The infamous Belle Starr

Probably born near Carthage, Missouri, Myra Maybelle Shirley (per 1850 census data) was the second of three children and the only daughter of John and Eliza Shirley, residents of Jasper County, Kansas. The black sheep of a well-to-do Virginia family, Belle's father, John, had originally moved from Virginia to Indiana where he'd married and divorced twice. Her mother, Eliza Pennington, on the Hatfield side of the feuding Hatfield and McCoy families, was a gracious mannered Southern belle and John Shirley's third wife. They moved in 1839 to Missouri, where they prospered raising, corn, wheat, hogs and blooded horses. In 1856 the Shirleys sold their land and moved to Carthage (Jasper County Seat) where they built a wayside inn, a tavern, livery stable and blacksmith shop, occupying almost a city block. John Shirley was a respected member of the community whose holdings the 1860 census estimated at $10,000, a sizable amount for that time. His library and Eliza's piano and gracious manners were an attraction to the intelligentsia.

Myra Belle grew up while living with her family in their hotel, and attended Carthage Female Academy, where she was a bright student that reportedly flaunted her status as a little rich girl. She was educated as a lady, instructed in "the three Rs", music, and classical languages. Belle loved the outdoors, and was taught to ride and handle guns proficiently by her older brother, Bud (John Allison Shirley, b. 1842). History barely mentions younger brother, Edwin (born in 1850), and two other male siblings born during the following decade.

The good times in Carthage came to an abrupt halt with the advent of the Civil War. Jayhawkers and "Red Legs" laid waste to Missouri communities in support of the Union, while Rebel guerrillas and bushwhackers retaliated with death and destruction of a like kind in Kansas. Residents were forced to take sides and neighbors became bitter enemies. Bud Shirley joined the bushwhackers led by William Clarke Quantrill, and being familiar with the area served admirably as a scout. Attaining the rank of captain, he was much sought after by Federal troops, and young Belle reportedly gleaned information from her many social contacts and passed it on to her brother.

Just how much information the young miss would have been privy to is unknown. Only sixteen at the time of her brother's death, it's conceivable that reports of Belle Starr's involvement as "the Rebel informant" are exaggerated.

Bud Shirley met his demise in June 1864 when the house in Sarcoxie, Missouri, where he and a compatriot were being fed was surrounded by Union militia. Attempting escape, the two men bolted; and twenty-two year old Bud was killed while climbing a fence. His luckier companion made haste to Carthage and immediately informed the Shirley's of their son's death.

Due to the war, John Shirley's business was nearly ruined. The death of his eldest son was the final straw. He sold his Missouri property, loaded family and personal belongings into wagons, and headed for Texas. And so it was that at the age of sixteen, Myra Maybelle Shirley moved with her family to Scyene, a small community southeast of Dallas, Texas. There they settled on a land grant of 800 acres. At first living in a dugout, it wasn't long before the Shirley's constructed a four-room clapboard house -- like a mansion in comparison with other area dwellings. Unlike most immigrants in Texas, John raised not cotton, but corn, sorghum, milk cows, oxen, hogs, and horses. Trading horses and providing a blooded stud service for a fee generated cash.

Myra attended a one-room school, but was older than most of the students and far ahead academically. That, and her sharp tongue, made her less than popular. If she was bitter, she had enough reason. Her life had drastically changed. She'd been uprooted from home and friends. Her brother, and those glorious, carefree days of roaming the countryside together, were both dead. The affluent life of the "little rich girl" was over. Now, there was war. Now, there was nary a friend to be found. Now...there was merely...Texas.

Yet, these were difficult times for all Southern sympathizers. Carpetbaggers were in political control and Southern officials disqualified from holding office. Amnesty was granted Federal guerrillas, but not to those of the Confederacy. Train holdups and bank robberies, often accredited to the James gang, the Youngers, and other Rebels from the ranks of Quantrill's or Bloody Bill Anderson's troops, were the big news of the day. At least once, according to Belle herself, one of these outlaw bands came to the Shirley home and took refuge for the night. Among them was James Reed, whom she'd met in Missouri where their families had been friends. They became reacquainted and their romance bloomed underneath the Texas sky. Belle Starr stated later that "Jimmie was the first man" she ever loved. But legend, sometimes, leaves little room for truth.

