Biography of belle Starr,Belle Starr: The Female Outlaw,belle starr, about belle starr

                                                 
                                              Biography of belle Starr
 Belle Starr has come down through time asone of the great anti-heroines of the Old West. She is the Bandit Queen, the female RobinHood, who was quick with her fists and even quicker with her Colt 45. The reality was quite different. The Belle of history was a battler who madesome bad choices in men, ended up twice widowed with two children and made the most of thecards she was dealt – only to meet the most violent of ends.

About the Belle Starr-

we go beyond thelegend to reveal the real Belle Starr. Formative YearsMyra Maybelle Shirley, the future Belle Starr, was born on February 5th, 1848 in Jasper County,Southwest Missouri. With that fact established, drilling downon the rest of her life becomes far less certain. Much of what is accepted is the stuff of dimenovel fiction. Sorting out the fact from fiction is a majorchallenge. We do know that her father, John Shirley wasonto his third wife when Myra came along. That third wife was named Eliza PenningtonHatfield, a member of the Hatfield family who famously feuded with the McCoy’s. The couple had three other children, all boys,with Myra being the second oldest. John Shirley was a wheat, corn and hog farmer. When Myra was six years of age, he sold thefarm for a tidy profit and relocated the family to Carthage, Missouri. He invested in real estate, managing to takepossession of an entire city block that housed a livery stable, blacksmith shop, tavern andhotel. John Shirley was a slave owner who was ardentlypro-slavery. In the explosive years before the Civil War,tensions were high between pro and anti-slavery forces in Missouri. When his oldest son, Bud, joined an infamousgang of Confederate sympathizers known as Quantrill’s Raiders, John was extremelyproud.

 Meanwhile, Myra, who insisted that she becalled Belle, was growing into a fine young lady. Her parents were among the most prominentin Carthage and she was able to enjoy a life of semi-privilege. She attended the Carthage Female Academy,doing well in her studies, where she studied languages, mathematics and grammar. She was also a talented piano player who wouldentertain guests in the lobby of the family owned hotel. When he was home from his raiding expeditions,Belle’s older brother Bud taught her to shoot. She became an excellent shot, developing areputation as a markswoman that would later fuel her reputation as the bandit queen. Belle was 13 when the Civil War erupted. Carthage found itself as a central point ofhostilities, with no fewer than 13 battles being waged in the surrounding area duringthe four years of the conflict. With the war right on their doorstep, everyperson in Carthage was forced to choose sides. Pro and anti-Confederacy factions developedwith tensions escalating by the day. It has been reported that the teenaged Belleacted as a spy for the Confederacy and even that she joined Quantrill’s Raiders. Both suggestions are unlikely. However, any news that she may have gottenabout Union troop movements she would have no doubt passed on to Bud. In June, 1864, Bud was shot and killed byUnion soldiers in Sarcoxie, Missouri when they surrounded the house he was owned bya Confederate sympathizer.

 Desperate to prevent further tragedy, thefamily packed up and moved to Texas. They had gotten out of Carthage just in time. Three months later it was burned to the groundby Confederate rebels, determined to drive Union soldiers from the town. Belle drove one of the family’s wagons asthey wound their way down from Missouri to a small town ten miles south-east of Dallascalled Scyene. Things didn’t go nearly as well for theShirley’s in Texas as it had in Missouri. John had hoped to reinvest in a hotel butthose plans didn’t work out and he was forced to return to farming. Conflict arose with the locals who accusedJohn of taking more than his share of water from the communal well. Belle was enrolled at the local one-room schoolhouse. Her attendance, however, was erratic. This was probably because she was bored withthe material, having already covered it at the girl’s school in Carthage.

MarriageWhile back in Carthage, Belle had come across a boy by the name of John Reed. Reed, who was two years older than Belle,joined Quantrill’s Raiders when he was 17. He was tall and stocky and his ability withhis fists and with a gun earned him the respect of the older members of the gang. Belle admired him from afar but her familymoved away before a relationship could develop. Belle was ecstatic to learn, sometime around1865, that the Reed’s had also relocated to Texas. They quickly became a couple and, on November1, 1866 they were married. Belle was eighteen at the time. Jim and Belle moved in with the Shirley family,where Jim helped out on the family farm. Jim didn’t take to farm work and tried hishand as a salesman. He worked for a saddle maker in Dallas, sellingsaddles and bridles for a time. By the end of 1867, however, Jim’s familyhad moved back to Missouri. He and Belle decided to join them. The Reed’s set themselves up on a farm inBates County. Jim worked the land with his brothers. Then, in September, 1868, Belle gave birthto a daughter, Rosie Lee. From the start Belle took to calling the baby‘her little pearl’. Soon everyone was calling the baby Pearl.

