History of Unprogrammed Friends in Kansas
From colonial times in America, Quakers have felt a special concern for Native Americans, and concern for Native Americans led the first Friends to move to Kansas.
In 1833 Friends sent by Baltimore, Ohio, and Indiana Yearly Meetings journeyed to Kansas at the request of Shawnee with whom they had a previous relationship in Ohio. Friends offered to provide buildings and a school. Their offer was accepted and in 1836 a boarding school, meetinghouse, stables and other buildings were erected. In 1837 Moses and Sarah Pearson, Mary H. Stanton, and Elias Newby arrived to staff the Shawnee Friends Mission.