Legend has it that while in Texas, Belle became involved with bank robber Cole (Thomas Coleman) Younger. It was alleged that the couple spent several months together in a small cabin on the Oklahoma Strip while Younger was hiding out from the law after robbing several banks; that after Younger rejoined the James gang, Belle gave birth to his illegitimate daughter, Pearl. In actuality, Belle gave birth to her first child, Rosie Lee, whom she adored and called "my little Pearl", late in September of 1868. Younger admitted that he did visit the Shirley's in Texas, but in 1864, not in 1866 as reported. He stated that the next time he saw Belle was at the Reed's Missouri residence in 1868, two years after her marriage to Jim Reed and at a time when Belle was six months pregnant. Though some claim this denial merely the response of a "Southern gentleman," a manuscript compiled by husband Jim Reed's younger brother, Richard Reed, supports Cole's word. A copy of the marriage license issued to Myra Maybelle Shirley and James C. Reed in Collins County, Texas, shows they were married on November 1, 1866, by the Reverend S.M. Williams, and appears to further document the latter story.

Reed moved into the Shirley home and helped with the chores, then worked for a time as a salesman for a Dallas saddle and bridle maker. By late 1867 he and Belle had moved to Missouri and were living on the Reed homestead. Soon after the birth of baby Pearl, Belle's brother Edwin Shirley (age 18) was shot and killed for horse theft. Belle likely returned home for the funeral, but if so, the visit was brief, for the next several months she spent in Missouri as stated by a neighbor of the Reeds who recalled seeing Belle and the baby living at the household and attending a local church. Husband Jim, on the other hand, much preferred racing horses to farming, and spent little time at home. Jim's escapades led to his association with a murderous Cherokee named Tom Starr whose father, James, had been assassinated when the Cherokee nation split into two hostile factions in 1845. Tom carried out his oath of vengeance with more than twenty murders, yet due to a unique quirk in a federal peace treaty was pardoned. After the Civil War, Tom Starr and sons built a thriving business selling whiskey and rustling stock. Jim Reed fell in with them and began to participate in these lucrative activities.

Rubbing elbows with the avenging Cherokee, however, was not as good for Jim Reed's freedom-loving spirit as it was for his pocketbook. To avenge the death of his older brother Scott Reed who was gunned down, James killed a man named Shannon. A writ was issued against Reed not only for murder, but for bringing whiskey into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) as well. Now a full-fledged fugitive, Jim Reed, with Belle and Pearl, fled to California in 1869. While still on the Pacific coast, Belle gave birth to their second child, James Edwin, in Los Angles on February 22, 1871.

The following month, Reed was accused of passing counterfeit money and the ensuing investigation revealed that he was wanted for murder. When authorities set out after him, he hightailed it for Texas on horseback. Belle and the children followed by stagecoach straight away. Meeting in Texas, with the assistance of Cole Younger the family settled on a farm outside Scyene, where rumors soon spread of missing livestock. Reed still had his knack for drawing unsavory characters to him, and by 1873 he and his band of cutthroats were involved in two cold-blooded murders. After rewards were offered for them, Jim escaped with Belle to Indian Territory, leaving the two children with her parents in Scyene.

On November 19, 1873, in the Choctaw Nation, Reed and two other criminals robbed the Watt Grayson family and got away with $30,000. Grayson and his wife were hung from a tree until they admitted where they'd hidden the money. Although some Belle Starr biographers say she participated in the robbery, no member of the Grayson family, nor any of the hired hands who witnessed it, mentioned a woman dressed like a man (as later reported) or even a small-framed man among the robbers.

The date of this robbery has been juggled anywhere from 1869 to 1873, and its location hopped around from The Choctaw Nation to the California coast and even on the East coast, depending on whose version you read or in what encyclopedia you look. If Reed and partners had pocketed $30,000 on each of those dates at each of those locations, they'd have been wealthy men, indeed. No documentation has been offered to support statements that Belle, dressed up as a man, was a participant in any robbery.