 The first opportunity that John and ElizaShirley had to see their grand-daughter was when Belle returned to Texas to attend thefuneral of her younger brother Ed. The events surrounding the murder are cloudy,but it appears that he was involved in horse theft. Following the funeral and reunion with herparents, Belle returned to the Reed farm in Missouri. Her relationship with Jim was strained, ashe spent less and less time on the farm and more at the horse racing track. It was while at the races that Jim ran intoa man named Tom Starr. Starr was a half Cherokee outlaw who madea living by selling whiskey in Indian territory, a practice which happened to be a Federalcrime. Starr ran the enterprise with his sons andthey were soon joined by Jim Reed. Jim’s foray into the outlaw world escalateddramatically when his brother, Scott, was murdered. Jim vowed revenge and hunted down the killer,dispatching both him and his brother. Belle now found herself with a husband whowas being hunted by, not just the law, but also the friends of the men he had killed. Jim knew he had to get out of Missouri, sohe relocated his young family to Los Angeles. We don’t know what he did there to supportthe family, but suspicions are strong that it was through such nefarious means as stagecoach robbery and gambling. On February 22nd, 1871, Belle gave birth toa second child – a boy who was named James Edwin, nicknamed Eddie. Only a month later, Jim was accused of involvementin a counterfeit money scam and was forced again to relocate his family. When the L.A. authorities began looking intohis case, they discovered that he was also wanted for murder. Jim skipped town and made his way on horsebackto Texas.

 Belle and the two children took the stagecoach. In March, 1871, Belle turned up at the familyfarm in Texas with two kids and a wanted husband. Belle’s father helped them to set up ona small farm near Coon Creek in Bosque County. But Jim Reed had already proven that he wasno farmer. Soon the farm was attracting a regular assortmentof vagabonds, who would sit around with Jim and plan out their various crimes. Jim became involved in rustling livestock. When he learned that a local man by the nameof Dick Cravey had $4,000 in cash stashed at his house, Jim and his brother, Sol, couldn’tresist the temptation. However, the robbery was botched and theyended up murdering Cravey. A few months later the brothers were accusedof murdering another man. This man, whose last name was Wheeler, hadapparently reported to the authorities what he knew about the Reed mob’s illegal activities. He was found with his tongue cut out.

This latest outrage resulted in both Jim andSol having a $500 reward placed on their capture, dead or alive. It was time to move once again. Leaving the children with Belle’s parents,the couple headed into Choctaw Indian territory, where the authorities would be unable to follow. Jim was unable to stay out of trouble. On November 19, 1873, along with two accomplices,he rode to the farm of a wealthy retired judge who lived near the South Canadian River. The judge and his wife were hung from a treeand forced to divulge the location of cash in the house. The bandits got away with the huge sum of$30,000. By now the strain on the marriage was toomuch. Belle was fed up with the life of crime thather husband had forced her into. She packed up and took the children back tothe family farm in Scyene. Reed headed for San Antonio, where he tookup with a woman named Rosa McCommas. He continued his outlaw ways but fate caughtup with him when a former associate shot him in the back on August 6th, 1874.

 Belle StarrBelle was now a widow with two young children to care for. She stayed on the family with her parents. In 1876, John Shirley died. This forced Eliza to sell the farm and relocateto Dallas. Belle and the children went with her. Allegedly, Belle was briefly married for threeweeks to Charles Younger, uncle of Cole Younger in 1878, but this is not substantiated byany evidence. On June 5, 1880 Belle married Sam Starr theson of her husband’s former associate Tom Starr and settled in the Indian territory. There, she learned ways of organizing, planningand fencing for the rustlers, horse thieves and bootleggers, as well as harboring themfrom the law. At twenty-three, the half-Cherokee Sam wasnine years younger than his new bride. They moved onto Cherokee Nation territoryand settled into a homestead some 760 miles southwest of Fort Smith.

