Eric James is an interesting person, not only is he an author, but he also acted in a movie starring Kevin Costner, “300 miles to Graceland,” two other movies and a day-time-soap-opera. I took a leap of faith and told him I had stumbled on some information suggesting Jesse James was addicted to drugs, overdosing in a suicide attempt. Was I ever surprised! He told me that due to Jesse suffering a lung wound, when he was shot waving a white flag of surrender. He was in great pain, and had been prescribed opiates, leading to his addiction. Eric then asked if I would serve on a panel at the James/Younger Family Reunion, that year in Georgetown, Kentucky. I accepted as did my friend and fellow guerrilla hunter, Dr. Thomas Sabetta.

At the reunion, Eric moderated the panel, and asked questions, submitted to him by family members and visitors attending. Some were about Jesse and Frank’s Uncle George Hite who had a large family, and Robert Woodson “Wood,” Hite his fifth child, second son, and Jesse’s favorite Cousin. Jesse and Frank when traveling in Kentucky, sometimes stayed with his Uncle George, a former Confederate Major. Robert and another son of George, Clarence Woodson Hite were members of the James Younger gang. Robert was killed when shot by Robert Newton Ford in 1881, another gang member. Jesse about a year later was also killed by a bullet in the back of the head from the same Robert Newton Ford, the revolver of which was ironically, gifted to Robert Ford, by his cousin Jesse Woodson James.

Jesse, Frank and gang, depended on the same Kentucky families and safe houses that supported the Confederate irregulars, during the war. The gang would repay their friends and family for their help, after they robbed the bank, train or stagecoach. And, by this time many of the irregulars had set up residences in Kentucky and were well ingrained in their respective communities. Some became elected officials, such as Bud and Donnie Pence.

The Pence farm in Clay County Missouri lay across the road from the James Farm. Frank and Bud were each about four years older than their brothers, Donnie and Jesse, making them childhood friends, who became the proverbial band of brothers under the trials of war. Alexander Franklin James, Edward Pence, “Bud,” and Doniphan Pence, “Donnie” fought under the Black Flag of Captain William Clarke Quantrill while in Kentucky, from January 1st 1865 until Quantrill died at the hands of Independent Union Scout, “Bad Ed” Terrell, in June of 1865. Jesse fought in Missouri under the tutelage of William, “Bloody Bill,” Anderson.

After the war, there was no going home for Quantrill’s Raiders. These men were a human contradiction. They were soldiers, and though regular soldiers kill they do not murder. Soldiers readily take prisoners, and I think prefer this over killing them, after all, the end result is the same. The soldiers captured, are out of the war as much as those killed. With the guerrilla fighters, taking prisoners was just not practicable or often possible. Guerrilla bands ranged between five or six men, up to an average of 20 or 25 men. Their address was their saddle, and they had no base of operation. They were always on the run, seldom to anyplace, always from everyplace they were. Their goal was to secure a secret hideout to bind their wounds, rest, reprovision, gather intelligence and go on running. When captured by these men, if there was any doubt about your loyalty, you were simply shot to death, unless unluckily for you, the sound would alert an enemy. If so, you were quietly hanged or worse. Who then could elect these people after the war, as lawmen? The answer is Kentuckians! Rural Kentuckians favored the Confederacy while the towns and cities preferred the Union. Quantrill’s raiders were “Freedom Fighters” to the farmers, and terrorists to the city folk.

