Description
(Excerpted from 03/11/1901 article titled "No Jim Crow Cars for Missouri - Defeat of Proposed Law Recalls the Usages of Old Slave Days)
A St. Joseph man who was connected with the old Platte County railroad, which ran from St. Joseph to Iatan, has a pass of this kind which he preserves as a curiosity. It is dated long after the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring the Negroes to be free, and was issued and their owner evidently realized that the war was nearly over, as the letter indicates that the Negroes were free. It follows:
St. Joseph. September 1, 1863
To the Platte County Railroad:
This Negro man Jacob and his wife Susan have permission to travel upon your road and cross the ferry into Atchison, Kansas, to make their home there if they wish, and whenever they wish to come back and visit us they have permission to do so whenever they wish. They have been very good servants and will make good citizens. J. S. Kelly
P.S. They also have permission to take their goods with them.Date(s) of Creation
9/1/1863
