Mr. Josiah Chapin Trask was born May 9, 1837. His father, formerly a chronic smoker, commenced the anti-tobacco movement in the United States. Josiah forged his own path as a successful newspaperman in Kansas, buying the Herald of Freedom with Hovey E. Lowman in 1861, and promptly changing its name to the Kansas State Journal. Josiah also played a critical role in Lawrence history, helping build and develop Lawrence's "Old Windmill." Mr. Trask, despite his civic loyalties, never served in the military but frequently turned out to help defend Lawrence. In 1863, Trask was a victim of Quantrill's raid. After raiders came to the boarding house where he was staying, demanding that those inside come out and promising honorable treatment for them, Trask was the first to come out. It was there that he was immediately shot and killed.

This item donated to the Watkins Community Museum collection by Ella Prentiss Neill.