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John William Gardiner was born in or near Platte City, Missouri, in 1851. In March 1855, Gardiner and his family moved to the future site of Winchester, Jefferson County, in the newly opened Kansas Territory. During 1875, he taught school and simultaneously took classes in Leavenworth to obtain his teaching certificate. Many of the diary entries describe his teaching, weather, the grasshopper plague, and extracurricular activities such as singing and visiting friends.
Creator: Gardiner, John William, 1851-1917
Date: Between May 6, 1875 and June 25, 1875
This source presents a great deal of detail about daily life in Kansas, but for the purposes of this standard is most useful as a description of the grasshopper plague of 1875, which wiped out many farmers' crops and destroyed other vegetation across the state.
KS:7th:3.7:Challenges of Settlement (2005)
Item Number: 210871
Call Number: Miscellaneous Gardiner, J. W.
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 210871
Agriculture - Crops - Rye
Agriculture - Crops - Vegetables - Corn
Agriculture - Environment - Pests - Grasshoppers
Business and Industry - Occupations/Professions - Teachers
Collections - Manuscript - Miscellaneous
Community Life - Arts and Entertainment - Music - Concerts - Concerts and performances
Community Life - Events and Celebrations - Lectures
Curriculum - 7th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1860s to 1870s (Benchmark 3) - Challenges of settlement (Indicator 7) - Grasshoppers
Date - 1870s - 1875
Education - Primary - Teachers
Environment - Weather
Home and Family - Daily life
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Diary
Places - Counties - Jefferson
Thematic Time Period - Immigration and Settlement, 1854 - 1890
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Diaries
https://www.kansasmemory.gov/item/210871