NASHVILLE AND JESSE JAMES


The James brothers with their mother Zerelda James


  Most everyone has heard of the notorious outlaws Jesse and Frank James, however; did you know that they lived in Nashville from 1875 until March 1881? Jesse's oldest son Jesse James Jr. was born in Nashville along with his sister Mary. Jesse Jr. was born at 606 Boscobel Street on August 31, 1875. Mary was born on West Hamilton Road in Bordeaux on July 17, 1879. Jesse Jr. went by the name Tim and as far as he knew his last name was Howard. He and his sister would not know their real last names until after Jesse was killed in 1882. Jesse and his wife Zerelda would also lose two male twins in infancy.  Jesse's brother Frank lived on Clarksville Pike. While living there he and his wife Annie Ralston James gave birth to a son named Robert Franklin on February 6, 1877. For a time he would be dressed as a girl and go by the name of Mary. Why his parents did this I do not know.  The brothers were on the run. Nashville was a large town and they could blend in to the local population passing themselves off as respectable citizens. They had led violent lives until they moved to Nashville. Both had been guerrilla's in the Civil War riding with Quantrill and "Bloody Bill Anderson". Their men raped women, shot down surrendered soldiers, Unionist civilian's, and sometimes scalped their victims. Jesse was nearly killed on two occasions. Both times he was shot in the chest. The last time near the end of the war when he was trying to surrender. His first cousin Zerelda "Zee" Mims nursed him back to health. Nine years later she became his wife.
Jesse during the Civil War

  After the war in 1866 the James gang started robbing banks, stagecoaches, and trains. This was their most active period until September 7, 1876 when the James-Younger gang rode into Northfield Minnesota to rob a bank. The gang was ambushed by enraged citizens who realized what they were up to after riding into town. Being from Missouri they stood out like a sore thumb. During the robbery Jesse blew a bank tellers brains out and an innocent bystander was killed. The gang barely escaped. Two gang members were killed and the Younger's were were later captured. Jesse and Frank managed to get away and were the only two that were neither hurt or captured. Eventually they made their way to Nashville. Here they created the facade of respectable citizens. They sent for their families and Jesse went by the alias of John Davis or (David) Howard. Frank went by the name Ben J. Woodson. Jesse lived in at least three places in Edgefield, which is in East Nashville. At 606 Boscobel street, 903 Woodland Street and lived the longest at 711 Fatherland St. The Fatherland Street house still stands and is on the National Register of Historic places. Both of the houses on Boscobel street and Woodland Street have been razed. The Fatherland Street house was in deplorable condition and scheduled for demolition in 1984 but was restored by a private owner. It was originally built in the mid 1850's.
A replica of the inside of the bank at Northfield Minnesota 

The route taken by the James brothers from Northfield to Nashville

The James Brothers - Frank in the middle, and Jesse is on right. Fletch Taylor, a former Confederate guerrilla is on the left. This picture was taken in Nashville in 1867 according to the Tennessean newspaper


606 Boscobel Street - Birthplace of Jesse James Jr.  This house no longer exists
Mary James and Jesse James Jr. 
Book written by Jesse James Jr. about his father
Robert Franklin James in later life. The son of Frank James

The house at 711 Fatherland Street 
From left to right: Zerelda "Zee" Amanda Mimms James, 1845-1900. Married Jesse April 24, 1874. Anna "Annie" Ralston james, 1853-1944. Eloped with Frank June 1874. Susan Lavenia James Parmer, 1849-1889. Sister of Frank and Jesse James. Married former bushwhacker Allen Parmer in 1870.

  My wife Debbie grew up at 915 Boscobel St. until we married in 1968. Her father lived there until 1989. My wife's house is in walking distance of the James house on Fatherland Street. Edgefield was the Belle Meade of the Jesse James era and as a young man I didn't realize the historical significance of the neighborhood. I have a picture on our wall of her house in 1906. Frank seemed ready to settle down in Nashville but about 1879 Jesse became restless. The gang started robbing again and in 1881 the brothers returned to Missouri. Jesse's downfall began in Nashville on March 25, 1881 when a James gang member Bill Ryan, using the alias Tom Hill, stopped by the grocery store of W.L. Earthman in Whites Creek. This building still stands and when I dated my wife in the 1960's we would frequently pass this building which at that time had a historical marker nearby.  Mr. Earthman also had a saloon in the back of the building. Ryan tended to shoot his mouth off when he was drinking and he began bragging about his exploits with the James gang. Earthman took him at his word and he and others overpowered Ryan. They took him to Nashville where he was arrested. After receiving word of his arrest Jesse and Frank left town in a hurry the next day. 

