Reuben Samuel (January 12, 1828 – March 1, 1908) was the stepfather of the American outlaws

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

and Jesse James. He was married to the pair's mother,

Zerelda James Zerelda Elizabeth Cole James Simms Samuel (January 29, 1825 – February 10, 1911) was the mother of outlaws Frank James and Jesse James. Biography Cole was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, on January 29 to parents James and Sarah Lindsay Col ...

, from 1855 until his death in 1908.

Early life

Reuben was the son of Fielding and Louisa Samuel, and was born and raised in Kentucky in 1828. He traveled to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

to attend medical school. He was described as a "quiet, passive man". The third husband of Frank and Jesse James' mother, Zerelda, Samuel was 27 years old when he married the 30-year-old Zerelda on September 25, 1855. He left behind the medical profession upon marrying Zerelda and moved onto a farm, raised tobacco, and supposedly acquired a total of seven slaves by 1860. He took on Zerelda's three living children, Frank, Jesse, and Susan, as well as having four more with Zerelda: * Sarah Louisa Samuel (April 7, 1858 – July 14, 1921) * John Thomas Samuel (December 25, 1861 – March 15, 1934) * Fanny Quantrill Samuel (October 18, 1863 – May 3, 1922) * Archie Peyton Samuel (July 26, 1866 – January 26, 1875) In addition to the four children with Zerelda, a Perry Samuel was born to a former slave of Samuel's in 1866. While it was never known who the biological father was, some believe it was Dr. Samuel.

Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, militiamen searching for

Frank James Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was a Confederate soldier and guerrilla; in the post-Civil War period, he was an outlaw. The older brother of outlaw Jesse James, Frank was also part of the James–Younger ...

(who had joined the South) raided the Samuel farm, and briefly (though not fatally) hanged Dr. Samuel, torturing him to reveal the location of the guerrillas. Some researchers believe that Frank joined

William Quantrill William Clarke Quantrill (July 31, 1837 – June 6, 1865) was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. Having endured a tempestuous childhood before later becoming a schoolteacher, Quantrill joined a group of bandits who ...

's pro-Confederate guerrillas in the August 21, 1863

Lawrence Massacre The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill's Raid, was an attack during the American Civil War (186165) by Quantrill's Raiders, a Confederate guerrilla group led by William Quantrill, on the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas, killing a ...

, but it has never been proven.

Pinkerton Raid

On January 25, 1875,

Allan Pinkerton Allan J. Pinkerton (August 25, 1819 – July 1, 1884) was a Scottish cooper, abolitionist, detective, and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in the United States and his claim to have foiled a plot in 1861 to a ...

, the

Pinkerton Agency Pinkerton is a private security guard and detective agency established around 1850 in the United States by Scottish-born cooper Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward Rucker as the North-Western Police Agency, which later became Pinkerton ...

's founder and leader, attempted to capture the outlaw James brothers. He staged a raid on Samuel's homestead, throwing an incendiary device into the house; it exploded, killing James's young half-brother Archie (named for

Archie Clement Archie Clement (January 1, 1846 – December 13, 1866), also known as "Little Arch" or "Little Archie", was an American pro- Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War, known for his brutality towards Union soldiers and pro-Uni ...

) and blowing off the right arm of Zerelda. Samuel himself almost died and suffered brain damage from the explosion. Though Pinkerton denied that the raid's intent was arson, a letter written by Pinkerton was discovered in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

in which he declared his intention to "burn the house down."

Death

Samuel died in 1908 after spending six years at the State Mental Hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was 80 years old. Some of Reuben Samuel's family still live in the Kansas City, Missouri area.

References

External links

* Official website for the Family of Frank & Jesse James: Stray Leaves, A James Family in America Since 1650: http://www.ericjames.org * * 1828 births 1908 deaths James–Younger Gang {{US-crime-bio-stub