Old photo of outlaw Frank James surfaces
EDWARD CHARLES ELLENBROOK WICHITA MOUNTAINS FIELD NOTES — ecebrook@sbcglobal.net
Frank James, the outlaw, bank robber, member of the notorious James gang and brother of the most well-known outlaw of his time, rose up again in Southwest Oklahoma when Mary Isenbarger of Altus showed up at the old Trading Post in Cache. Mary Isenbarger, with an old, tattered, faded photograph of her grandfather, John Isenbarger, sitting alongside Frank James in a vintage automobile and a newspaper clipping in hand, had stopped by the Trading Post several weeks ago to see Herbert Woesner (who saved the old Frank James house by moving it to Cache from Fletcher years ago) to help to substantiate the identity of Frank James. Not realizing that Woesner had passed away last spring, 80-year-old old Mary Isenbarger had come all this way to obtain Herbert’s opinion of whether the person in the photo was actually Frank James or an impostor. Kathy Gipson called me from the Trading Post to explain the situation, then turned the phone over to Mary, who told me a little bit about the photograph and her need to substantiate that the person sitting next to her grandfather was actually Frank James. After we exchanged phone numbers, Mary cautioned me she only answers the phone between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m; otherwise I would be out of luck in reaching her. First, I began to reacquaint myself with Frank James’s life prior to his move to a 160-acre farm on the outskirts of the little settlement of Fletcher in Comanche County in 1907. Robert Barr Smith, in his book “The Last Hurrah of the James-Younger Gang,” wrote that Frank James, about five months after the murder of his brother Jesse James, boarded a train to Jefferson City, Mo., where he turned himself over to Gov. Thomas Crittenden seeking amnesty. However, Crittenden responded that he could only promise him a fair trial. Frank was placed in jail at Independence, Mo., and charged with a 1881 robbery at Blue Cut, Mo.; he was later acquitted. A second charge of the robbery of a federal paymaster in the spring of 1881 in Alabama was filed, and after a trial, he was again acquitted of all charges and freed. Frank James’ life from that point was filled in with a series of unusual, odd jobs, as Smith elaborates: “In later years he worked as a burlesque house doorman, a county fair race starter, a shoe salesman in Missouri and Texas, and a bit player in traveling stock company shows. At other times he went on the road to sell a new coal-oil burner or ran a cigar store in St. Joseph, Missouri. ... and in 1903 he and Cole Younger, finally out of prison, became partners in a traveling Wild West show.” Smith points out that Frank James was a “jack of all trades, master of none” and that one of his jobs was to hire out as a race starter at various state fairs in the South and Midwest. In the newspaper clipping given to me by Mary Isenbarger, the headline of a 1973 article in The Manchester Journal, states in bold black letters, “Frank James Starter At 1905 Fair Races.” “Frank James, noted Missouri bank robber, started the horse races at the Manchester Fairground in 1905. “After his career in the bank robbing business Frank James became a respectable citizen and adopted the profession of a starter of horse races. The Manchester Journal noted his fee was rather high but the fair association felt he was worth the price as a drawing card. “At one time a reward of $25,000 had been offered for his arrest. On Oct. 5, 1882 James voluntarily surrendered himself to Gov. T.T. Crittenden and met the charges against him. “People in this part of the country who want to see the only and original Frank James can do so at the fair. “The 1905 fair was held Oct. 3 to 7. Fair association officers included John Isenbarger, president and Charles Wright, secretary.” The photograph above the brief article showed Frank James sitting in the front seat of an automobile alongside John Isenbarger, Mary Isenbarger’s grandfather, who was driving, and Pop and Dan Sheller, according to Mary, were seated in the backseat. And, written on the back of the photograph was “John Isenbarger in his first auto with Frank James advertising the North Manchester Fair.” John Isenbarger Jr., Mary’s grandfather, was the second son of John Isenbarger Sr. and Catherine Shoemaker and was born Aug. 7, 1868, in Kosciusko County, Ind. He was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1914, on the Board of Trustees of Purdue University in 1918, became North Manchester postmaster in 1935, helped attract to the town Manchester College (which was established in 1889) and ran a real estate business. He married Cora Shanafelt March 24, 1894, and had three sons — Paul, Bland (Mary’s father) and Lawrence. He died Feb. 5, 1949, and is buried in Oaklawn Cemetery in North Manchester, Indiana. Mary Isenbarger is the only child born to Bland and Dorothy (Wolfe) Isenbarger. Mary, when asked how she came to live in Altus, explained that she wanted to move from Indiana to another part of the country. In selecting her new location she picked a town that was approximately halfway between the states where she had relatives living and “a little bit south.” Frank James, after 20 to 25 years of shuffling around from job to job, finally in 1907 decided to settle down near the bustling little town of Fletcher, where he built a house and farmed about two miles north of town. Frank, his wife, Anne, son Robert, and his mother, Zerelda, lived with him on the farm. Rumor spread that Frank had actually come back here to look for loot and hidden treasure that he and his brother Jesse had stashed in the nearby Keechi Hills and caves in and around Cyril and Cement. After the death of his mother, Zerelda Samuels, Frank sold the farm in Fletcher and left the area in 1912. He returned to the old home place in Kearney, Mo., living out the remainder of his days giving tours for the sum of four bits apiece or 25 cents. He died there on Feb. 18, 1915, at the age of 72. For those of you who might want to continue on the trail of Frank James, start at Eagle Park (located behind the Trading Post in Cache) and go see the 100-year-old Frank James House and other historic buildings at Old Town in Eagle Park; tours are available by appointment by calling Wayne or Kathy Gipson at the Trading Post in Cache, (580) 429-3420. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated to help with the upkeep and preservation of these historic buildings. Then follow the trail to Fletcher and visit the Fletcher Museum housed in the Harrel Heritage House, where memorabilia is displayed. Visits are by appointment only, which may be made by contacting Nettie Fisher at Fletcher City Hall, (580) 549-6550. Then drive north on U.S. 277 to explore some of the country and towns Frank James spent some time in and places in the Keechi Hills where he searched for stashed or hidden loot hidden in the old days of the James Gang. A visit to the Cement Museum and Jesse James Visitor’s Center will provide you with a few artifacts and a library of Bud Hardcastle’s videotapes about the James gang and treasure hunting expeditions. Hardcastle is a James aficionado, Jesse James historian and treasure hunter. A visit to the Cement Museum is by appointment only and can be arranged by calling Monte Snider at Central Drug Store in Cement, (405) 489-3521. At the end of the trail, find an old James haunt and natural landmark, Buzzard’s Roost. From the intersection of Main Street and U.S. 277 in Cement continue east on U.S. 277 for approximately two miles and turn right on County Road CS2740, a sandy dirt road; travel south to the section line and you will see Buzzard’s Roost looming with an outcrop of bedrock scattered on top and the window-shaped opening or “eye of the needle,” as they call it, on the east side (you can only view it from the roadside because it is on private property). By the way, after doing considerable research and looking at several photographs of Frank James, it’s the opinion of Mary and me that the man in Mary Isenbarger’s photograph is indeed Frank James. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY ISENBARGER Frank James is in the front seat alongside John Isenbarger, president of the North Manchester Fair and Mary Isenbarger’s grandfather, driving a vintage automobile with Pop and Dan Sheller seated in the backseat.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLES ELLENBROOK Mary Isenbarger, granddaughter of John Isenbarger, holds a 1905 photograph of her grandfather and Frank James riding in a vintage automobile advertising the North Manchester Fair in Indiana.
