Alma Jane Barber

A long narrative about a courageous young woman who traveled unaccompanied to the Western Frontier as the Civil War raged around her.

Constructing the story of this otherwise forgotten young woman — my great grandfather's youngest sister — from bits and pieces found in historical records took nothing short of arduous detective work. In addition to combing the records for vital information, it involved the exploration of relevant personal narratives as well as coming to understand the social and political context of the time, particularly as it related to early Kansas in and around the time of the Civil War.

The lead-up to establishing Kansas' statehood in 1861 involved a brutal struggle between pro-slavery factions and "free-state" proponents. Though Kansas was established as a free state, resentments and violence between the two sides continued for many years. An abolitionist herself, Alma Jane had never met a Black person before arriving in Auburn, Kansas in 1864, to teach in the town's school.

After the Civil War ended, Alma Jane married into a founding family of Auburn, Kansas, the Fox family, whose members were inextricably entwined with the prominent Ross family. Both these families had joined the rush to establish Kansas as a free state, homesteading by covered wagon in the mid 1850s. Courageous Alma Jane, who got herself to Kansas ten years later, unaccompanied, as a young, single woman, became part of these two important abolitionist families, who served as leaders in shaping Kansas, both as important community members and elected officials. They were Alma Jane's new family.