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THBJames & Younger Boys Discussed in St. Louis, Missouri Lawmen Archive, 1876-1877
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About Auction
LiveSep 8, 2017 - Sep 9, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
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- Lot Description
Lot of 8 items, mostly related to the James-Younger Gang's pursuit and capture, including: 1p ALS written by Sheriff C.B.L. Booth concerning the capture of one of the "James Boys" gang members, March 8, 1876, on his personal letterhead; 2 ALsS, each 2pp, from St. Louis Chief of Police James McDonough on his letterhead concerning the capture and identification of many of the James-Younger gang members in September and August 1876; printed yellow flier, 5.5 x 8.5 in., titled "Portrait of Frank James," advertising a limited printed edition of a late portrait of Frank James in editions of Border Outlaws published by the Historical Publishing Co. of Missouri; 5.25 x 8 in. memorial card for James Lee Heywood, a victim of the Northfield Bank Robbery, and his portrait being sold by The Banker's Almanac and Register, 1877; September 5, 1874, receipt written by Officer Flourney Yancy, an agent with the St. Louis Secret Service hired to pursue the James-Younger Gang, extracting a sum of 250 dollars and giving it to John Reid of Lexington, Missouri; scrap of paper, not dated or signed, addressed to "Gov. Pillsbury letter reply, Minn;" and 1p ALS from E.H. Norton to governor Charles Hardin written on December 28, 1876.
Quite possibly one of the most famous gangs in American History, the notorious James-Younger Gang was a motley crew of former Confederate Civil War veterans who failed to assimilate into society after the war. The main body consisted of brothers Jesse and Frank James; brothers Cole, Jim, John, and Bob Younger; in addition to John Jarrett; Arthur McCoy; George Shepard; Oliver Shepard; William McDaniel; Tom McDaniel; Clell Miller; Charlie Pitts; and Bill Chadwell. Disorganized at times, the gang fluctuated in size and number, drifting through various parts of the West robbing banks and murdering some. One of their victims was acting cashier Joseph Lee Heywood, whose memorial portrait advertising card is included in the lot.
As expected, lawmen all over the country clamored across the countryside hoping to stop and capture the bandits. The sheriff of Jackson County Missouri, C.B.L. Boothe, was one of the many in pursuit of the gang. He wrote to the governor of Missouri, C.H. Hardin:
Your letter to me in regard of a murdered man supposed to be one of the "James Boys" was duly received. I immediately set to work a special agent, and in company with him made a personal examination and found the manacled man three miles upon the place designated by the attny. for the state. Who proved to be one Robert Johnson who received a wound in a [illegible] place. I have known him a long time and have lived in his neighborhood (C.B.L. Boothe, "Jackson County Mo. Office of Sheriff," Kansas City, March 8, 1876).
Another man attempting to capture the robbers was the first police chief of St. Louis, James McDonough. He wrote to the governor:
Since the recent robbery near Otterville on the Missouri Pacific Rail Road, I have made strenuous efforts to gain information that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators. After considerable time and money spent, I located two of them in southwest Missouri, Bruce Younger at Joplin, and Hobbs Kerry at Granby, at which place I had trusty officers'they are now securely confined at these Head-Quarters. I have been very reticent in this matter so far, and I will not be prepared to impart anything to the public concerning the arrest before the 4th or 5th instant. I shall proceed with the prisoners to Sedalia tomorrow and deliver them to the authorities there'In conclusion I may add that, the Board of Commissioners have manifested a very strong desire to have these outlaws brought to punishment (James McDonough, Chief of Police, St. Louis, August 2, 1876).
After a botched robbery in Northfield, Minnesota in September 1876 the James-Younger group disbanded to elude the police. However, the authorities caught many of them soon after. McDonough was one of the lucky few to view the criminals. "I have first returned from Northfield Missour., where I have been the past week identifying the captured robbers, and advising the authorities relative to them," wrote McDonough. "The parties in custody are the Otterville thieves with one exception, viz: Cole Younger, Bob Younger, Clell Miller, Bill Chadwell, Charlie Pitts, and the new man called Cal Carter, Miller, Chadwell, and Pitts were killed outright the other there are wounded, two slightly, and Carter seriously. The James Boys were of the party, but after separating at Mankata Minn, eluded the pursers and managed to escape. I have posted Capt Boland, and his force, who are now in the north western portion of the state, guarding their crossings, and haunts; I feel assured of their capture'"(St. Louis, Sept. 29th, 1876).
The James brother's evaded capture for several years. Frank settled near Nashville, Tennessee, under an alias, but Jesse remained restless. He assembled another gang of rouges and participated in a crime spree in 1879. The new gang; however, was not as organized or skilled. James disbanded the group. In 1881 he opted to move to Missouri and live with the only men outside his family he could trust, the Ford brothers. Robert Ford betrayed James and shot him in the back of the head while he adjusted a dusty picture above the mantel. The governor pardoned the Fords of their crimes and granted them a small portion of the 5,000 dollar bounty placed on Jesse's head. Frank James soon surrendered his pistol and was eventually exonerated of his crimes. He died in relative obscurity, selling tours at his family farm for 25 cents a piece. A yellow flier, titled "Portrait of Frank James," which advertised the sale of his late portrait printed in an edition of Border Outlaws is also included in the lot.
Condition
All items are in good condition with typical folds and light toning of the paper. The ink remains dark and legible. Some letters have some oxidation of the ink.
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