The Reeds moved back to Texas where Belle moved in with her parents, leaving her husband and his continued depredations. She objected, it is said, not only to his life of crime, but to the fact that he'd taken up with another woman named Rosa McCommas. Putting over seven years with Belle behind him, Jim and his band went on rustling stock, now adding stage robbery to their various other criminal activities. Nearly caught several times by posses, they always managed to escape into Indian Territory and elude capture. In August of 1874 Jim Reed returned to Texas alone. He began traveling with his former acquaintance John T. Morris, not knowing that Morris had been deputized and had agreed to hunt Reed down in exchange for the $4,000 reward on his head. James C. Reed would never see September; for when the two were stopped at a house for a meal, Morris drew down and ordered Reed to throw up his hands. Jim Reed flipped the table over and bolted for the door. He was shot and killed.

Belle Starr, now destitute, lost her father in 1876. Her mother sold out and moved to Dallas. Belle sold the farm and is reported to have spent the next few years of her life in Missouri with Reed's mother, living a rather quiet existence. This time period has been filled with many a log on the fire of the "Cattle Queen" legend, ranging from armed robberies and horse stealing to eloping with her jailer, yet neither court records nor newspapers from that time support such accusations.

Though local gossip had it that Belle lived for a time with Bruce Younger (said to be Cole's uncle) in Kansas, and others report that Chetopa officials have records to show they married in 1880, other public records show that Belle married 23 year old Sam Starr on June 5, 1880. Belle listed her age as 27, but was probably 32 at the time. She and her new three-quarter Cherokee husband cleared land and settled into a cabin on the Canadian River at what they called Younger's Bend, about 70 miles southwest of Fort Smith (Arkansas). In Indian Territory and outlaw country, the cabin was visited by many seeking refuge. If Belle did not openly object to this, she did express in one letter her hope "to live out her time in peace."

Neither Sam nor Belle appeared in any official public record after their marriage until July 31, 1882. During the spring round-up, they gained permission to pen their horses at a neighbor's corral. The neighbor pointed out to them that two of the penned horses bore brands belonging to others. The Starrs ignored the comment and sold the herd, after which the two other ranchers, Andrew Crane and Sam Campbell, brought charges. In District Court at Fort Smith on November 7, 1882, the grand jury handed up a true bill for larceny in Indian Territory against them. Their bail was made by Sam Starr, Sr. and the couple returned home to await trial. In March 1883 a four day trial was held in the court of "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker (photo, left), and the two were found guilty -- Belle on both counts, Sam on only one, as the court lacked jurisdiction in cases where one Indian committed a crime against another. A first offense for both of them, Judge Parker was lenient. Each sentenced to 12 months, both Sam and Belle were released after serving just nine.

Old Sam had kept the place up for them and spring planting was foremost in their plans. Belle did a lot of riding and also enjoyed reading and playing her piano, which she'd had freighted in to Younger's Bend. Things were fairly quiet until just before Christmas in 1884 when a young and handsome John Middleton, on the run for murder and horse theft, rode into the Bend. By this time Sam Starr was spending a good deal of time away from home. Belle entertained casual guests during his absence, particularly, Middleton. When in the spring of 1885 the treasuries of the Seminole and Creek Indians were robbed, a posse, suspecting Middleton and the Starrs, raided the cabin looking for evidence. There they found only Belle, but the raid caused Middleton to determine he should leave the area. To accomplish this, Sam and Belle, along with children Pearl and Eddie, tied their saddle horses to the back and loaded into the wagon, setting off on a trip. Middleton hid in the back covered with canvas. While camped that night, the plan for John's flight on Pearl's horse went awry. Pearl, perhaps offended in some manner by the man, refused to allow him use of her horse. A mare was purchased the next day, upon which Middleton departed, Pearl's saddle under him and Belle's .45 in his belt. The mare showed up several days later covered with mud and with Pearl's saddle still cinched on tight. A search led to the discovery of John Middleton's body. He'd apparently drowned while attempting to cross a swollen river.

Though the news most likely shocked the Starrs, the kicker must have been to hear that the man who'd sold them the mare had not been the rightful owner. Fearing she'd be charged with larceny, Belle headed home only to find her fear true. In January 1886 a writ for her arrest was issued. She surrendered to the U.S. marshal at Fort Smith. Indicted, her trial was set for September.

