Freeman Barrows moved to Missouri from Massachusetts in 1841. He was one of the early prominent figures of Bates County, serving as County Clerk, Recorder, and later Probate Judge. Freeman died on April 26, 1861, but wrote prolifically about the rising political tension along the Kansas Missouri border and throughout the country. During the war, Jayhawkers stole the family’s livestock, equipment, and anything else that was portable. Though the family survived the war, they incurred a large sum of debt. The Barrows collection consists of correspondence between family members from 1837-1883, and depicts the hardships families in southwest Missouri faced during the war and the years that followed.

Dr. Albert Badger was among the early Caucasian settlers in Vernon County, Missouri. He built the first “modern” house in the area and owned over 2,000 acres of land. During the Civil War he served in the Missouri State Guard and Union Navy, and participated in the Battles of Carthage and Wilson’s Creek. The collection contains correspondence and records related to Badger’s military service.