American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Three partly printed pardons stamp-signed ("Andrew Johnson"), as President of the United States. Each 2pp, 17 3/4 x 11 1/4 in., on a bifolium, and with the embossed paper seal of the United States on the lower left of second page (creasing, toning, occasional pencil marks, each pardon completely separated along center horizontal fold line). Pardons issued to "John Ecton" of Clay County, Missouri, pardoned at Washington, 9 January 1866; "K.M. Woods" of Clay County, Missouri, pardoned at Washington, 9 January 1866; and "G.W. Thompson" of Clay County, Missouri, pardoned at Washington 11 April 1866.  

During and after the Civil War, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson extended pardons to former Confederate soldiers who had served in the CSA and to civilians who had likewise been associated with the rebellion. HDS locates a G.W. Thompson (ca 1818 - ?) with service in multiple Confederate units including cavalry and artillery. HDS does not locate the remaining two men, John Ecton, Sr. (1803-1893) and Kemper M. Woods (1813-1897), or identify them as having served in the Confederate military. Historical evidence suggests that instead  these two men were civilian Confederate sympathizers who may have acted with or in support of Confederate guerillas operating in the hotly contested border state of Missouri.  

Located at the Kansas-Missouri border just north of Kansas City, Clay County was at the epicenter of fierce conflict between southern pro-slavery sympathizers and Federal forces and pro-Union civilians. Notable amongst the pro-southern families in the county was the family of Jesse James, who was associated with guerilla activity and with Quantrill's Raiders. In February 1865, the James/Samuel family was banished from Clay County, along with the Ecton family and that of Kemp M. Woods, for "treason and notoriously disloyal practices," suggesting not only a close association between these families, but also associations with Confederate guerilla fighters in the region.