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ALS signed “Your true husband, Ben,” four total pages, 8 x 10.5, May 9, 1883. Handwritten letter to "My dear Wife,” Annie James, written from jail in Gallatin, Missouri, while awaiting trial for murder during a train robbery; James signs using an alias to prevent the letter from falling into the wrong hands. In part: "I am of course always glad to hear from you, & know if I am ever permitted to be with you again and free will be the happiest man on earth, You have always been so kind and indulgent with me I know there is not an other woman living that would have put up and overlooked my faults with the same forgiveness as you have. I know I am not half good enough for you. There is one thing about me I think you can and do admire and that is frankness. Perhaps it might be better or at least you might be better off if I should practice a little more deception with you. I sometimes express myself in a manner that makes you feel badly. I have now for nearly eight years confided my every thought to you and often what I have said to you has caused you to be unhappy. I sometimes think I will keep my thoughts and plans to myself as other men do. It might be you would be happier if I should do so
I am troubled with a mighty…mouth this morning. I had a couple of teeth extracted on yesterday, so now I haven’t an unsound tooth in my mouth and I am truly glad of it. You can kiss me now without any offence from rotten teeth. I wish you were here this morning to do so, I go out now every morning before breakfast and draw water and remain until time for breakfast, You know I enjoy it. The sheriff has perfect confidence in for the he does not take his pistol with him anymore. I am succeeding remarkably well in gaining the confidence of the people I have some one tell me every day that I have many friends in the county. Some have said that I have a kind of magnetism about me that attracts almost every body…
You deserve all the credit for my success. Had it not been for you no doubt I would have been to day worse than nothing but as it is I must retain my manhood for the sake of you and Robie. I am proud of you both and hope to be spared to make you comfortable and happy in the future. I haven’t beyond you and he a single thought — I sometimes think I am selfish in that respect. If so, I can’t help it. When I think of and look at you I see so many things to admire that I deem it no sin to worship you.
Did I tell you that Mr. Dean had been to see me. He seems to be very much interested in my case and has found out many things that no one else has. I can tell you when you come, he is ready to defend me in my coming trial if he is wanted. I think he would be a strong man in the case and I should love to have him. I want you to see Mr. Glover and see what he think about it. He can consult Col. Philips…in the second place, it seems as Johnson and Glover are taking but little interest in the case. In fact I don’t think they know one devilish thing about it. You can state this to Mr. Glover, and he and Philips can tell if Dean can be of any service to us.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope.
In September 1882—five months after his brother Jesse was murdered by fellow gang member Robert Ford—Frank James, weary of life on the run and fearing a similar fate due to the bounty on his head, surrendered to Missouri governor Thomas Crittenden in Jefferson City. After years of robbing banks, stagecoaches, and trains with the James-Younger gang, he was indicted for participating in two murders committed during a train robbery in Winston, Missouri, where the gang netted only $650. His trial began in Gallatin in August 1883 and drew intense public attention, as James had achieved near folk-hero status; the jury pool was so sympathetic that, as the prosecutor observed while reviewing potential jurors, 'the verdict of the jury that is being selected is already written.' Defended by former cavalry colonel John F. Philips, James was acquitted in September 1883, later facing and beating additional charges in Alabama. Assured he would not be extradited if he remained law-abiding, James complied, spending the next three decades in humble occupations such as farming, selling shoes, and working as a theater ticket taker—an unassuming final chapter for one of the West’s most notorious outlaws.
The Western Americana auction of Jochen Zeitz.
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