![Lot 8045 [Jesse James] H. H. Craig Autograph Note Signed on the Hotel Bill of the Widowed Mrs. Jesse James - Two Days After His Death](https://cdn.rrauction.com/auction/720/3501232_1.jpg)
Sold For $1,059
*Includes Buyers Premium
Police commissioner of Kansas City (1848–1914) who assisted in the capture of James-Younger Gang outlaws Dick Liddil and Bob Ford in Clay County, Missouri, precipitating a series of events that ended in the murder of Jesse James. ANS, one page, 8 x 10.5, The World's Hotel letterhead, April 5, 1882—two days after the death of Jesse James. Letter to Henry H. Craig by hotel proprietors "Hammond & Merritt," in full: "With this please find bill hold against the parties named…Sheriff Timberlake placed them here: an early answer will greatly oblige." Below, Craig writes to Timberlake in pencil: "What have you say to this? Yours, Craig." Includes a bill from The World's Hotel issued to Craig, amounting to $9 for "one day" of board for "Mrs. James - 2 children, Mrs. Samuels." In very good to fine condition, with some light creasing.
"Mrs. James" and her two children were the newly widowed Zerelda Mimms, who married Jesse James on April 24, 1874. They had four children together, two of whom survived beyond infancy—Jesse Edward 'Tim' James (1875–1951) and Mary Susan James (1879–1935). "Mrs. Samuels" was the notorious outlaw's mother, Zerelda James, who had married Reuben Samuel in 1855.
According to the Pattee House Museum: 'On Christmas Eve of 1881, Jesse James, under the name of Thomas Howard, moved his wife Zerelda and their two small children into a small four-bedroom home at 1318 Lafayette Street. The home sat at the top of a hill about a block north of the World’s Hotel (formerly Patee House), and Jesse would occasionally visit under his assumed name.
Missouri governor Tom Crittenden had announced a $10,000 reward for anyone who could help lead to the capture of Jesse, who had earned an outlaw status during the years following the Civil War. Jesse tried to lead a quiet life in St. Joseph, but on April 3, 1882, he and his partners, Robert and Charles Ford, made plans to rob the Platte City bank the following day. It was a warm day, and because the front door was open, Jesse had removed his guns. He noticed that a picture on the wall needed straightening, and while his back was turned, Robert pulled out his .44 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol and shot Jesse behind his right ear...
The Ford brothers were arrested and charged with murder, and they were not awarded the $10,000 reward. Although Jesse was a dangerous outlaw, there was no sympathy for the men who would murder another man with his back turned. Zerelda and the children stayed at the World’s Hotel for a few days following Jesse’s death. The family was destitute after Jesse’s murder, so they had to auction off all their belongings, right down to the family dog.'
