Jesse Edward Grinstead
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Jesse Edward Grinstead (October 16, 1866 – March 8, 1948) was an American publisher, editor, poet and politician who in later life became a popular writer of
Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...
. Over his writing career Grinstead penned some 30 novels along with scores of
short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
and articles that appeared in magazines and newspapers. At least two of his stories, ''The Scourge of the Little C'' (as ''Tumbling River'') and ''Sunset of Power'', became
Hollywood films The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...
. Volumes of Grinstead's works were also published in Britain, Sweden and Spain.Texas Death Certificate, March 9, 1948J. E. Grinstead, Author, Editor, Dies Monday. ''Kerrville Mountain Sun'', March 11, 1948, pp. 1,8


Kentucky, Missouri and Indian territory

J. E. Grinstead was born at
Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...
, the son of William Travis Grinstead (1825–1900) and Elizabeth Miranda Priest (1833–1940). According to his brother, author Hugh Fox Grinstead (1870–1950), as a young man their father had served as a guard under Lt. John James Abert during a U.S. Army
Corps of Topographical Engineers The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal ...
survey of the
American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...
, had made nine crossings of the
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
as a wagon-master on trips to New Mexico and California, prospected for gold in the
Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...
, trekked on foot from
San Juan del Sur San Juan del Sur is a municipality and coastal town on the Pacific Ocean, in the Rivas department in southwest Nicaragua. It is located south of Managua. San Juan del Sur is popular among surfers and is a vacation spot for many Nicaraguan fam ...
to
Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the ...
, transported supplies during the
Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...
to General Albert S. Johnston's headquarters at
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
and conveyed the first
threshing machine A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of farm equipment that threshes grain, that is, it removes the seeds from the stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out. Before such machines were developed, threshi ...
to
Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th-century fur trading outpost established in 1842, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. It became a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, Ca ...
,
Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The boun ...
. By 1860 Grinstead's parents were married and living on a farm in or near Long Prairie in
Mississippi County, Missouri Mississippi County is a County (United States), county located in the Missouri Bootheel, Bootheel of the U.S. state of Missouri, with its eastern border formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...
. After the outbreak of 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 th ...
Grinstead's family returned to Owensboro for the duration of the war. By 1868 Grinstead's family had return to Missouri to a farm in Pettis County, not far from where his grandfather, Jesse Grinstead, had farmed since before the 1840s. In 1884 the family left Missouri to settle in
Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
near the town of
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
where William Grinstead would serve as their first
postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
. A few years later, when Grinstead's family relocated to
Whitesboro, Texas Whitesboro is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,793 at the 2010 census. Whitesboro is named for its founder, Ambrose B. White. It is part of the Sherman-Denison metropolitan area. History The area was once kn ...
, he chose to remain behind. He supported himself by working a variety of odd jobs before finding full-time employment as a printer with The Ardmore Weekly Courier. In 1893 Grinstead founded ''The Oakland ‘Indian Territory’ News'', the town's first paper. Six years later he moved to
Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in, and the county seat of, Kerr County, Texas, Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr (Texas politi ...
in the vain hope that the climate there would help alleviate his wife's lung ailment.Grinstead, Jesse Edward. Texas State Historical Association
Retrieved February 19, 2014


Texas

Within a year or so he purchased ''The Kerrville News'' and, inspired by the area's surrounding beauty, renamed it ''The Kerrville Mountain Sun''. In 1903 he was elected mayor of Kerrville and in 1906 their representative (House District 99) in the 30th state legislature. While serving in the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...
he was instrumental in pushing through legislation that led to the creation of the State Tubercular Sanatorium in Carlsbad. In July 1908 Grinstead failed to win Democratic support for a second term and was replaced by Sam O’Bryant who prevailed against his
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
opponent that November. Grinstead also served on the Kerrville school board for many years.


Later years

Grinstead sold his interest in the ''Mountain Sun'' in 1917 to Terrell Publishing to devote his time to writing and other interests. He became a frequent contributor of Western fiction, sometimes under the pseudonyms, Tex Janis, William Crump Rush or George Bowles, to such pulp publications as ''Big-Book Western Magazine'', ''Thrilling Ranch Stories'', ''Western Romances'', ''
Argosy Magazine ''Argosy'', later titled ''The Argosy'', ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'' and ''The New Golden Argosy'', was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey until its sale to Popular Publications in 1942. It is the first ...
'' and ''Frontier Magazine''. Grinstead published some 30 novels over his career along with numerous short stories and articles. Beginning in January 1921 through December 1925 Grinstead wrote and published ''Grinstead's Graphic'', a monthly magazine of poetry and local interest stories tasked with promoting the Hill Country during a period of hard times. The 1927
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
''Tumbling River'' starring
Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...
was based on his novel, ''The Scourge of the Little C'', and his story, ''Sunset of Power'', was adapted for film in 1936 with
Buck Jones Buck Jones (born Charles Frederick Gebhart; December 12, 1891 – November 30, 1942) was an American actor, known for his work in many popular Western movies. In his early film appearances, he was credited as Charles Jones. Early life, milita ...
in the lead role. In December 1899 Grinstead's first wife, Sarah Frances, died at the age of 27 at Kerrville. The couple had three boys, Edward Everett (1892–1893), Grady Hugh (1894–1974) and Eugene Doyle (1897–1951). In 1900 he married Gertrude Wright (1868–1946), a widow who operated a boarding house in Kerrville. Three children, Jesse H. (1901–1942), Bessie G. (1903–1958), and Pam (1905–1974), soon followed. By the time of her death in 1940, Grinstead's mother had been considered, at 107, the oldest living person in Missouri.Woman, 107, Dies. ''
Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...
'' August 18, 1940, p. 8
Jesse Grinstead died at the age of 81 on March 8, 1948, at Kerrville and was interred at Oakwood Cemetery, Whitesboro. At the time Grinstead had reportedly left behind some 100 unpublished works, three of which he had recently submitted for publication.


Selected bibliography


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grinstead, Jesse Edward 1866 births 1948 deaths Films based on Western (genre) novels American Western (genre) novelists Members of the Texas House of Representatives School board members in Texas American male novelists