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The Jesse James Scrapbook

Author: George Jansen
The Jesse James Scrapbook is the life's work of young Tom Gardner who pasted over the pages of his mother's own "Tour Of Continent Scrapbook," with clippings, pictures, and other memorabilia about Jesse James. When his mother scolds him, Tom vows that he is going to "Go out west and interview farmers and outlaws and trainmen and wild Indians —everyone who knew or saw or was robbed by Jesse!"

And Tom does just that. As he matures into a young man, he travels the country gathering the stories —the recollections of the critical events in the life and times of Jesse James, through the authentic voices of the men and women who knew him or whose lives were affected by him— their unique experiences provide a fascinating view of the world in which Jesse lived.

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ISBN: 1-59133-031-9
Edition: 1st Edition (Out Of Print) Rights reverted to Author
Date Published: October 2003 by Hilliard & Harris Publishers

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Reviews

Jesse James Scrapbook Reviews (Off-site link to Amazon Reviews page)

The Author Speaks:

Everyone knows Jesse James was an outlaw. More important, he is a figure of the Civil War and Reconstruction, who, in his own time, became a symbol of the defeated and prostrate South --a hero to some, a villain to others.

Mr. Thurston James read my novel and said this about it: "The Jesse James Scrapbook is a different kind of book... The cover says it is a novel, but it is not --it is a Scrapbook! Each chapter is a fragment of the James Boys life, told by a fictional witness... but it's stories are based on the traditional history of Jesse, Frank, Cole, and other gang members."

Thurston, who passed away in 2005, was related to Jesse's mother and was one of the leading lights of The James/Younger Gang, a nonprofit organization of James ficionados. I'm very proud that a person such as he liked my book.

I'm also very proud of an extensive review of The Jesse James Scrapbook done by Mr. Frank Mundo, a Southern California writer and activist. If you'd like to read that review, please click here.

About The Author

George Jansen
  • The Jesse James Scrapbook 2003,2017
  • The Fade-Away 2007,2017
  • Haunts 2018
    •

    George Jansen has published short stories and poems, and collaborated on half a dozen technical books concerning computer languages, operating systems, and email. His first novel, "The Jesse James Scrapbook" was published by Hilliard & Harris in 2003. His second, The Fade-away, was published by Pocol Press in 2007. Both have been republished by Fool Church Media in 2017. His third novel, "Haunts," was published by Fool Church Media in 2018. He currently resides in Pleasanton, California with a ridiculously fat cat. He is also an Honorary Mouseketeer.

