2001: A Texas Folklore Odyssey Page: 29
xiii, 354 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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"That Dirty Little Coward!" * 29
In one of the many verses of "The Ballad of Jesse James," it is
stated that "this song was made by Billy Gashade/as soon as the
news did arrive." Thus, the balladeer Gashade becomes one of
the first to distort the record: note that he claims Jesse had three
children, when in fact there were only two. However, Jesse and
his wife Zee also did have twin boys who died in infancy.
Bob and Charlie, at their murder trial two weeks later-courts
moved more swiftly in those days-pled guilty and were sen-
tenced to hang. Before the day was out, however, they received
unconditional pardons from Missouri Governor Thomas
Crittenden.
One interesting sidelight on the killing involves just what it
was that Jesse was doing at the time of his murder. The story usu-
ally goes that the outlaw removed his guns and stood on a chair
to straighten and dust a framed piece on the wall, and that is when
Bob shot him. The framed piece has been variously referred to as
a "picture," a "painting," and a "motto." In the St. Joseph house
where the shooting happened, which has been moved from its
original location and is now a museum, there now hangs a needle-
point motto that reads "God Bless This House." However, mu-
seum officials acknowledge that this is not the original piece. On
the other hand, at the James homeplace near Kearney, Missouri-
which also is a museum-there is a piece that the James family
believes is the one Jesse was handling at the time of his death. It is
a colored print bearing the motto "In God We Trust."
But who, exactly, were these Ford brothers, and what was their
precise relationship with Jesse James? Writers have often referred
to them simply as members of the James gang, leaving the im-
pression that they were hardened criminals, seasoned by years of
marauding. Few mention that Charlie was but twenty-four years
of age at the time of the killing, and Bob barely twenty. Some writ-
ers identify Charlie as a gang member and Bob as a new recruit.
However, Frank James, Jesse's brother and outlaw partner, claimed
later that neither Ford had ever actually ridden with the Jameses.
The Fords almost certainly got connected with the James gang
through their sister, Martha Bolton. Although she usually is iden-
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2001: A Texas Folklore Odyssey (Book)
This volume of the Publications of the Texas Folklore Society "contains a sample of the research that members of the Society were doing at the turn of the millennium as represented at the 1998, 1999, and 2000 meetings." The volume covers "a wide variety of contemporary and historical topics," including baby lore, stories about notable women, stories about food and cooking, information about the Model T Ford, and more (inside front cover). The index begins on page 339.
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Abernethy, Francis Edward. 2001: A Texas Folklore Odyssey, book, 2001; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38303/m1/45/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.