Ancestors of Jesse Woodson James
First Generation
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1. Jesse Woodson James was born 1 5 Sep
1847 in Kearney, Clay Co., MO. He died 2 3 Apr 1882 in St Joseph,
Buchanan Co., MO from gunshot and was buried 3 29 Jun 1902 in Mt
Olivet Cemetery, Kearney, Clay Co., MO. [Parents]
BIOGRAPHY: [Broderbund WFT Vol. 15, Ed. 1, Tree #1589]
Jesse was murdered by Robert Ford in St. Joseph, Mo. He was buried 29 June 1902 in Mt. Olivet Cem., Kearney, Clay, Mo.
after he was moved from St. Joseph, with his wife. The pallbearers for Jesse were men who served with Jesse under
Quantrill. Jesse was anxious to surrender and serve time and get out to be with his family but that didn't work. Jesse
Jr. looked through the files in Kansas City and found a lot of crimes were charged up to the account of his hunted and
outlawed father. One week would be a bold robbery in MO , saying it was the James Gang. Then the next week there would
be a robbery in Texas, again the James Gang. Jesse Jr. said to have committed one-fourth of these crimes, his father
would have to have been equipped with some means of extra-terrestrial transportation for him to rob a bank in West
Virginia on Monday night and hold up a train in Texas three nights later. The very day Jesse was killed there was a bank
robbery in Texas that the newspapers attributed to Jesse James Gang.
BIOGRAPHY: [Broderbund WFT Vol. 7, Ed. 1, Tree #4693]
By Russell M. Marshall, Sr., 9357 Bruce Dr., Franklin, Ohio
Jesse James was killed from ambush by Bob Ford. These famous outlaws Frank and Jesse Woodson James roamed and robbed far
and wide and their gang had many things attributed to them not done by them. Jesse's middle name is given from a
relationship to the Woodson family a branch of my family Anna Arzella Woodson my great grandmother who married Andrew
Johnson, their son John my grandmother and dad's mother's family who lived in Rockcastle County, KY where Frank and
members rode through there and would hide out reportedly after some of their raids into West Virginia, etc. A would-be
hero deputy of Rockcastle County, KY heard they might be coming that way and lay an ambush for Frank and cohorts and one
of the gang was wounded but the rest escaped. Another Woodson relative and her niece visited me in 1994 from
Independence, MO and told me her grandmother as a small girl as Frank James had stopped over at the Woodson home where
they had been fed and kept hidden had bent over off of his horse and given her grandmother a gold coin which she had
treasured into her old age. To date I've not uncovered the middle name association of Jesse Woodson James so maybe a
future family might because I've not got the health or resources at this present time, 1996. Frank and Jesse's father
died during the 49ers Gold Rush in California and Frank lived until 1915 and is buried in the same town as my mother's
grandpa in Kearney, Nebraska. [The author may be confusing Kearney, Neb. With Kearney, Mo., but Frank isn't buried there
either! He's in Independence, MO] . . .
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Jesse married 1 Zerelda Amanda Mimms
"Zee" 2, daughter of Rev. John Wilson Mimms and Mary James,
on 24 Apr 1874 in Wife's Sister's Home, Kearney, Clay Co., MO. Zee was born 2
21 Jul 1845 in Logan Co., KY. She died 2 13 Nov 1900 in Kansas City,
Jackson Co., MO and was buried 29 Jun 1902 in Mt Olivet Cemetery, Kearney, Clay Co., MO.
BIOGRAPHY: [Broderbund WFT Vol. 15, Ed. 1, Tree #1589
Zee, as called by Jesse was the wife and first cousin of Jesse Woodson James. Zee's mother, Mary, was a sister of the
Rev. Robert S. James, the father of Jesse and Frank.
Zee's house in 1900 was described as a neat little cottage standing alone on a wide stretch of ground. It was sparsely
furnished with a faded carpet on the floor, a picture of her late husband, a small table with a Bible on it, several
chairs and starched, lace curtains.