The long arm of the law did not then ignore Sam Starr, for he and two others were charged with the hold up of a mail hack. Although that case never came to trial, charges were then filed against him for robbery of a store and a U.S. post office. On the run, Sam still made intermittent trips home, his area friends hiding him and helping him avoid the law. To make things worse, in February several farm settlements were robbed. Report had it that of the three men committing the crimes, one was a woman dressed like a man. One eyewitness identified Belle Starr as the culprit. Consequently, a posse again raided the Starr home. Though not arrested at the time, in April of 1866 a writ was issued for her arrest. In May two officers returned to Younger's Bend. Warned by Pearl, who had spotted them approaching, Sam slipped away and Belle greeted the deputies only to find that she, too, was wanted.

Returning with the officers to Fort Smith, Belle entered a not guilty plea and made bail. She spent several days socializing and shopping, and on Saturday, May 23, had her picture taken. (photo, top of page)

Historians have claimed that after Jim Reed was shot in a gun fight in 1874, Belle Starr and an Indian outlaw named Bluford "Blue" Duck organized a horse and cattle rustling ring and moved in together as husband and wife. The alleged "common law" couple pose together for this studio portrait. (photo, right) This involvement, too, has been disputed. According to an article by Richard D. Arnott (Wild West, Aug. 1997) "...Belle apparently was never Blue Duck's mistress." The photo, this writer states, was actually taken in Fort Smith on Sunday, May 24, 1886, "...at the request of Blue's Duck's attorney, who apparently thought it would help his client in his pending appeal of a death sentence. This was the first and last time Belle saw Blue Duck." The picture, however, added more fuel to Belle's fiery legend.

Belle stood trial in June of 1886 for the alleged February robbery. Not identified by any of the witnesses, who testified that all three bandits were "good sized men", she was turned loose on June 29. Three months later, in September, she returned to stand trial on the indictment issued for horse theft. The jury handed down a "not guilty" verdict on September 30. Belle hurried back to the Bend to find that her husband was badly wounded.

Sam Starr's horse had been killed and Sam shot by Indian police, who'd spotted him in a cornfield. When he regained consciousness, he'd snatched the gun of one of his guards and made his way to the home of his brother. There, Belle nursed Sam's wounds and ultimately convinced him to turn himself in to the U.S. marshal, pointing out that a federal court would likely be more lenient than would the tribal council. Sam did so on October 4, 1886, was indicted and released on bail. Trial was set for February, 1887. The couple remained in Fort Smith, as Old Tom Starr was on trial for introducing whiskey into Indian Territory. When Old Tom was found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison, young Sam and Belle returned home.

On December 18, 1886, while attending the Christmas party of a friend, Sam Starr ran into Frank West, an old enemy. The gunfight was belief and Starr's aim was true. He shot Frank West dead...but not quickly enough. Sam Starr was mortally wounded.

Almost as brief, we are told, was the widow Starr's mourning period. For not long after she returned to Younger's Bend, she took into her home, and supposedly into her bed, Jack Sevier, aka Jack Spaniard, a half-blood Cherokee and notorious outlaw. This, too, was cut short. Spaniard, described by local press as "a man of desperate and reckless character, who held human life at a very low estimate", was arrested, tried for murder, convicted and ultimately (August 30, 1889) was hanged. One likely reason for casting off her widow's weeps in such short order, was the fact that the Cherokee authorities maintained Belle's claim to her land at Younger's Bend ended with Sam Starr's death. Once Spaniard was taken away, Belle found herself in the same predicament. The solution was a Creek Indian named Jim July (alias Jim Starr), who was the 24 year old adopted son of Old Tom Starr. Since no public records show a marriage certificate recorded for the couple, it is presumed they were either united through tribal ritual or by common law. Whatever their marriage arrangement, July moved in with Belle and thus the claim to the land was resolved.

For Belle Starr, however, the hope she expressed in that letter, "to live out her time in peace", was not in the cards. Eddie, nearly 17 now, objected fervently to the presence of Jim July; and Pearl, 19, was determined to marry a young man that Belle, herself, objected to just as fervently. Belle sent her daughter away to live with friends, and told her beau that Pearl had forgotten him and had married another. Dejected, he soon married. Historians claim that later, when he and Pearl found out about her mother's deception, they met secretly several times. Assuming that one half of her most pressing child rearing problems were over, Belle became irate when she learned that Pearl was pregnant. Two choices were given: visit a "noted Fort Smith physician," or "leave" and never bring the child in Belle's presence. Pearl chose the latter and left to go live with her grandmother. Her baby, Flossie, was born in April of 1887.

