On March 17, 1842, the Wyandot Indians of Ohio signed a treaty with the United States government. executed on their behalf by Indian agent John Johnston, in which the Wyandots agreed to depart Ohio and to cede to the government their Ohio lands of some 109,000 acres. In exchange. the government agreed to make specified payments to the Wyandots and to grant to them for the purpose of relocation a 148,000-acre tract of land west of the Mississippi. to be identified by the Wyandots. Prior to their departure from Ohio, the Wyandots attempted but failed to reach final agreement with the Shawnee Indians for purchase of land below the mouth of the Kansas River. Still in search of land, the Wyandots departed Ohio for Indian Territory in July 1843. They numbered approximately seven hundred, and were accompanied by the Reverend James Wheeler, who had served as a missionary to the Wyandots in Ohio. Among the Wyandots were John W. Grey Eyes, Indian Agent John Johnston, William Walker, Jr. (later named Provisional Governor of Nebraska Territory), and Walker's brothers Matthew and Joel. Arriving at the Kansas River in late July 1843, the Wyandots camped at the mouth of the river in present-day Wyandotte County, Kansas. As they continued to seek land for purchase from neighboring tribes, disease diminished their numbers, In December 1843, the Wyandots signed an agreement with the Delaware Indians for purchase of land at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers, at a cost of $46,080.
From the guide to the Papers, concerning the Wyandot Indians of Ohio who relocated to Kansas Territory in 1843., 1842 to 1864, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)