reading circles. The series, ranging in years 1932 to 1940, is contained in thirteen folders. The fifth series is devoted to research on the Pillsbury Family Biographical notes, as well as the personal accounts of Annie Pillsbury Young are incorporated in this section of material. The "Civic Center," in particular, should be of interest to researchers wanting insight into her father's dreams of success for Zeandale Township. Five folders house the research series of the collection. Printed Material is the sixth series in the Pillsbury Family Papers. This folder contains newspaper clippings, songs, and a brief excerpt about Josiah H. Pillsbury, by his son, Arthur J. Pillsbury. Four photographs have been removed from the papers and filed in the University Archives photograph collection. A list of the photographs is located after the container list.

This Civil War era pocket diary and account book records the daily life and finances of 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry surgeon Dr. Robert Robison McCandliss (1826-1908) from May-December 1863. It includes Major General Horatio G. Wright's 1865 letter authorizing McCandliss to administer to the wounded during the final days of the war.
Born in Warren County, Ohio, Dr. McCandliss enlisted in the Union Army as a medical officer on 25 August 1862. Along with his wife, Priscilla (née Youart), and two orderlies, he rode with the 110th Ohio Volunteers in an ambulance. Surrounded by Confederate troops during the Battle of Winchester, the surgeon, his wife and hundreds of others were taken as prisoners. McCandliss was ultimately incarcerated in Libby Prison, his wife in Castle Thunder.
The diary's entries cover a wide range of topics, including the daily life of a medical officer in the Union Army, personal relationships, regiment fatalities, and brief mentions of skirmishes with Confederate Bushwackers. His account also provides readers with information regarding his capture, transfer, imprisonment and anticipated release. The diary concludes with his arrival in Washington, D.C. as workers were placing Thomas Crawford's statue atop the U.S. Capitol 2 December 1863. Supplementary pages include addresses of boarding houses and roadside inns, as well as notations regarding McCandliss's finances.
A small pocket within the binding contained a separate letter, dated 7 April 1865, authorizing the surgeon to administer to wounded soldiers until their impending transfer to Burke Station, Virginia. This was removed to a four-flap enclosure due to preservation concerns.
The Robert Robison McCandliss Diary is identified as University Archives accession number 2015-16.042. Preliminary processing of the diary was completed by Paul A. Thomsen on August 17, 2011.

The Smith, Bottomly, and Lill Family Papers, 1827-1984, document four generations of a family. The collection focuses primarily on George Smith between 1827-72, to a lesser extent on his children and grandchildren (the Bottomlys'), and then increases in volume with the next generation (the Lills'), especially between 1934-45.
In the first series, journals and diaries, there are four items. Included in one of the journals is an interesting account of George Smith's trip from Iowa to Nebraska by wagon in 1865.
Correspondence (1828-1984), the second series in the collection, is housed in three document boxes and comprises the largest series in the collection. Items within the series are organized chronologically. The bulk of the items are the incoming and outgoing correspondence from 1934-45 between Percy and Helen Lill and their seven children, most of whom were either attending Kansas State College, preparing for military duty, or actively fighting overseas in World War II. Correspondence among family and friends, while the Lill brothers were attending K-State, describes student life. Also included in the collection are some letters by their mother, Helen Bottomly Lill, when she attended K-State from 1900-05. Perhaps the most significant items in the collection, however, are the early Smith family correspondence from 1828-41 because of its description of life in Vermont and the settlement of the Midwest particularly Iowa.
Contained in the third series, literary works, are speeches and essays housed in five folders. Although some of the works are undated, most were, apparently, penned by George Smith.
In the next series, education, there are a variety of items including diplomas, school programs, teachers' certificates, and grade cards. These items are diverse and cover the period from 1927-1953 and are contained in two folders.
The fifth series, medicine, contains a single item, a 1921 handwritten cold remedy.
The sixth series, Booth Association, is housed in one folder. This organization was formed on November 15, 1854, in New York by descendants of the Booth family of England, who claim to be the lawful heirs of the Booth family estates. Included in the materials are the association's constitution and by-laws, a membership fee receipt, certificate, and newsletter made out to George Smith, and a broadside removed to a larger flat box because of its size.
In the seventh series, financial documents, there are many items dating from 1837-1953; ledgers, receipts, bank statements, tax information, and related pieces. These materials are organized chronologically with the ledgers filed separately at the end of the series.
Genealogy, the eighth series, is separated by surname. There are some original handwritten items placed at the beginning of the series but most of the materials are photocopied, typed, or handwritten reproductions of original documents. These materials, contained in eleven folders, provide biographical information about the families.
The ninth series, printed materials, consists of Christmas and greeting cards, advertising cards, certificates, and miscellaneous items. These are housed in five folders.
The last series, photographs, are separated by family surname, specifically, or more generally, as family and friends. All negatives and tintypes are identified. Unidentified photographs are filed at the end of the series. Photographs of locations in Kansas, particularly of the campus at K-State, have been removed and placed in the University Archives photograph collection.

This collection combines from many sources stereographs from people connected to Kansas State University, as well as one record box of stereoscopes with miscellaneous parts in various conditions. The Morse Department of Special Collections created the alphabetical arrangement and storage of this collection.