When Quantrill was fighting in Kentucky, in the beginning he had forty-seven Confederate Guerrillas with him, seven months later, only sixteen. On July 12th, 1865, all remaining Quantrill Raiders took the oath and mustered out at Samuels Depot. Lt. Masten Campbell and Captain Young with the 37th Mounted Infantry met these men for the last and only time without battling. The respect they demonstrated to one another was earned by each of the other’s, conduct in battle. These victors and vanquished had met and fought many times. Frank, Jesse, Donnie, Bud, and others went back to Clay County Missouri, only to be hounded out of their homes by lynch mobs, posses-comitatus, and bounty hunters. It became apparent that Missouri was too hot for them, but before they left, they reorganized and robbed the Liberty Missouri, bank. Bud and Donnie as well as Frank, Jesse, Bill Chadwell, McClellen Miller, Robert Hite, Jim, Bob, and Coleman Younger, George Shepherd, Bill Ryan, Dick Liddle and others comprised the gang robbing in Kentucky. While there, Bud and Donnie each married one of the two daughters of Nelson County Judge Samuels, and both became lawmen. Donnie, became chief Deputy of Nelson County and/or sheriff for nearly 30 years. Bud, was elected Town Marshal of Taylorsville. That they were under indictment for the Liberty Bank Robbery made no difference to the ladies, their father or the voters.

There is likely no way to know exactly how many Kentucky robberies were made by the James Gang, but there are three different stories about them in Brandenburg. Only one of which has been verified by Frank James, but there could be as few as three or four Kentucky robberies. March 20th, 1868 is the date of the Russellville, Kentucky bank robbery. August 29th, 1869 is probably a correct date for the shootout in the hotel restaurant at Brandenburg. April 29th, 1872, is the date for the Columbia Bank Robbery. On September 3rd, 1880, the Mammoth Cave Stagecoach “Florida,” was robbed by Frank and maybe Jesse James. Suffice it to say the gang operated here at least four times and possibly more. Many crimes were assigned to them they did not commit. It is also true that many crimes of robbery never solved and could have been committed by the gang. It is known that Frank and Jesse stayed with the Pence brothers when they were robbing in Kentucky or used their houses to “hole-up,” while robbing elsewhere. Although the work they did was a little unusual by today’s standards, the James and Pence may have invented the working vacation. Sometimes their wives and children traveled with them, and while the men were out making a living, the ladies would visit. The Mammoth Cave, Florence and Sheffield, Alabama, stage coaches, including the Huntington, West Virginia, Gallatin, Tennessee, Columbia and Russelville, Kentucky banks, may all have been robbed on a working vacation. Once Louisville’s Chief Detective, Delos “Yankee” Bligh came to a hotel in Chaplin to arrest Frank and Jesse who were staying with Donnie, and likely George Shepherd, a gang member who liked Kentucky so much he bought a farm near Chaplin. Bligh brought two uniformed Louisville Police Officers, but there were Frank and Jesse, Donnie, Bud, and Chief Deputy Hunter, five serious men against three. When the police entered all the men locked eyes on each other, and seconds later, the three Louisville Police backed out and left. When a reporter asked why he didn’t start shooting, Bligh simply stated, “We didn’t know which way Hunter would jump.” Incidentally, George Shepherd, was captured by Delos “Yankee,” Bligh and sent to prison for his part in the Russellville bank robbery.

Once, Donnie Pence was running for another term as sheriff. He and his opponent appeared together so the voters could compare them. Donnie’s opponent said, “Folks, you cannot vote for Sheriff Pence! “He harbors outlaws, train and bank robbers, Federal fugitives. You must vote for me!” Then Donnie spoke, saying, “He’s right. I was raised with those boys. I went through the war with them. One saved my life! They’re welcome in my house, but I’ll tell you one thing. In Nelson County, they don’t break a law!” The Voter’s concluded, they didn’t care whose banks were robbed, if theirs were left alone. Using Kentucky logic, they reelected Donnie. I love Kentucky, Kentuckians, and most of all, I’m proud of my and their Kentucky logic.

Julius and Saleda were happily married, but it was Saleda who wore the pants in the family. Saleda and Julius could not have children. But God made up for their loss by giving them many nieces and nephews who were always visiting and staying over.