 Jesse went back to his home in St. Joseph Missouri. On April 3, 1882 a member of Jesse's gang named Bob Ford, and his brother, schemed with the governor of Missouri, Thomas Crittenden. The governor led the left wing of General Rosecrans Army at the battle of Stones River. Ford agreed to kill Jesse and collect the bounty on his head. From that point on Ford was known as the" dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard". A few years later he was shot in the throat at point blank range by a man wielding a shotgun. Jesse James was seen by many of the common people as a "Robin Hood". Yet there is no evidence that he ever shared his money with anyone other than himself and fellow gang members. Jesse was nothing but a cold blooded killer in my opinion. Mary James Barr, who really didn't know her father, came to Nashville in 1933 for the express purpose of seeing the house that she was born in on West Hamilton Road. The house was torn down in 1977. Mary was asked to talk about Jesse and Frank by a local newspaper reporter. She said that the brothers never unsaddled their horses and always slept near a window in order to make a quick getaway. Mary would die two years later in 1935. The following is the last picture ever taken of Jesse when he worked at a cedar barrel factory in Nashville. Jesse is sitting in the center of the picture on the front row. Another gang member has his arm around his shoulder. Frank is to the right on the back row. There are five gang members in the picture besides the James brothers.
The Cedar Barrel Factory
My wife's house at 915 Boscobel Street in 1906. Picture taken from 916 Boscobel Street
The Earthman Grocery store today in Whites Creek



Bob Ford - The dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard

The body of Jesse James on display



Jesse James house in St. Joseph MO

Jesse James house in St. Joseph MO






Jesse James house in St. Joseph MO

St. Joseph MO

St Joseph

St. Joseph

St. Joseph

Jesse and Zerelda James grave in St. Joseph MO.

Comments

  1. Correction- the twins that died as babies were males- named Gould and Montgomery.

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks for informative page. See my 2019 post just left.

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  3. My family is long time TN folk. My namesake moved here in the early 1900s (Veach), descended from Revolutionary War patriots who settled in Kentucky. However it was either the Hillis or Davis branch of my family that actually housed Jesse James and his gang for over a week back in the late 1800s. I'll talk to my grandfather and see if he has any more story to share. My relatives are amongst those that built Nashville and settled the surrounding area... Legend in my family is that Jesse was a decent and respectable fellow while he holed up with my family.

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  4. I am born and raised in nashville and story told to me is he lived in a house owned by the hyde family on hydes ferry road in Bordeaux and house is still standing and had been remolded

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    1. Frank did live there I just bought a beautiful wood burning heater from the new owner. Frank never used it but I'm still in awe that it sat in his home. I have a link of the last known interview with him done in Nashville. This was also the last place he saw Jesse. Here's the posting for the house for sale. You can see my heater in the corner by the fireplace in the living room.
      Ill share the out link but its a download. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.curbed.com/platform/amp/2017/4/14/15301344/hyde-stephens-nashville-tennessee-house-jesse-james-frank-james

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    2. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.the-wood-family.org/Tom/Nashville/OldNews/1930_3Mar--FrankJames_interviews--NashvBanner.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjIsMSim7DZAhWEzFMKHaXCAAwQFggoMAE&usg=AOvVaw0byrmU1JrvkuywyXyVol4M

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  5. Brad-I just bought a house from the 1800's, South of Nashville and the story that ran with the property, was that long ago owners also hid Jesse James on their property. Can you fill me in on your family's knowledge?

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    1. There was a Dr.Core in the Bethesda area that did some have one of the James brothers as a patient, old 2 story white house.

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  6. "Jesse was nothing but a cold blooded killer."

    That is not true... Taking a step back paints a bigger picture. The only 'Cold Blooded' killer hiding in the woodpile, is the Rothschild (controlled), Centralized Bank.

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    1. As the people who knew him. You'll find out he was a good man. Did more goid than harm a wild west robin hood...

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  7. My name is Keith gober. And my grandfather used to tell me that his brother, used to ride with Jesse James back when they started robbing again while they lived here in nashville. If he told me his brothers name I can’t remember it. But he told me about 3-4 different stories that happened while he rode with him. I know how people always want to be associated with the famous outlaws during that time and say one of their relatives ride with the famous one because it would be cool to be involved with them. But I don’t think he would have been as detailed as to what had happened in his stories if he hadn’t rode with the James gang. When I saw the cedar barrel picture that is what reminded me of my grandfathers stories. He said his brother worked at a barrel factory. So I’m assuming that’s where he met the James’s. I can only assume he became friends with them working there and rode with them then. He did say he didn’t ride very long. So either he was killed, or just quit riding. I can’t remember. I was only around 5 years old when he told me about it. I’m 50 now. I’ve slept since then and can’t remember things from 45 years ago. How true all 3-4 stories were, I’m not sure. I can only go by what I was told when I was a kid.

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  8. Grandpa and Ramona Jones once rented the house either on Fatherland or Boscoble in the late 40s, She told me that the lady that rented it to them showed Grandpa some shelves in the cellar that she claimed Jesse built while he lived there

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    1. Wrong , they built the shelf at my Great Grandfathers house on West Hamilton Road.
      I have the article published in the 1946 Tennessean magazine section.
      I also have “The Shelf !”