 They cleared three acres of land and plantedcorn. There were plenty of fish in the nearby riverand game was also plentiful. It seemed like the ideal existence and itcould have been if Belle’s past hadn’t gotten in the way. Former associates of Jim Reed began to learnthat Belle had a hideout in Indian territory, safe from the reach of the law. So many outlaws began turning up that Belleand Saw were forced to convert a nearby cave into a sort of robber’s roost with threelog cabins being erected. Up until now, Belle had managed to keep herselffrom actual involvement in illegally activity. That changed in 1882 when she and Sam askeda neighbor if they could put some horses in his pen prior to their selling them. The neighbor agreed but, on inspection, pointedout that at least two of the horses belonged to other local farmers. Sam and Belle ignored the claims and wentahead and sold the horses. When the original owners of the stolen horsesfound out, they pressed charges. Sam and Belle were handed an indictment toappear before the court on the charge of larceny. Sam’s father, Tom, put up bail for the couple. Both Belle and Sam were found guilty. Sam was given a year’s prison time in Detroit,Michigan while Belle was sentenced to two concurrent six-month spells at the same facility. With their mother and step-father in jail,the children were farmed out to family and friends.

 Sam and Belle were both model prisoners, earningthemselves an early release after nine months. They settled back into life on the farm andthings were pretty quiet for a few months. Then, in December, 1884 a former associateof Jim Reed by the name of Jim Middleton turned up, looking for a place of refuge from thelaw. Middleton was wanted for murder and the lawwas hot on his trail. Middleton hung around the area for severalmonths. Then, one day, Belle and Sam’s ranch wasraided by law enforcement officers from Lamar County. The officers had received permission fromthe Cherokee nation leaders to conduct the raid. Middleton was not in residence at the time,but the raid scared him enough to make him want to make a run for it. But with the law so close on his trail, hecouldn’t figure out a way to get out the area without being detected. Belle came to his rescue, suggesting thatshe drive a wagon with the children in tow, to visit relatives in Arkansas. Middleton would hide in the wagon covers andmake his getaway when they were clear of prying eyes.

 The plan was working well and, after sometime, Middleton was ready to light out on his own. However, seventeen-year-old Pearl refusedto let him take her horse. This led to fourteen-year old Eddie headingoff to the nearest farm in an attempt to buy a horse. He came back with a broken down, half-blindmare. It was hardly the ideal getaway transportbut it was all that Middleton had and he set out on his own, with Belle’s Colt 45 ashis only protection. Five days later the horse was found in somescrub on a riverbank, not far from Fort Smith. Then, on May 11th, Middleton’s body wasfound a couple of hundred yards downstream. The authorities soon traced the gun that wasin his holster back to Belle. They also discovered that the horse, thoughlegitimately purchased by Eddie, had previously been stolen. The end result was that Belle was once againup on charges of larceny. Belle was found not guilty this time around. However, she returned home only to discoverthat her husband, Sam, had been wounded in a shootout with Indian police. Sam had by now become ensconced in his ownlife of crime. Fearful of the rough justice that Indian policewere likely to dish out, Belle convinced him to hand himself in to Federal authorities. Sam was indicted for trial in February, 1887and then released on bail.

 On December 17th, Sam, Belle and the childrenattended a party at a neighbor’s house. Everything was laughter and merriment untilFrank West, the local law officer turned up. He and Sam got into an argument that soondevolved into a gun battle. Within minutes both men were dead. Family ProblemsBelle Starr was now widowed for the second time. Sam’s death made possession of the ranchon Cherokee land a problem. They had not bought the land, it being intheir possession due to Sam’s Indian blood. Now that he was dead, however, Belle’s rightof possession was disputed. With pressure mounting on her to get out ofCherokee territory she decided there was another solution. She married Sam’s brother, Bill July, aliasJim Starr. She was once again married to a Cherokee andso, had possession rights to the land.

Now 39, Belle was fifteen years older thanher third husband. The marriage of convenience was not pleasingto Pearl, aged nineteen, or Eddie, aged seventeen. Both of them constantly argued with Jim, whichwas a source of ongoing frustration for Belle. Around this time, Pearl fell in love witha young man who, in the course of time, approached Belle to ask her consent to marry her daughter. Belle flatly refused, giving the reason thatshe had long told Pearl that she could only marry a man who had at least $25,000 worthof property. She later tried to trick the young man bysending him a letter with Pear’s forged signature on it, stating that she had marriedsomeone else. The young couple soon figured out the ruseand continued to see one another behind Belle’s back. Before long, Pearl became pregnant. Belle was not happy, giving her daughter twooptions – have an abortion or never bring the child into her presence. Pearl chose the latter option, giving birthto a girl she called Flossie on April 22, 1887. She took the baby to live with her paternalgrandparents. In 1887, Jim was arrested for horse theft. By this time, however, Belle was making aneffort to go straight.

