Original Pencil Letter from Widow of Outlaw Frank James - 1915 - This One Has the Best Quote
Mrs. Frank James, widow of outlaw Frank James, was writing in 1915 from Kearney, Missouri USA, to a family friend, Colonel Kit Chinn. Her late husband Frank James was the brother of Jesse James. Jesse and Frank James were often called the James Brothers (Gang implied). Frank outlived Jesse by about 50 years! They are both still very famous American outlaws.
Postmark on the above mentioned letter is Excelsior Springs, Missouri, USA. The other letter is written in ink, and has a watermark on linen paper. I believe the watermark says HyTone Linen. There were two letters from her, both saved in the same envelope, which I will be posting very soon. This letter which will be posted right next to the other one, is in pencil only and on lined tablet type paper, but it has more "meat" to the letter, ending with her personal thoughts that are not often found in a history book. So, I like the ink and linen paper better for quality and elegance; but I like this pencil and tablet paper letter better for its content.
The reason she was writing to Col. "Kit" Chinn was she had promised when Frank James died, that she would send him a copy of the news article. She did send it, and I'll be posting pictures of it too. Apparently Frank James and Col. Chinn had some connection in Quantrill's Raiders. If someone has a list of the known Raiders, perhaps they could tell me.
THIS LETTER HAS WHAT TO ME IS A FASCINATING QUOTE OF THE LIVES OF WOMEN IN EARLY 1900s, AND ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE ROLE OF AN OUTLAW'S WIFE. Mrs. Frank James closes her letter with, "BEST WISHES FROM A LONELY OLD WOMAN WHOES (sic) LIFE WORK IS ENDED." That remark just seems so heartfelt and genuine, not necessarily true, but certainly how she felt.
I just found out tonight that Frank James real full name was Alexander Franklin James.
AN EXPLANATION IN MORE DEPTH ABOUT HOW I CAME TO OWN THESE PAPERS:
These are not news clippings that I copied at some library somewhere. These were actually mailed by the widow of Frank James to their family friend, Col. Kit Chinn. Mrs. Frank James lived in Missouri, and the Chinns lived in Oakville, Napa County, California. My parents lived in the Napa Valley for several years, back about 42 years ago, and they socialized and were friends of the descendants of Col. Chinn. They happened to mention at a party that their daughter (me) was interested in Jesse James. The Chinns volunteered to give the letter with the clippings to my parents to give to me. I have had it all these years. I tried one time to donate it to the Jesse James Bank Museum in Liberty, Missouri, USA, but was told they had way more stuff than they needed and, "No thanks!"
Later on, like maybe 15 to 20 years ago, it was a door opener to get some photocopies made that I wanted from the State Archives of Missouri, USA. The papers that I had, had helped them to make a connection between the James brothers (Frank & Jesse) and Quantrill's Raiders that they had been trying to cinch together for years. The clerk informed me that the James Brothers were "Folk Heros" in Missouri. When I offered to donate them, their reluctance, went from "Oh, we don't photocopy for people - it ruins the papers, or it breaks the spine of the books," to, "How many photocopies would you like?"
I am glad I have it. I feel like it is a piece of history, not just to have the news clipping, but to have what Frank James' widow said about the clippings in a letter.
P.S. I joined Find A Grave, both the group here on Flickr and the www.findagrave.com one, and found Mrs. Frank James' name was Ann Ralston James and I found her tombstone photograph. There is still another little interesting tidbit about Ann and her marriage to Frank which I will be trying to find, and post here.
I have learned since I posted this in February of 2007 that Kit was often a nickname for Christopher. That would explain why his name was Kit, but the letter was addressed to C. Chinn.
(mrsfrankjamesoldletterpencil2colkitchinn 003)
Original Pencil Letter from Widow of Outlaw Frank James - 1915 - This One Has the Best Quote
Mrs. Frank James, widow of outlaw Frank James, was writing in 1915 from Kearney, Missouri USA, to a family friend, Colonel Kit Chinn. Her late husband Frank James was the brother of Jesse James. Jesse and Frank James were often called the James Brothers (Gang implied). Frank outlived Jesse by about 50 years! They are both still very famous American outlaws.
Postmark on the above mentioned letter is Excelsior Springs, Missouri, USA. The other letter is written in ink, and has a watermark on linen paper. I believe the watermark says HyTone Linen. There were two letters from her, both saved in the same envelope, which I will be posting very soon. This letter which will be posted right next to the other one, is in pencil only and on lined tablet type paper, but it has more "meat" to the letter, ending with her personal thoughts that are not often found in a history book. So, I like the ink and linen paper better for quality and elegance; but I like this pencil and tablet paper letter better for its content.
The reason she was writing to Col. "Kit" Chinn was she had promised when Frank James died, that she would send him a copy of the news article. She did send it, and I'll be posting pictures of it too. Apparently Frank James and Col. Chinn had some connection in Quantrill's Raiders. If someone has a list of the known Raiders, perhaps they could tell me.
THIS LETTER HAS WHAT TO ME IS A FASCINATING QUOTE OF THE LIVES OF WOMEN IN EARLY 1900s, AND ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE ROLE OF AN OUTLAW'S WIFE. Mrs. Frank James closes her letter with, "BEST WISHES FROM A LONELY OLD WOMAN WHOES (sic) LIFE WORK IS ENDED." That remark just seems so heartfelt and genuine, not necessarily true, but certainly how she felt.
I just found out tonight that Frank James real full name was Alexander Franklin James.
AN EXPLANATION IN MORE DEPTH ABOUT HOW I CAME TO OWN THESE PAPERS:
These are not news clippings that I copied at some library somewhere. These were actually mailed by the widow of Frank James to their family friend, Col. Kit Chinn. Mrs. Frank James lived in Missouri, and the Chinns lived in Oakville, Napa County, California. My parents lived in the Napa Valley for several years, back about 42 years ago, and they socialized and were friends of the descendants of Col. Chinn. They happened to mention at a party that their daughter (me) was interested in Jesse James. The Chinns volunteered to give the letter with the clippings to my parents to give to me. I have had it all these years. I tried one time to donate it to the Jesse James Bank Museum in Liberty, Missouri, USA, but was told they had way more stuff than they needed and, "No thanks!"
Later on, like maybe 15 to 20 years ago, it was a door opener to get some photocopies made that I wanted from the State Archives of Missouri, USA. The papers that I had, had helped them to make a connection between the James brothers (Frank & Jesse) and Quantrill's Raiders that they had been trying to cinch together for years. The clerk informed me that the James Brothers were "Folk Heros" in Missouri. When I offered to donate them, their reluctance, went from "Oh, we don't photocopy for people - it ruins the papers, or it breaks the spine of the books," to, "How many photocopies would you like?"
I am glad I have it. I feel like it is a piece of history, not just to have the news clipping, but to have what Frank James' widow said about the clippings in a letter.
P.S. I joined Find A Grave, both the group here on Flickr and the www.findagrave.com one, and found Mrs. Frank James' name was Ann Ralston James and I found her tombstone photograph. There is still another little interesting tidbit about Ann and her marriage to Frank which I will be trying to find, and post here.
I have learned since I posted this in February of 2007 that Kit was often a nickname for Christopher. That would explain why his name was Kit, but the letter was addressed to C. Chinn.
(mrsfrankjamesoldletterpencil2colkitchinn 003)