Uncle Julius was a gentle giant, timid, afraid of bugs, worms, leeches and crawdads; dad told me you could run him out of a boat with a redworm. But most of all he was afraid of ghosts. Aunt Saleda always wore an apron, except at Sunday’s church service. Tucked into her apron- pocket was a pretty little Nickle-plated .32 Cal. revolver; and, Aunt Saleda was not afraid to use it. Once she was walking to the kitchen and spied a man climbing in her kitchen window. She drew her gun and emptied it at the man. When she told us of her experience Dad asked Aunt Saleda, did you hit him? She said Buddy, I don’t rightly know, but I don’t think so. All I could see is his elbows and behind going over that fence, and he was moving too fast to be hurt very bad.

Julius walked to and from his house and job. Their house was a “shotgun” style duplex. These houses were long and straight. From the front parlor you could see the kitchen window at the other end of the house. Being a duplex, it had a long dividing wall between the units. Each unit was a mirror image of the other. On the other side of the duplex lived a Confederate veteran who lost a leg in the Civil War. He had a pegleg, and always wore a house-shoe on his only foot. When he walked to-and-from the kitchen or went to the bathroom he made a thump, swish sound. The thump was from the pegleg, and the swish from sliding his house-shoe on the floor. This could clearly be heard through the dividing wall but over time they got use to the sound. One day he died.

Aunt Saleda wanted her own house, and found one two blocks closer to Julius’ job. She saved up enough for the downpayment, and the payments would be less than their rent. Julius didn’t know she had saved the money, and for some reason Julius also wanted to move, but to the other side of the duplex where the old rebel had died. Saleda hatched a plan to get her house.

The children were coming over one day to stay with Saleda and Julius. They arrived before Uncle Julius was home from work, and went immediately to the front parlor to play Chinese checkers, Parcheesi, and Jacks. Saleda quietly told the children she was going to play a trick on Julius and for them to play along and follow her lead. The children were my dad, aunt Jack and her sister Ruth, my dad’s brother Fred, and Cousin Thelma. Aunt Saleda swept the floor and put the broom behind the parlor door where she had hidden one of Julius’ house-shoes.

Uncle Julius always bought home the evening paper, and upon entering the house he kissed Saleda, and went in to the bathroom just off the kitchen. He called the bathroom his library. There he would take his daily constitutional while he read the paper. Saleda tiptoed down the hall to the kitchen. When she heard Julius get settled, and the newspaper being opened, she went to where the children were, grabbed her broom, slipped off her shoes, and donned the house-shoe. Then walked down the hall way making a thump swish sound until she was near the bathroom, and listened when she heard the paper rattle and Julius stirring. Quickly she ran up the hallway, hid the broom and shoe, and sat down with her knitting. Uncle Julius came up the hall and asked, “Saleda, did you hear anything? “Why no, Julius.” Then she asked, “Did you children hear anything?” and they answered, “No Aunt Saleda.” Julius went back to the bathroom to continue reading the news, while the children and Saleda quietly smiled. She repeated this trick two more times, and each time Julius became visibly more nervous and afraid. The last time, she thump swished to the bathroom she barely made it back to the parlor and her knitting before Julius arrived. Later that day. Julius told Saleda that the next day he wanted to look at the house she found. They bought it, and that’s how Saleda got her house where they lived happily until the day Saleda went ahead to get their new home in heaven ready for Julius. It took three days.

Papa Bryant as all his children and grand-children called him, had settled in Drake several years before. Quitting his work on the railroad as a United States Railroad Mail Service guard, where he toted a gun; and was so well thought of more than 50 of his fellow Mail Service co-workers, presented him with a letter and smoking-stand, memorializing their remembrance.

On the underside of their gift, 52 of the Presenters affixed their names with the following note:
“When the setting sun is sinking and your mind from care is free, while you think of others, will you sometimes think of we.”

Papa owned a farm of about 50 acres where he grew corn, wheat, tobacco, and kept a small orchard of apple and peach trees. He put in a large garden, had a few chickens, hogs, and kept two or three cows as well as ponies and a few horses for sale. During the depression he bought ponies destined for the soap-works at $2.00 per-head healed them-up, and broke them to ride and pull a wagon. He sold them for $12.00 per head. Things were hard back then and Papa would not let his children buy or sell anything of their own, without his permission. He wanted to make sure they were not taken advantage of by unscrupulous shysters.

