The James-Younger Gang

The Friends of the James Farm have posted details of the 2023 shoots as follows....

Jesse James Old West Revolver and Rifle Shoots 2023

Location: Sugar Creek Police Range, 1801 Courtney Road. There are no addresses on Courtney road But we will put up a sign there at the gate to the gravel road on the south side of the road.

Cost: $25 (plus $5 for rifle events)

April 30 12:30 pm (Revolver & Rifle)

May 21 12:30 pm, Free of charge and for fun only (Pistol & Rifle)

June 17 8:00 am

July 22 8:00 am

Sept 24 12:30 pm

The first shoot will be Sunday April 30 starting with sign up at 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm The shoot will start at 1:00 pm. It will be for prizes and we will start the rifle part that day to work out the kinks. An extra $5.00 will be charged to the rifle shooters. This first rifle shoot will be iron sighted lever actions only.

The second shoot will be Sunday, May 21 and will be for fun only. No charge and no prizes. Sort of a practice shoot. Rifles and revolvers.

The third shoot will be Saturday, June 17 and it will be sign in at 8 to 9 am and will be the traditional revolver shoot with charges and prizes.

The 4th shoot will be Saturday, July 22 and it will be the same as the third.

The 5th shoot will be Sunday, Sept. 24 and sign in will be 12:30 to 1:00 pm. This shoot will include rifles and in addition to lever actions will include an unlimited class which will include period scopes such as Malcolm replicas and originals and Tang peep sights which are adjustable both vertical and horizontal. At the end of this pay and prize shoot we will have the drawing for the raffle C**t replica 1871 revolver an 1851 navy machined for the cartridge conversion in .45 C**t this year there will be 40 $25.00 tickets sold before the drawing.

See you there!

Professor James Starrs supervised the 1995 exhumation of Jesse James and presented his research at a meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in Nashville on Feb 23, 1996. He announced his findings of a 99.97% that the body exhumed was indeed, Jesse James.

The parlor of the 1890s addition to the Jesse James Birthplace.

The great granddaughter of Jesse James, Betty turns 85 today!

Zerelda Cole James Samuel with visitors in the south yard.

29 June 1902 - Jesse was exhumed from his grave in the yard of the James Farm in Kearney and moved to Mount Olivet Cemetery. He was buried next to his wife who had passed in 1900.

As we saw from the report yesterday, the weather was terrible and as the coffin was lifted, the sides gave way and the bottom fell back into the grave. Jesse’s son famously picked up his father’s skull and saw the bullet hole.

The St Louis Dispatch, 30 June 1902, states that the body was taken out of the ground on the base of the original coffin and placed on a rubber sheet. "After this the body, still on the bottom of the old coffin, was gently lifted into a new one, black, covered with cloth and silver mounted. On this the lid was placed, with a silver plate inscribed with the name, date and facts, and screwed down." There has been speculation that the family did not expect the 1882 coffin to be so fragile, as it claimed to have been made of steel, however, a replacement coffin seems to have been on hand.

Another rumor is that Jesse’s second coffin was small – the size of a child’s coffin. This also seems unlikely as six former guerrilla pallbearers were on hand. Once at Mt Olivet, "The six men, all told, carried the heavy casket slowly to the grave, and resting it a moment on the supports, lowered it into the pine box already in place."

Photo - St Louis Post Dispatch 30 June 1902.

Visit the Jesse James Birthplace. You can see the original resting place of Jesse James on the grounds of the James Samuel family farm.

Was JESSE JAMES Radicalized At This Place??? | History Traveler Episode 212 Jesse James. We all know him as the man who became one of the most famous outlaws of all time during his raids and bank robberies with the James-Younger gang...

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Betty Barr, great granddaughter of Jesse James visiting the birthplace for Memorial Day.

Jesse James Old West Revolver Shoot June 4, 2022

Registration 9 am Shoot 10 am

Note New Location

Range Address: 1801 Courtney Road, Sugar Creek, MO

816-320-3426

Test your skill on the favorite targets of Buck & Dingus, aka Frank & Jesse, and win a prize!

Cap & Ball Revolver Frontier Cartridge Revolver Replicas OK

Fixed sights and dueling stance only

$25 entry fee

Jesse James Medallion prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place

24 April 1874 - Jesse married his first cousin, Zerelda Mimms, after a nine year engagement. Zee was named for Jesse's mother.

The wedding was overseen by their uncle, William James, a Methodist minister, at the home of Zee's sister.

The sketch below was featured in the 15 May 1932 edition of the Kansas City Star.

2022 Honor Awards The 2022 Honor Awards announcement was held Tuesday, April 19th in the Missouri State Capitol 1st floor rotunda in Jefferson City. Missouri Preservation was delighted to be able celebrate preservat…

17 April 1882 - both Ford brothers were found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang. They were pardoned shortly thereafter.

[Photo from St Joseph Western News, 14 April 1882]

12 April 1850 - The Reverend Robert James, father of Frank, Robert, Jesse and Susan, left for California. His intention was to prospect while supporting members of his congregation spiritually during their journey. He got sick and died at the Hangtown mining camp in August 1850. The boys searched for his grave when they visited California in 1868 but were unsuccessful.
Photo: Rev. Robert James.

12 April 1882 - The first book to contain details of Jesse's assassination was published.

At the time of Jesse’s murder, Jacob William Spencer was the correspondent for several large newspapers. He had been one of the first on the scene in St Joseph and, on learning the identity of the dead man, saw an opportunity.

"On the same day of the murder I contracted with a large printing establishment to publish a book for me of about 200 pages… My contract called for the delivery of the book the following Monday. After my day’s work at the office I wrote all night in order to supply copy for the printers. The book was delivered on time and before the last copy was bound the entire edition of 5,000 copies were sold to news dealers in many cities of the country. Had the edition been 500,000 copies I could have sold every one of them." St Joseph Observer, 16 September 1922.

Photo: Notice of Spencer's book in the St Joseph Herald, 13 April 1882, with thanks to Linda Gay Mathis.

These images appeared in the extremely rare, first edition of Frank Triplett's book, The Life, Times and Treacherous Death of Jesse James.

The first, labeled number 1, is the James Farm. In the lawn, number 2 represents the location of the grave, which differs from later illustrations.

The second, labeled number 3, is the Baptist church where Jesse's funeral took place 140 years ago today. The church was located at the Mt. Olivet cemetery.

The third sketch, labeled number 4, shows the Kearney Hotel. Located opposite the railroad station, it was where Jesse's body had been taken after arriving in the early hours of the morning by train. The procession walked from there to the Baptist Church before moving on to the James Farm.

With thanks to lfmbooks for sharing photos of their first edition.