Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47057

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47057

Abbie Gardner Sharp Postcard Signed. A postcard depicting Abbie Gardner Sharp and the cabin she was abducted from during the Spirit Lake Massacre in 1857, measuring 5 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Signed "Compliments of Abbie Gardner Sharp" at the bottom edge of the recto. On the verso, Sharp writes, in full:

"This is a picture of the original log cabin which my father built in 1856 and where the whole family who was at home when Indians came were killed except myself who was taken captive This picture was taken many years after the massacre the first anniver[sary] after I got possession of the home in 1892 myself and eldest son is represented at the South west corner of the house. This is now the only cabin left of the pioneers who was killed by the Indians."

The Rowland Gardner family, nine in all, arrived in Iowa by covered wagon on July 16, 1856. Less than a year later, violence swept through their cabin near Spirit Lake; a renegade band of Sioux Indians attacked the homestead, killing every member of the family except for thirteen-year-old Abbie. Living with them at the time were members of the Luce family, who were also killed in the massacre. Those killed included Rowland and Frances Gardner, their children, Mary Luce and her two young children, along with Robert Clark, a temporary lodger, and Harvey Luce, who died while trying to warn nearby settlers.

Abbie was taken captive by the band and held until May 30, 1857, when she was released through a hostage exchange at the Yellow Medicine Agency. In return, the U.S. government provided goods including blankets, horses, tobacco, and money. Years later, Abbie returned to Spirit Lake, purchasing her family's cabin site and preserving it as a memorial to the lives lost.

Condition: Lightly age-toned with a touch of thumb-soiling and very light staining to the verso. Minor edgewear.

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