After Papa and Mamaw Bryant settled in Drake, Mamaw’s sister, my Aunt Annie Bryant Richard, lived across the road with her husband Pierce. A quarter mile down the road in the direction of Drake General Store and White Chapel Church, stood the house occupied by a reputed outlaw who it was said, once rode with Frank and Jesse Jame’s gang. Mamaw Bryant wanted another sister who was at the time without a husband, to move to Drake where Tina, Annie and Valaria could be reunited and able to visit and take care of each other. She frequently asked Papa to help get her sister relocated to Drake.

My mother told me once when I was a little boy, that she had walked down the road a piece to visit a girlfriend from school, and passed by George Clark’s house where he was in the front yard chopping and splitting wood for his stoves. It was early fall, hot, and Clark had his shirt off. Mom told me she saw a number of little round scars about the size of dimes on his torso and arm. Later Papa told her they were bullet wounds collected by Clark when he was an outlaw.

The Pony-Cart

One day Uncle William told Papa he wanted to buy a pony-cart from a schoolmate. Papa asked why the boy wanted to sell it, and William explained the boy’s father could not afford to buy a pony, and the family could use the money due to the depression. William owned a pony that Papa broke to pull a wagon, and thus the reason for the sale made sense, but Papa told William to bring the cart to the farm so he could see if William was getting taken.

A few days later William rode his horse to the boy’s farm and hitched it to the wagon which they drove to Papa’s farm. Papa looked the cart over and declared William could buy it. The boys exchanged money and the cart, shook hands and William took the boy back home. This was William’s first purchase and he had worked hard for his money.

The two Bryant girls, were my mother Virginia and her sister, my Aunt Helen, who worked with Mamaw Bryant, and the girls got paid for churning the butter, helping with the chicks and eggs as well as the washing, cooking and other household duties like beating the rugs, airing out the featherbeds, and treating the aired mattresses with kerosene to keep them free from bed bugs.

William and Woodrow were each given an acre apiece to farm. They had to plow and disc their acre, plant, weed and harvest. They did not get an allowance, but rather could earn as much as their crop provided them. That was their allowance, and they still had to help Papa with his chores. After all, the farm fed, clothed, and sheltered them all. Their acre taught them how to convert their energy into money. The harder they worked their acre the more they made. The cart William bought came from working his acre of land. And, he loved the cart and when time allowed, he asked Papa if he could take the cart to Uncle Pierce to show him. Papa said do it after your chores. And he did.

One day not long after the purchase of the pony-cart, William drove the cart up the driveway to Uncle Pierce’s house but they had gone to Bowling Green. So, he took this opportunity to drive toward Drake, about three miles away. To get there he must pass George Clark’s house. But Mamaw and Papa didn’t know of his decision, and when he wasn’t back in time, and they were ready to go looking for William, the pony came down the drive way pulling the wrecked and ruined pony-cart, with no sign of William.

Just as Papa went up the driveway, to the Drake Road, he saw Uncle William staggering from one side of the old dirt road to the other, aimlessly moving, with blood running from his scalp down his face and his clothing torn and dirty. Papa got him to the house where William could be treated. They took laid him on a bed, washed his wounds and Mamaw treated some of them with alcohol and some plants from her garden. Finally, William came to himself and was asked what happened.

He told them that Uncle Pierce and Aunt Annie had left and he could not show Uncle Pierce his cart. He thought he would take the opportunity to ride up the road aways and then return home. When he passed George Clark’s property, Clark had turned his dog loose on him, and it frightened the pony which reared up and dumped over the cart, which then carried William halfway down the road and into a roadside ditch. At that point William bumped his head and lost consciousness. He couldn’t say what happened until he came to himself in the bed. Papa was furious as he headed up the road in order to confront the outlaw. Mamaw yelled Arthur you may need your gun. Papa yelled back he didn’t need a gun to do what’s right! About an hour later Papa returned quiet seemingly within himself, and deep in thought. At breakfast the next day, a Sunday they all went to Drake, and White Chapel Church, where he was a lay Preacher and sat on the “Amen Bench,” when not so engaged. Papa used to preach sometime carrying me as a baby, in his arms at the pulpit.