She had stopped allowing fugitives to useher place as a hideout. When it came time for Jim’s trial, she refusedto assist in his defense. Meanwhile, young Eddie Star was having hisown problems. He was shot while trying to steal a horse. Belle feared that he would die. She sent a message to Pearl, telling her thatshe had better come back to see her brother for the last time. She added however, that she was not to bringthe baby. Pearl returned to see Eddie, who recoveredfrom his injury. Belle put pressure on her daughter to giveFlossie up for adoption during the visit. Pearl outrightly refused. But Belle was a stubborn woman. She maneuvered things behind the scenes andFlossie was taken from Pearl and placed in an orphanage in November, 1888. Eddie was now up on horse theft charges ofhis own.

Again, Belle refused to participate in thedefense. Eddie’s trial was scheduled for March 1889. He returned to the family homestead and, reportedly,threatened to kill his mother. He then took off, never to see Belle again. Belle’s problems escalated when a couple,the Watsons, turned up at the farm looking for sharecropping work. Belle decided to take them up on the offer,keen to take in some extra money. Belle became quite friendly with Mrs. Watson. On one occasion the woman revealed that herhusband was wanted for murder. This caused warning bells in Belle’s mind. If the Cherokee Tribal Council found out thatshe was again harboring fugitives, they would surely kick her off the land. Belle offered to give the Watsons, their sharecroppingfee back to get them to leave. But Edgar Watson refused. It was only when Belle revealed that she knewthat Watson was a wanted man that he left, taking up with his wife in a nearby tenantcabin. End of the Line On July 2nd, 1889, Belle and her young husband,Jim, left on horseback to meet Jim’s trial appointment at Fort Smith. Belle’s intention was to accompany him halfway,pay a debt at a store on King’s Creek and then return home. They stayed the night with friends some twentymiles from Fort Smith.

The next morning, Belle turned for home whileJim carried on to the fort. Belle stopped off at King’s Creek whereshe had lunch at the local store. Further along the trail she stopped at thehome of a man named Jackson Rowe. This was a popular meeting place for locals.Shehoped to see her son Eddie, who had been staying there, but he left before she arrived. Present was Edgar Watson, the sharecropperwho Belle had forced off her land. As he saw Belle arrive, he promptly left. After a short time eating and conversing withfriends, Belle got back on her horse and continued toward home. She never made it. She was blasted from her horse by a shotgunblast. The killer then approached the dying figureon the ground and blasted again. Belle’s panicked horse galloped for home. A concerned Pearl set out to find her mother. By the time she got to the murder site, ayoung boy had already found the body. Belle was taken to a farmhouse, barely alive. Pearl was just in time to be alongside atthe moment that her mother took her last breath. The question of who killed Belle Starr hasintrigued historians for well over a century. Both of her children have been suspects, Eddiehad threatened his mother at least once after she had disciplined him with a bullwhip, butthe most likely candidate is Edgar Watson.

Watson was actually put on trial for the murder. However, the evidence was deemed as circumstantialand he was acquitted. He eventually returned to Florida, where hewas killed in a shootout with a posse. No other efforts were made to track down thekiller of Belle Starr. There were several other potential suspectsbesides Watson, including July himself. Apparently July had been caught with a youngCherokee girl, and Belle had been making his life hell. Just a few weeks after Belle’s death, Julywas mortally wounded by a deputy who was on his trail. The facts of Belle Starr’s life are certainlynot as exciting or outlandish as they fictionalized version that began with the dime novel BelleStarr: The Bandit Queen or The Female Jesse James in 1889. In summarizing her life for a Fort Smith Elevatorreporter about a year before her death, Belle said, ‘I regard myself as a woman who hasseen much of life.’ The reality was that she was not the femaleJesse James, she wasn’t even a bandit queen. What she was a twice widowed woman with twochildren who did what she could to survive, only to be shot down in cold blood. Hers is a story of hardship and tragedy inthe real Old West. Her grave site is near Eufair Lake, Oklahoma. A horse was engraved on her tombstone, alongwith these words: Shed not for her the bitter tear,Nor give the heart to vain regret Tis but the casket that lies here,The gem that filled it sparkles yet.