Jesse Jr. and Stella's wedding was held in the parlor of his mothers home, as she was too sick to attend the wedding.
Zerelda died in 1900. Don't know where she was first buried but on 29 June 1902 she finally rested next to Jesse in
Mt. Olivet Cem., Kearney, Clay, Mo. She hadn't sufficient funds to pay her debt. Jesse sold her house for $1300.00 in
1901 to pay the bills. After the estate was settled Jesse received $293.00 and Mary received $75.00.
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They had the following children:
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Jesse Edwards James 1 was born
1 31 Aug 1875 in Nashville, TN. He died 2 26 Mar 1951
in Glendale, CA and was buried 3 after 26 Mar 1951 in Forest Lawn
Cemetery, Glendale, CA.
BIOGRAPHY: [Broderbund WFT Vol. 15, Ed. 1, Tree #1589
Jesse Jr. supported his mother, sister and himself since the age of eleven. With little money Zerelda auctioned many of
her household items. Jesse bought a modest home for his mother and sister and put his sister through school. When Jesse
Jr. was small and his father was still living, he used the name Tim Howard. while Jesse Jr. was working, he also played
baseball for the Armour Packing Co. with Johnny Kling and Joe Tinker, later to become baseball greats. Jesse Jr. had a
cigar and tobacco store. One of his customers was another up and coming youngster, Harry Truman. As his business
flourished he could afford to hire a helper freeing him to pursue his ambition: study law. Jesse Jr. proposed to Stella
and told her to get used to the name James. Jesse graduated from Law school in 1907. He sold his business and embarked
upon a career as an attorney in Kansas City, Mo. In later years he opened a law office in Los Angeles, Calif. Jesse was
falsely arrested in 1898 for train robbery, which distressed him, but in 1920 he was asked to make several films about
the James Gang. After much deliberation he decided to do it. The adventure was a bust and he and friends had invested.
He felt bad for the friends that invested and repaid them. He wound up selling his home. He had 4 daughters and one was
ready to enter into college and wouldn't be long for the others. He did not return to his law practice for a year and
when he did he had a nervous collapse. Jesse's family eventually moved back to Independence, Mo. The girls finished high
school and left college to work. Jesse resumed his law practice for two years even though he was a sick man. He died on
26 March 1951. Jesse Jr. is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Jesse and his wife were married
for more than fifty years. There was a movie made in 1958 on "Playhouse 90" about the life of Jesse James, Jr.
His wife, daughters and two grandchildren watched in disbelief as they saw all the lies on screen. Stella left to visit
her husbands grave and left the details to her grandson, James Ross, a practicing attorney in Los Angeles, who
eventually became Superior Court Judge of California in 1989. While watching the film, Stella reminisced in time and
remembered how Jesse Jr. had spent his boyhood in Kansas City, Mo. near his grandmother's farm and going fishing and
hunting in the quiet countryside. How, during their early years of marriage, Jesse would sit over his law books till the
early hours and with few hours of rest would go and open his cigar store. How young Jesse would sit under the big coffee
bean tree at his grandmother's home just visiting with the family. How, later he enjoyed visiting with Frank and his
wife, Anna, when they lived near the same farm. How both his grandmother and uncle Frank had been so proud of Jesse
graduating from law college with the highest honors and passed his bar exam with the highest grade.
As all this passed before my (Stella) eyes I couldn't understand why all these obvious distortions of the facts could
not even think of it as an insult to my husbands memory, for there seemed no possible connection between this caricature
and the wonderful man who had been such a fine citizen, devoted husband and father. |
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Gould James 1 was born
2 1877 in Waverly, Benton Co., TN. He died 2 1877 in
Waverly, Benton Co., TN. |
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Montgomery James 1 was born
2 1877 in Waverly, Benton Co., TN. He died 2 1877 in
Waverly, Benton Co., TN. |
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Mary Jane Susan James 1 was born
2 17 Jun 1879 in Nashville, Davidson Co., TN. She died 2
11 Oct 1935 in Kearney, Clay Co., MO. |
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