Frank James

7th Great-Grandparent of Donald D. Erwin	5th Great-Grandparent of Frank James
Elizabeth Ferris (1638-1689)
Mary Elizabeth Woodson (1703-1766)	Benjamin Woodson (1666-1723)
Elizabeth E. Payne (1724-1752)	Robert Woodson (1708-1750)
Nathaniel Haworth (1740-1790)	Elizabeth Woodson (1734-1777)
James Wade Hayworth (1775-1829)	Elizabeth Woodson Mimms (1769-1823)
Nathaniel Hayworth (1803-1871)	Mary Polly Poor (1790-1827)
James Nathaniel Hayworth (1826-1901)	Robert Sallee James (1818-1850)
Charles Ellis Hayworth (1866-1941)	Alexander Franklin “Frank” James (1843-1915)
Hazel Dell Hayworth Erwin (1889-1976)
Donald D. Erwin (1933-)

 

Frank James was born Alexander Franklin James, the oldest of three children. His father died in 1851 and his mother re-married Benjamin Simms in 1852. After his death she married a third time to Dr. Reuben Samuel in 1855 when Frank was thirteen years old. As a child, James showed interest in his late father’s sizable library, especially the works of William Shakespeare. Census records show that James attended school regularly, and he reportedly wanted to become a teacher.

In 1861, when James was eighteen years old, the American Civil War began. Missouri remained in the Union although a minority favored secession (nearly three times more Missourians fought for the Union). The secessionists, including Governor Jackson, attempted to push the Union army out of the state but were eventually defeated. The James family was from the heavily Confederate western portion of the state. On September 13, 1861, the Missouri State Guard, including Private Frank James, besieged Lexington, Missouri. James fell ill and was left behind when the Confederate forces later retreated. He surrendered to the Union troops, was paroled, and was allowed to return home. On his arrival, however, he was arrested by the local pro-Union militia and was forced to sign an oath of allegiance to the Union.

After the withdrawal of regular Confederate troops in the fall of 1864, a bitter guerilla conflict soon began between bands of pro-Confederate irregulars (commonly known as bushwackers) and the Union home guards. By early 1863, Frank, ignoring his parole and oath of allegiance, had joined the guerrilla band of Fernando Scott, a former saddler. He soon switched to the more active command led by William Clarke Quantrill.

During his years as a bandit, James was involved in at least four murders between 1868 and 1876, resulting in the deaths of bank employees or citizens. The most famous incident was the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota Raid on September 7, 1876, that ended with the death or capture of most of the gang.

Five months after the killing of his brother Jesse by Bob Ford in 1882, Frank James boarded a train to Jefferson City, Missouri, wher

e he had an appointment with the governor in the state capitol. Placing his holster in Governor Crittenden’s hands, he explained:

“I have been hunted for twenty-one years, have literally lived in the saddle, have never known a day of perfect peace. It was one long, anxious, inexorable, eternal vigil.” He then ended his statement by saying, “Governor, I haven’t let another man touch my gun since 1861.”

Accounts say that James surrendered with the understanding that he would not be extradited to Northfield, Minnesota. His New York Times obituary summarized his arrest and acquittal:

“In 1882 … Frank James surrendered in Jefferson City, MO. After his surrender James was taken to Independence, MO., where he was held in jail three weeks, and later to Gallatin, where he remained in jail a year awaiting trial. Finally, James was acquitted and went to Oklahoma to live with his mother. He never was in the penitentiary and never was convicted of any of the charges against him.”

In the last thirty years of his life, James worked a variety of jobs, including as a shoe salesman and then as a burlesque theater ticket taker in St. Louis. In his final years, James returned to the James Farm, giving tours for the sum of 25 cents. He died there on February 18, 1915, aged 72 years. He left behind his wife Annie Ralston James and one son.

Frank James as a young man