The signature of the rotten coward who shot Mr. Howard is becoming better recognized. New samples of Robert Newton Ford’s handwriting and autographs now are on display at James Farm & Museum in Kearney, Missouri.
Swann Galleries Queries Stray Leaves
Early in October of 2018, the auction house of Swann Galleries in New York City petitioned Stray Leaves for signature samples of Bob Ford, the assassin of Jesse James.
Stray Leaves responded, citing a copy of a letter, dated shortly after the assassination, written by Bob Ford to the president of the Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific Railroad. Ford and his brother Charlie were seeking a rail pass for themselves and their family.
Swann Galleries was delighted with the response from Stray Leaves.
Bob Ford’s Letter Appears
Nothing more was known about the letter cited by author Sybil Montana. Subsequently, the letter appeared in its entirety as a stock photo image on the website alamy.com.
James Farm & Museum Acquires Ford Autographs
In the Fall 2019 edition of the James Farm Journal, published by the Friends of James Farm, an announcement heralds the display of two new samples of Bob Ford’s signature. One also includes the addition of the signature of Charles Wilson Ford, Bob’s brother and co-conspirator.
As the Friends of James Farm state, the inscription signatures appear in an autograph album originally owned by Ms. Annie Hancock of Pennsylvania. The signatures are dated November 16, 1882, following the assassination on April 3, 1882, at which time the Ford brothers appeared at Harris’ Mammoth Museum in Pittsburgh. The museum was an entertainment emporium for the public display of curiosities and oddities.
The earlier signature sample of Bob Ford was created on July 12, 1880, two years prior to Ford’s assassination of Jesse James. This signature was entered in the Guest Register of the Harry House Hotel in Hamilton, Missouri. The register lists Ford’s residence as St. Joseph, Missouri.
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Claimed Photograph of Robert Newton Ford
WELCOME NEWS. Regarding our recent genealogy discovery of our James family lines of Choctaw & Chickasaw lineage, now comes news that the Choctaw & Chickasaw Nations are now displayed on Google Maps.The Choctaw Nation's reservation boundaries are now mapped on Google Maps! This will make it easier for people to search and view our reservation boundaries with just a few clicks. Check out our reservation on Google Maps at the following link >> bit.ly/363xszw.
WHY STRAY LEAVES NEVER WILL RUN OUT OF STORIES...The ancestry of many people in SL's genealogy database can be traced back to 99 generations. Some, even more. Imagine the bounty of stories yet to be discovered, yet to be told.
Color restoration to images originally created in black and white is a current fashion in genealogy circles. Oddly, the current rage is not producing the brouhaha that arose decades ago when Ted Turner purchased MGM Studios and began a program of colorizing old black and white movies. The most outrage surfaced when Turner colorized the film Gone with the Wind. Historians argued that colorization was a violation of artistic intent.
Today, artistic intent is not a consideration when it comes to old family photos, although the argument certainly would apply to such art images as those made by famed Yosemite photographer Ansel Adams. If anything, colorization appears to increase the authenticity of a family photo, as shown in the image below of the family of Nicholas Knaff & Theresa Tholl, taken as their son Aloysius departs for World War I. The richness of post-Edwardian color produces a vivacity in the image that was not evident or even present in the original and same black and white image.
For the James descendants of Anna Emalen Knaff, standing at the right end of the second row, the dimension of color restores the warmth she was known to possess and project.
J. Mark Beamis makes his 14th triple platelets donation of 2020. Mark is a great-grandson of Drury Woodson James & son of Joan Malley Beamis, author of Background of a Bandit.
Platelets are cells that help blood clot and support the immune system. During a platelet donation, you give up to six times the amount of platelets contained in a whole blood donation, and your fluids, plasma, and red cells are returned to your body. Not only do platelet donors provide more of the life-saving platelets patients need, they also help limit how many donors a patient is exposed to.
Donated platelets have a shelf-life of 5 days. Platelet donors are constantly needed, especially on weekends and during holidays, to keep the supply stable.
Blood types most needed: A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-