Continuing the saga of our day trip to the James’ farm, after the tour of the home was finished, Jane set us free to walk around outside and see the other sights (“Take as many pictures outside as you wish! I’ll even take pictures of you and your family!”).
A tour guide was not needed for this part of the tour, as there were signs explaining what we were looking at.
Our first stop was the tomb. Zerelda (who we remember from yesterday was Jesse’s mother, although his wife was named Zerelda as well) used to sell pieces of Jesse’s tomb stone to tourists. When she believed she’d taken enough stone from the headstone, she’d gather stones from the creek and pass them off as part of the monument. The apple didn’t fall far, apparently.
The next stop was the slave quarters. The James brothers were bushwhackers, with strong Confederate beliefs. At one point in time, they had up to 7 slaves. The little “home” we saw was no bigger than a tool shed that you might buy from Sears.
The next point of interest on the James/Samuel farm was a plow that was believed to have been used by a young Jesse. The sign on the plow said that Jesse had been using this type of plow when confronted by Unionists and questioned on the whereabouts of his brother, Frank. Frank had joined a gang at this point and was attacking Union soldiers and families. Jesse had no clue where his brother Frank was, and the Unionists proceeded to slap him around a bit (this is the event that convinced Jesse to join his brother to become part of what was later known as the James-Younger Gang).
The Unionists left, and Jesse ran back to the house, only to find that his stepfather, Reuben Samuels, had been hanged in an attempt to recover information about Frank (so said the sign).
This is where the story fell apart for me.
Here are the two events that didn’t compute for me: 1) Reuben Samuel had been hanged, and 2) Reuben Samuel was present when his wife’s arm had been amputated.
Hold the phone. How could Reuben be in the room when Zerelda’s arm was cut off (many years after Jesse had joined the bushwhackers) if he’d been hanged?
Jane had returned to her hidey hole in the meeting house, and given her confusion over the door question, I wasn’t confident that she’d be able to answer my chronological question.
I asked a woman who had been on the tour with us about the time line of events, and she just looked at me like I was an idiot. Did no one else see a problem here?
We moved on to the Jesse James Bank in Liberty. I was hoping to find an answer to the time-line issue somewhere in the bank. When we arrived at the bank, we paid another fee and were greeted by a new “Jane.” Turns out that the bank hadn’t even been robbed by Jesse James. There was a possibility that he was outside on his horse, but as he’d recently been shot in the chest, it’s highly unlikely. However, his brother, Frank, may have been one of the men that was inside the bank. The James gang did end up taking credit for this heist, the first major bank robbery in the new United States, but there was never any proof that Jesse or Frank were actually involved.

Ok, what kind of tomfoolery are The Friends of Jesse James up to? I felt deceived. Not only had Reuben Samuel possibly been killed, but The Jesse James Bank? Had NOTHING to do with Jesse James. Someone had screwed up. Jane? Oh Jane? Could it be possible that both of you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about?
Dazed and confused, my bank account $50.00 lighter, the kids and I headed for pizza, thinking maybe the problem was a lack of food. After being fed, we headed off to a nice long two-hour baseball practice before we could head home and jump on the internet.
Here are some interesting facts I found out in the course of my research:
- Jesse’s father, Robert James, was a pastor (how ironic) and helped found William Jewell College
- Although Frank and Jesse James were hailed as “Robin Hoods,” they never shared a single cent with anyone outside their gang
- In the course of the robbery of what is now known as The Jesse James Bank, an innocent William Jewell student was shot and killed by the James Gang while standing on a street corner
And Most Importantly –
Reuben Samuel was briefly hanged in an effort to coerce him into giving up Frank’s location.
So Reuben didn’t die. But the sign on the plow stated clearly that he’d been hanged.
How many people do you know of that have been briefly hanged? Most people I’ve read about (because I don’t know anybody that’s personally done it) haven’t lived.
It seems that a clarification is definitely in order. Maybe the “Friends of Jesse James” need to do a little internet research.