    Chapter Titles

    Preface
    Chapter 1 Spring 1850 Billy Dury, Farmer, Clay County Missouri
    Chapter 2 Autumn 1856, Ophelia Helms, Schoolteacher, Clay County Missouri
    Chapter 3 Summer 1856, Charlie Taney, Caretaker, Old Siloam Christian School, Excelsior Sprints, Missouri
    Chapter 4 Autumn 1861, Billy Drury, Farmer, Clay County, Missouri
    Chapter 5 Autumn 1862, Merrill Corbett, Confederate Cavalryman, Letters to His Brother
    Chapter 6 Spring 1863, Rudy Schaffer, Storekeeper, Liberty, Missouri
    Chapter 7 Summer 1863, Arthur 'Bub' Howell, Partisan Ranger, Letter to The Concord Tribune
    Chapter 8 August 1863 THE NEW YORK EMPIRIC, THE ATTACK ON KANSAS
    Chapter 9 October 1863 Julia Fanning Breckenridge, Housewife, Montgomery, Alabama
    Chapter 10 March 1864, Darla Starr, Proprietor, Darla's Salon de Joie, Ft. Smith Arkansas
    Chapter 11 October 1864, THE NEW YORK EMPIRIC, THE MISSOURI GUERRILLAS STRIKE
    Chapter 12 May 1865 Cobb P. Hill, Guest at Quantrill Reunion, Keatsville, Missouri
    Chapter 13 December 1865, Dr. Tyler Stemp, Physician and Pharmacist, Kearney, Missouri
    Chapter 14 Spring 1866, Billy Drury, Farmer Clay County, Missouri
    Chapter 15 Summer 1868, Warren Ashby, Bookstore Owner and Postmaster, St George, California
    Chapter 16 December 1869, THE ST. LOUIS UNION, BANK ROBBERY AND MURDER
    OUTLAWS
    Chapter 17 July 1873, Michael T. Donlin, Baggage Master, Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
    Chapter 18 Summer 1873, Mrs. Frankie Dixon, Sharecropper and Cook, Keatsville, Missouri
    Chapter 19 November 1873, Colonel Jax Brown, Representative, Missouri State Legislature, Letter to Frank James
    Chapter 20 December 1873, Jesse James, Letter to The Kansas City Loyalist
    Chapter 21 January 1874, Cole Younger, Letter to The Kansas City loyalist
    Chapter 22 March 1874, Billy Drury, Farmer, Clay County Missouri
    Chapter 23 Spring 1874, William S. Beadle, Pioneer Photographer, Dodge City, Kansas
    Chapter 24 February 1875, THE NEW YORK EMPIRIC, THE JAMES GANG
    Chapter 25 Spring 1875, Jesse James, Letter to The Kansas City Loyalist
    Chapter 26 October 1875, Billy Drury, Farmer, Clay County Missouri
    Chapter 27 September 1876, Texas John Overstreet, Pinkerton Dectective, Denver, Colorado
    Chapter 28 October 1876, THE PHILADELPHIA ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY, General Sidney Marion Keats, Famed Confederate Calvary Leader Visits the Centennial Exposition
    Chapter 29 Spring 1877, Mrs. W.H.L. pemberton, Bookkeeper, Pemberton Feed & Grain, Nashville, Tennessee
    Chapter 30 Summer 1878, Joe "Pony" Sawyer, Outlaw and Informer, Excerpt from His Confession
    Chapter 31 October 1879, Mark Talbot, Court Reporter, Kansas City, Missouri
    Chapter 32 November 1879, THE NEW YORK EMPIRIC, AN ATTEMPT TO KILL JESSE JAMES
    Chapter 33 Summer 1880, Joe "Pony" Sawyer, Outlaw and Informer, Excerpt from His Confession
    Chapter 34 September 1881, Jesse James, Letter to The Kansas City Loyalist
    Chapter 35 November 1881, Mary Rhawn Sievers, Widow, Logan County, Kentucky
    Chapter 36 December 1881, Joe "Pony" Sawyer, Outlaw and Informer, Excerpt from His Confession
    Chapter 37 March 1882, Billy Drury, Farmer, Clay County, Missouri
    GHOSTS
    Chapter 38 April 1882, THE NEW YORK EMPIRIC, JESSE JAMES SHOT AND KILLED
    Chapter 39 April 1882, Billy Drury, Farmer, Clay County, Missouri
    Chapter 40 Spring 1882, Whit Smith, Actor, Juggler, and Clown, Chicago, Illinois
    Chapter 41 Summer 1882, Marion D. Woods, Commercial Fisherman, Seattle, Washington
    Chapter 42 September 1882, Colonel Jax Brown, Representative, Missouri State Legislature, Letter to Frank James
    Chapter 43 August 1883, Three Articles from THE NEW YORK EMPIRIC
    Chapter 44 March 1885, Colonel Jax Brown, Representative, Missouri State Legislature, Letter to Frank James
    Chapter 45 Spring 1882, Parzival Hartwig, Saloon Keeper, Denver, Colorado
    Chapter 46 May 1893, Aldus Chiles, Convicted Murderer, Minnesota State Prison, Letters to Evangeline Nyborg
    Chapter 47 July 1894, THE WEEKLY HUMBUG, Santa Rosa, California
    Chapter 48 May 1896, THE ST. LOUIS UNION, FRANK JAMES TURNS THESPIAN
    Chapter 49 Spring 1903, Winfield "Skeeter" Griggs, Jackson County, Missouri
    EPILOGUE Summer 1935, The Jesse James Scrapbook
    Chapter 48 July 1894, THE WEEKLY HUMBUG, Santa Rosa, California
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