In June, began another string of troubles for Belle; her new husband was arrested, indicted, and released on bail for horse stealing. Following suit, in July 1888, Eddie was also charged with horse theft, and by that December had moved out of the house. Meanwhile, Edgar A. Watson and his wife arrived in Younger's Bend seeking land to rent. Agreeing to rental terms, Belle accepted payment in advance. Later, when she found out from his wife that Watson was wanted in Florida for murder, Belle tried to rescind the agreement. The tribal council had warned her that if she were caught harboring fugitives again, they would put her off her land. Ed Watson, however, would not accept his money back, and insisted that he would farm the land for which he'd already paid. All else failing to move the man, during a final confrontation Belle commented that Florida authorities might be interested in his whereabouts. Watson became furious, but eventually accepted the refund and rode out. Disgruntled, Watson and his wife settled on another place nearby.

Belle and her two children still had their problems. History records two major happenings that strained the mother-child relationship. Belle did not approve of Pearl's chosen occupation: prostitution. In fact, she made attempts to have her grandchild, Flossie, taken away from Pearl and corresponded with authorities regarding the issue. Eddie sided with his sister and was accepting money from her in order to help pay the legal fees resulting from the horse stealing charges against him. This didn't set well with Belle, who was already upset with him because of his trouble with the law, not to mention the ongoing battle over Jim July. Suspecting that her letters were being intercepted, Belle instructed the postmaster not to allow her children to pick up her mail. When Eddie attempted to do so, the postmaster stood firm and refused the request. Eddie drew a hand gun and aiming it point blank, demanded the letter addressed to his mother. His timing, however, was as poor as the young man's judgment, as Belle walked into the post office at that exact moment, a bullwhip in her hand and, once she realized what was taking place, fury in her eyes. She lashed her teenage son with whip (and tongue) until he apologized and fled the building. Though Belle's action may have kept her son from being charged with the armed robbery of a federal official, her discipline was extreme and was soon the talk of town. Eddie was humiliated. His hide ripped and his pride bruised, the boy resented his mother for that public display and, it is said, never quite forgave her for it. Most likely it was after this that Eddie moved out. It is not known when Pearl came back home, but by February 1889 she was back in Younger's Bend.

On Saturday morning, February 2, 1889, Belle set out with her husband toward Fort Smith. Jim July was headed to his hearing for the horse stealing charge, while Belle intended to do some shopping in a community closer to home. The shopping done, the couple spent the night with friends in San Bois, about 15 miles from Younger's Bend.

On Sunday morning the 3^rd, Jim July departed for the remainder of his journey and Belle turned back for home. She stopped on the way to visit at the Jackson Rowe household, where often on Sundays neighbors would gather and where her son Eddie had been staying. Though Eddie Starr had left before his mother arrived, there were still several visitors there; among them Edgar Watson, who left soon after Belle arrived. Belle ate, chatted with friends, and then set out, nibbling a piece of cornbread as she left for home. The road she traveled passed within a few hundred yards of the Watson place. Belle reined her horse to turn onto the river lane. She'd only gone a few feet when a shotgun blast blew her from the saddle; her horse bolted and galloped for home while Belle made an attempt to rise. But the second blast caught her in the face and shoulder. Belle Starr lay stalk still in the roadway, unable to move, as the hard earth and her velvet clothing soaked in her life's blood.

Her riderless horse arriving at the ranch, Pearl immediately headed out to find her mother. A youth on his return home was the first on the scene. Pearl, and neighbors who heard the shots, arrived soon after. Her "little pearl" at her side, Belle Starr faded into the pages of American history on February 3, 1889, unable to utter any last words.

Among the suspects were Pearl, Eddie, and Jim July Starr. Edgar A. Watson was arrested for the murder, but was acquitted. Physical evidence included footprints, his size, leading from the murder scene to within 100 yards of his home. Yet, circumstantial. Eddie Starr and Jim July were never convinced Watson was innocent.

Belle Starr was buried on February 6, 1889 near her cabin at Younger's Bend in Indian Territory.
Her tombstone is engraved with the following inscription: