James, Zerelda (c. 1824–1911)

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James, Zerelda (c. 1824–1911)

Mother of notorious American outlaw Jesse James. Name variations: Mrs. Robert James; Mrs. Zerelda Samuel; Mrs. James-Samuel. Born Zerelda Cole in Kentucky, around 1824; died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,

on February 10, 1911; married Robert James (a preacher), on December 28, 1841 (died August 1851); married Benjamin Simms (a farmer), on September 30, 1852 (died); married Dr. Reuben Samuel (a physician), in 1857; children: (first marriage) Frank James (b. 1844); Jesse James (b. 1847); Susan James (b. 1849); (third marriage) Sallie, Johnnie, and Archie (who died in childhood).

Zerelda James, the mother of the notorious James brothers, was born in Kentucky around 1824, but little is known of her childhood. By most accounts, she was orphaned at a young age and was living in a Catholic convent in Lexington, Kentucky, when she met young theological student Robert James. The two were married at the home of her guardian James M. Lindsay (a relative of her mother's), near Stamping Ground, Kentucky, on December 28, 1841. After Robert finished his studies at Georgetown University, the couple settled in Missouri and, from the summer of 1843, resided in Kearney, where Robert divided his time between farming and preaching. Their first child, Frank James, was born on January 19, 1844, with the more celebrated Jesse James arriving on September 5, 1847. A daughter, Susan James , followed two years later, in November 1849, just as gold was being discovered in California. In 1851, the desire for riches over-took Robert who left his family to join the migration west. He died of a mysterious fever, however, before he could make his fortune.

Zerelda James found widowhood extremely difficult and wed a neighbor farmer, Benjamin Simms, in 1852. The marriage was unhappy and short-lived, due to Simms' death, and Zerelda once again went by the name of Mrs. Robert James. In 1857, she married Reuben Samuel, a soft-spoken doctor four years her junior. Although Zerelda ruled the relationship, Samuel was said to have been a kind man who was good to his stepchildren. The couple expanded their family with another three children: Sallie, Johnnie, and Archie.

According to Carl W. Breihan, who wrote a biography of Jesse James in 1953, Zerelda was a raw-boned, stern-looking woman, who bore her difficult life with little complaint. Although she brought up her children strictly, as was the manner in backwoods Missouri, Zerelda somewhat idolized her children, particularly Frank, whom she referred to as "Mister Frank." Both the James boys were strong-willed even as children, and Zerelda had her hands full. They became skilled with shotguns and pistols at an early age and were leaders in the youthful pranks of the neighborhood. As the boys matured and advanced to more serious crimes, Zerelda became more resolute in her defense of them. The boys apprenticed as guerrilla fighters during the Civil War before graduating to the string of holdups that kept them on the run for 15 years. Throughout that time, Zerelda provided a safe haven for her sons whenever necessary and even offered advice about prospective members of the outlaw band, although she was seldom paid much attention.

In 1874, after a string of robberies, several banks and railroads banded together and engaged the Pinkerton Detective Agency to capture the outlaws. When Pinkerton agent J.W. Whicher was found dead a week after he had been assigned to the case, Jesse James was thought to be responsible. In retaliation, the Pinkerton men tossed a bomb into the Samuel home, hoping to kill Jesse while he slept. Jesse, however, knowing he was in danger, had long since fled. When the bomb exploded, it killed young Archie and tore off Zerelda's right arm below the elbow. After the botched attack, the community rallied around the James family. Sentiment in favor of the James boys was so strong that, in March 1875, General Jeff Jones of Callaway County introduced a bill into the Missouri House of Representatives offering amnesty to them for crimes committed during the Civil War, if they agreed to surrender and stand trial for subsequent crimes. The bill failed to pass.

When Jesse James was killed on April 3, 1882, in St. Joseph, Missouri—shot in the back of the head by a member of his own gang—Zerelda identified his body and accompanied her son by train to the family home in Kearney, Missouri. After the funeral, which was attended by several thousand (mostly curiosity seekers), he was buried in the yard of the Samuel homestead, because Zerelda and her family feared that the body might be stolen if placed in a more public location. Later, in 1900, Zerelda consented to have the body removed to the family cemetery at Kearney. Over the years, however, so many tourists have chipped pieces from the stone marker that the gravestone is barely distinguishable.

Zerelda remained loyal to her son Frank, who escaped conviction for his many crimes and divided his time between the family homestead at Kearney and his ranch at Fletcher. While returning from a visit to the ranch, Zerelda was stricken by a massive heart attack and taken off the train in Oklahoma City. She died there on February 10, 1911. Frank died soon after, in 1915.