Letter signed J[ohn] D[ougherty], Near Liberty, Clay County, Mo., to Col. Robert Campbell. Since I wrote you, I had to send out from Fort Leavenworth to Grand Island five wagons with stores for troops who have the scurvy. I also had to return to Table Creek in order to send off Tutt and Lewis Dougherty with our goods for Forts Kearny and Laramie. I shall have to return to Table Creek again and purchase 150 head of oxen so that Reed can carry out the balance of the public stores. It would require several sheets to give you an idea of all our hardships and misfortunes since we commenced freighting for the government. My health is so poor I cannot travel on the plains this coming summer. Individuals mentioned: Delisle and Col. Mackay. Places mentioned: St. Louis., 1850 May 12

Item — Box: 2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

Collection consists mainly of the correspondence of Major John Dougherty in relation to sutling at Fort Kearny, Nebraska, and government transportation of freight between Fort Kearny and Fort Laramie, Wyoming, in the 1840s and 1850s. Also includes numerous bills of sale of slaves; correspondence and reports regarding Indian affairs, including a report from Leavenworth, March 9, 1832; land documents; and correspondence regarding land claims. Correspondents include Dougherty's son Lewis B. Dougherty, Robert Campbell, Henry S. Turner, A.G. Reed, Major C.F. Ruff, and Col. Thomas Swords. Collection also includes two diaries, 1869-1879, and a ledger, 1851-1852, of the medical practice of Dr. William Wallace Dougherty, a Liberty, Missouri, physician and nephew of John Dougherty. The diaries include material on the family.