This collection includes materials related to all aspects of James Barnes Whitaker's professional life, including his real estate business and his legal career, particularly for the pensioners he helped. He came to Tecumseh, Shawnee County in 1856 and worked there as a surveyor. In 1857, he moved to Topeka where he remained, serving as county sheriff, surveyor, and Topeka city engineer. He owned an abstract and real estate business in Topeka and was an attorney, representing numerous Civil War veterans in obtaining disability pensions, many of whom served in Kansas units. The collection consists of Whitaker's correspondence (arranged chronologically) and Whitaker's 1857 certificate of appointment as a U.S. Deputy Marshal.
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