An enterprising trader, landowner, and business leader, William Gilliss helped found the Town of Kansas (later Kansas City) and was one of its wealthiest early residents. He also profited from enslaving people and fathered children with multiple Native American women. The latter led to his will being contested following his death in 1869.

Drawing from her thesis A Kansas City Founder “Proud of His Position:” Race, Exploitation, and the Rise of William Gilliss, local historian Diane Euston examines Gilliss’ legacy as an influential town founder who helped establish one of the city’s first hotels and financed its first newspaper, as well as a pro-slavery Southern sympathizer targeted by abolitionist Union settlers. She details how Gilliss’ contributions were overshadowed by a highly publicized legal battle between his descendants following his death, which ultimately reached the Missouri Supreme Court.

Euston is an educator, author, podcaster, and journalist, who has published dozens of local history articles for the Martin City Telegraph and New Santa Fe Trailer blog. She currently teaches English, Journalism, and Kansas City History at Grandview High School.