When they passed George Clark’s place, he was not to be seen. Papa didn’t comment. The next week went by slowly, Mamaw was worried about what Papa would do and what would be the result of his anger. At church the news had already spread and the entire congregation was upset and sympathetic. Papa told everyone he would take care of the business and to just let it lay.

I asked my mother what George Clark looked like, and she surprised me. She said she had seen him twice once with his shirt off working, and another time when he was dressed to go out on a Saturday night. She said he was handsome, he had long black hair gathered in the back, a drooping black moustache, dressed in a black suit with a white ruffled shirt and black string tie. He wore a black Stetson hat and rode a big dark horse. Every Saturday night he would go to Drake, turn east and travel to a house where there was gambling, drinking and women of questionable morals. Sometime in the early morning he would ride home and sleep until Monday.

Several Sundays after William’s mistreatment, my grandmother Bryant stated that in the wee hours of the following two or three Saturdays, when Papa was back to normal, he got out of bed and grabbed his pistol, to see what was causing the stock to be nervous. Mamaw got used to this and went back to sleep. Papa came in sometime unknown, and went back to bed. He was tired when they all got ready for church. As they drove up the road, a crowd had gathered in front of Clark’s place. The sheriff had just drove him away to the hospital in Bowling Green. Uncle Pierce said someone had taken a knife, and cut Clark from gizzard to gonads, and he might not live. Papa said something about the wages of sin being hard, and they all left and went to church.

No one said anything about the event, no inquiries were made, and all of them were glad, Clark was gone. No one knew if he lived or died, nor did anyone in Drake care, excepting Mamaw Bryant and Aunt Annie. Between them they convinced Aunt Valaria to move to Drake, and made arrangements for her to live in George Clark’s house. The three sisters visited and took care of each other and lived happily ever after. I knew the place as Aunt Valaria’s house. Hallelujah

Gerry Fischer

This photo was brought in by Bill Scott, son of Jack and Minnie Alice Scott. It is from the Winfield Scott from Guston, KY photo collection. Pictured in it is Brandenburg Wharf and a steam boat behind. In the background is a house and what could be the top of the hill on Main Street Any ideas on this?

Here is what we can tell so far. On either side around the rim is a dried epoxy type of glue, indicating it might have been a-fixed between two other materials. We looked at the inscription under magnification, and on the obverse side (designated heads on a coin) we found what appears to be the head of a bird, including the eye, and the incomplete word apparently meant to spell “Eagle Eye” over the bird’s head and “See All,” under its head. On the reverse side (designated tails on a coin) there is a less distinct bird head with a white or cream paint between the head and the first concentric circle. Both heads are drawn within two concentric circles. If you can shed light on this mystery, please contact the museum at 270-422-1823 or stop by 281 Oaklawn on Friday, Saturday or Sunday between 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m.

Two groups have recently contributed to the Pee Wee Reese exhibit, the du Pont Manual High School Alumni Association and Bailey Mazik, of the Louisville Slugger Museum. Alan Goulder (on the right) and Chris Hoehle (on the left) of the Manual Hall of Fame and Alumni Association contributed photographs of Pee Wee Reese. Bailey Mazik of the Louisville Slugger Museum contributed photos of Pee Wee from the Louisville Slugger archives. Pee Wee Reese was under contract with Louisville Slugger where he designed three bats. The Slugger Museum donated several rare photos of Pee Wee as well as one of his R3 bat designs.

The Meade County History Museum is indebted to The Louisville Slugger Museum and to the du Pont Manual High School Association for their contributions. Pee Wee played his high school ball at Manual where he was inducted into the Manual Hall of Fame. He was ill at the time and physically unable to attend the award luncheon, but will forever be remembered not only in Meade County, but also on the du Pont Manual Alumni Hall of Fame wall.