Nashville - Home to Jesse and Frank James (Murfreesboro: house, living)

[yank283]

Okay, sorry for the overabundance of East Nashville cheerleading today, but how can a place that called Jesse and Frank James home not be cool???

'New movie brings life to Jesse James legend' on The Murfreesboro Post

"...The April 18, 1882 edition of the Nashville Banner said this about Jesse James:"

“There is no doubt, whatsoever, but that Nashville has been, for the past few years, the home and headquarters of the greatest robber of whom any account has been given in the entire history of crime.
“In the years of 1875 and 1876 he lived with his wife and one child, on Boscobel Street, in East Nashville. During the time of living there, James assumed the name of ‘J.D. Howard,’ which he afterwards bore while here.”

“Mr. Howard” told his neighbors and acquaintances he was a wheat speculator. This “trade” explained his frequent absences from home.

The Banner reporter said that John Ventress, a neighbor’s son, would stay at the Howard’s home while he was away. When the wheat dealer returned home, he would pay young Ventress handsomely for his kindnesses. Zee James also became close friends with Mrs. Ventress.

“On one occasion, Mrs. James who was well thought of by her neighbors, being a handsome blonde and an intelligent, kind-hearted woman, exhibited to Mrs. Ventress about $1,500 worth of diamonds, stating to her that she had received them from an uncle in Illinois who ‘had bought them for a mere song at an auction sale.’”

Ventress also reported “Mrs. James would keep a brace of very fine pistols in the house all the time, and would frequently say that if anyone should come to molest her or any of the family, she would be sure to shoot them.”

The Howard family moved from Boscobel Street after neighbors began to gossip the “wheat speculator” was actually a gambler. The family then moved to Hyde’s Ferry Road, then to Mrs. Kent’s Boarding House on South Summer Street. They then moved back to east Nashville, taking a home on the 800 block of Woodland Street. While on Woodland, Dr. W.C. Cook vaccinated the James children. Yet another move took them to Russell Street.

Both men, using their aliases, did show up in the 1880 Davidson County census. Jesse was listed as George D. Howard and Frank was Ben J. Woodson. They told the census taker they were brothers in law.
“The two were great lovers of horses, and at one time, Howard owned the well-known horse, Jim Malone,” the Banner reported in its April 19, 1882 edition. At all times, he kept two horses, which was considered unusual by some neighbors.

During the winter of 1880, James was a regular at a poker game held in the Colonnade building on the corner of Cherry and Deaderick Streets in Nashville..."

[Griz83]

Interesting bit of history! Thanks!

[akm4]

Love stuff like this! Thanks for posting.

[yank283]

No problem, thought it was pretty interesting also. I'm pretty sure the house on Woodland is still there and is a private residence. Not sure about the others.

[IngleDave]

Oh, so that's what happened to my lawnmower, those James boys.

[yank283]

Originally Posted by IngleDave

Oh, so that's what happened to my lawnmower, those James boys.

Hah, so your the one with that bumper sticker smacked on the back of your horse...