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  9. My entire life I was told that my 2nd gr grandfather Samuel M Green was one of the men who arrested the member of the James gang in Whites Creek. I find that on the 1880 census, Sam Green is a constable in Whites Creek and living very near the Earthman store. So he could have been involved with his capture although I have only found Mr Earthman's name connected in the capture and reward. Would love to find some mention/record of his participation.
    Was also told that one of my gr grandmothers had some men ask to stay in her barn. Found out the next morning that they were indeed the James gang. The Greens, Hudgens, Talleys and Binkleys lived in the Whites Creek/Joelton/Pleasant View area which makes one wonder since close proximity to where the arrest was BUT why IF Frank and Jesse lived in Nashville would they want to stay in a local barn.
    Very interesting account!

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  10. Yes he was a killer. Cold blooded, not so. He was forced into the life and had no choice, however the devotion to take up with Quantrail was infact his decition. With all things considered including events and the general treatment of folks in Missouri, who supported subsection,I'm more inclined to believe he was a product of the environment who had a boyish charm and was labled by haters.

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    1. I feel exactly the same way. He robbed the first moving train in 1873, near Adair Iowa. Many of f my family members, myself included,,did reenactments, of the robbery every July during Jesse James chuckwagon days.

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  11. 2017 a remodeled home on hydes ferry rd sold. This likely the first home j an f rented after the MN trip. A new friend that done research for a former owner told me that a baby girl born to Jesse and see died while living there. My interest in this period is l have several James related tintypes. About 5 would date 1876 1878 matching the hydes ferry rd time. Both j an f photos differ greatly from others know. The girls zee, annie and Susan in this packet were photographed around 1870. Easypeazy to recognize along with 3 photos of well known friends of the James. These friends names of photos in this packet are William quantrill, belle starr, Charlie and bob ford. The dates for the taking of these photos is 1850 to 1883+. These are unpublished and yet unconfirmed photos.they have been together unknown for a very long time no doubit.

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    1. Update the hides ferry home may be a hoax. Looking much like the block house on Hamilton Rd that was hased in 1977. Both houses are in same district about a mile apart. The date would be about 1880.

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    2. No it's not a hoax. The Hyde farm was one of the first homes Frank would occupy the first time he moved to Nashville. He and Jesse would flee and move back later.

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  12. Bill Ryan’s my x2 Great Uncle.

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  13. OK so this may sound insane but I believe I have some very important historically significant photographs of the following people. Jesse wisdom James Frank James zee mimms and Annie ralston. I am positive is there anyone who can help me

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    1. Try to match with Cantey Meyer collection. Some came from Frank to Gus Meyer. There are a few of Zee, Susan and Annie that are real 1870-83.

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  14. Does anyone no where Frank and Jesse worked when they were in Nashville?

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    1. Mockery Barrel Co. along with a number of gang members and cousins. The photo of the company employees has gang member Bill Ryan next to Jesse with his arm around him.

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  15. cross reference Rose Mont plantation in Gallatin TN ( now an historic/non-profit) which was a horse farm. Written anecdotes from the period tell of Jesse James arriving unknown and buying a thoroughbred horse before suspicious parties in Nashville could get to Gallatin to warn of his true identity

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  16. The Hydes Ferry House was a residence for Frank. It was one of the first one he lived in after arriving in Nashville. Frank later lived in the Felix Smith House just off Whites Creek Pike. The Smith hours is where Jesse and Zee's daughter Mary was born. Between the birth of Jesse Edward Jr. ( born in the first house lived in Nashville on Boscobel Street) and the birth of Mary, Jesse and Zee lived for a while between Waverly and Johnsville, Tennessee. While there, Zee gave birth to twin boys Montgomery and Gould (named after the attending doctors ) the twins only lived for a short time and were buried on the Humphries Co. farm. They were re-buried in Kearney Mo. with parents in Jan 2005.

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    1. For the definitive accounting of the lives of the James Brothers is, TED P. YEATMAN's Frank and Jesse James -THe Story Behind the Legend. I wrote a 3-page article on the James' in Nashville in the February 2018, Nashville Retrospect Newspaper. I used the Yeatman book as a reference.

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    2. Jesse was a southern guerrilla and patriot to our side

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  17. If you want to see something interesting about Jesse James
    Go to truth social and look up
    badxxtimext.
    Leave a comment!

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  18. In the Mocker Barrel factory photo, the 1st from the right, back row is George W Trimble/ Sam Trimble. Born in Oregon in 1857. My G grandfather. He lived in Marlow, Okla in later years and Frank came to visit with his family. Fletcher is just 30 miles from Marlow.

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    1. My daddy said George Trimble was about 6 ft 5 in tall, 240 lb and wore a black hat and smoked black cigars.

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  19. The James boys are in my family tree…the Woodson tree. John Woodson was an Oxford trained physician who sailed from England to Jamestown with Sir Dale around 1620. Don’t know how the boys went bad.

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  20. He was a traitor to the United States constitution and humanity like most Christian’s who were fine with enslaving other humans and killed people during robberies for paltry sums of money

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    1. My daughter is kin to Jesse (on his mothers side most likely by looking at her first name) through her Hungarian mothers side as verified through 23 & me. It’s interesting that I no arrived far outside the gene pool to keep from having Tennessee cousin blood in my child yet she ends up related to a man who lived in the Boscobel and other streets that my grandmother grew up on.

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    2. I’m the same person fur the anonymous post bc above. I didn’t see where to put bc a name

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