Lyda Conley Collection

Warning: Due to the historical nature of these documents, out-dated and offensive terms may be encountered.

Eliza Burton “Lyda” Conley was born to Eliza Burton Zane Conley, a citizen Wyandot, and Andrew Conley, a nonnative farmer in Kansas. The exact year of her birth is not known but is believed to be around 1868. She was the youngest of four sisters, the others being Helena (Lena), Sallie, & Ida.

Conley attended the Kansas City School of Law and graduated as one of the only women in her class. She was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 1902 and the Kansas Bar in 1910. Conley also trained as a telegraphic operator, taught at Spalding Business College in Kansas City, and taught Sunday school at her church. Yet it was only in 1920 that she was able to register to vote.

Lyda Conley is best known as the first Native American woman to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. She sought to protect what is known today as the Wyandotte National Burying Ground. Politics, poverty, and a growing Kansas City, Kansas put immense pressure on a small piece of land that had been the chosen burial ground since Wyandots were first setting foot in what now is known as Kansas. 

In 1843, newly arrived Wyandots, mourning the loss of their Ohio & Michigan homes, were struck by cholera. While negotiating with our nephews, the Delaware, burials began on the hill in the Delaware Reserve. The Wyandots would later own this land as part of the Wyandott Purchase, once approved by Congress.

The collection includes correspondence between Lyda Conley and her family, her clients, miscellaneous correspondence, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia including Ms. Conley’s voter registration application and law school commencement program.  

Collection History:

• 2023: Digitized by Matthew Lutt and Ty Melgren; supervised by Anne Lacey (WCHS papers loaned for the purpose by the Wyandotte County Museum)
• 2023-2025: Processed by Beci Wright & Ciara Cotter
• 2025: Uploads to the WHDA begin