LarryJ Timeline

[W. Gray]

From the Larryj timeline of August 21, 2014, on the Miscellaneous thread:

"In 1883, the trial of outlaw Frank James, brother of Jesse James, opened in Gallatin, Missouri.  It was held in the city opera house to accommodate the crowd of spectators.  He was found not guilty."


Not only was Frank James acquitted but he lived the life of Riley prior to his trial.

He surrendered in Jefferson City, Mo, and was taken to Independence, Mo, and "incarcerated" in the Jackson County jail.

Locals helped him furnish his cell with comfortable furniture, rugs, reading material, and food as well as extra blankets since the two foot thick limestone walls of his 6 x 9 cell were not heated.

A good many people of this former slave state were very sympathetic to the James Gang.

It was rumored he was allowed out of the jail (with escort) to attend performances at the local opera house one block away.

From Independence he went to Gallatin to await trial.

When I was sixteen, I happened to stumble into Frank James, Jr, in rural Clay County, Mo. He subsequently gave me and my friend a personal tour of the inside of the James home near Kearney, MO. At that time, the bombed portion of the home had been condemned but is today, open.

Frank James died in 1915 and his ashes were kept in a Kansas City bank until 1944. Those ashes were then buried in a small vest pocket cemetery within Hill Park, a city facility at 23rd and Maywood Streets in Independence, Mo, although the cemetery is actually on the far side at 20th and Ralston.