In Search of William Clarke Quantrill By G.C. Stevens

 

Photo Library of Congress

William Quantrill of Co. C, Quantrill's Missouri Cavalry Company

Summary

Photograph shows identified Confederate soldier, guerrilla fighter, and leader of the Lawrence Massacre.

Created / Published

[between 1861 and 1865]

Headings

-  Quantrill, William Clarke,--1837-1865

-  Confederate States of America.--Army--People--1860-1870

-  Soldiers--Confederate--1860-1870

-  Guerrillas--1860-1870

-  United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military personnel--Confederate

*Editors note: This article is a story in progress. 

A MYSTERY ARISES ABOUT THE FAMED GUERRILLA LEADER       WILLIAM CLARKE QUANTRILL

               

A Kentucky States Historic marker at the location where the famed

Confederate leader was wounded

Photo by Dennie Anderson 

The weathered marker reads:

William Quantrill, alias Captain

Clarke, 4th Mo. Cav., taken here

May 10, 1865 ending four months

Central Kentucky guerrilla raids.

Surrounded in Wakefield’s barn by

Captain Terrill’s 30 Kentuckians.

Quantrill tried escape, mortally

wounded and moved to Louisville

Military Prison Hospital. He died

June 6th, ending career as outlaw,

then guerrilla for the Southern cause.

In Search of Quantrill

The official records of the American civil war is contained in a one hundred and twenty seven volume set of books, and has one whole book which is the index (making the grand total 128 books). The letters and documents contain most of the story about the conflict, though when it comes to the guerillas of southwest Missouri, the deeply personal aspects and secrecy behind the leaders of these operatives, and guerilla soldiers is not enumerated. But as time as passed, generations of descendants, and people asking questions for the sake of deeper research frequently stumble upon new, and sometimes surprising information from this segment of the civil war which has gotten little attention in the past. The name William Clarke Quantrill (Quantrell) conjures up thoughts of hard riding, violent confederate citizen soldiers, who struck fear into the hearts of their enemies by the use of lightning fast raids under the black flag of W.C. Quantrill and guerilla leader, Bloody Bill Anderson and the  raid and massacre of Lawrence Kansas, as the war between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions exploded in the west. But the truth is that there's a much deeper story and secrecy behind the guerillas and the whole the truth may never be known. But there are threads of information that are beginning to surface from scattered research. This information which was once isolated and compartmentalized in dusty libraries and is now finding its way onto the internet and providing leads to the libraries and archives that hold the story. My research into another area of the story of the Missouri guerillas, lead me to Augusta (Woodruff County) Arkansas, and another part of the story of William Quantrill. There are many questions in this area, but the deeper I dug, the more apparent it became that the Quantrill story was not complete and the question of his death and burial was at best, cryptic.

Who was William Clarke Quantrill?

"(A civil) War Confederate Renegade. He earned notoriety during the American Civil War as the Confederate leader first of the Missouri Partisan Rangers, then by August 15, 1862, the "Quantrill's Raiders" guerillas. As a soldier, he was known for possessing excellent leadership skills, unmatched horsemanship capabilities, and a knowledge of unique warfare tactics, yet he broke from the Confederate Army, becoming an renegade guerilla fighter with his own agenda."

-Linda Davis ref Find a Grave

William Clark Quantrill Find a Grave Listing

 How did Quantrill die, and where are his remains buried? 

   * Editors note: The following information was gathered from various sources, which               appeared in the record while in pursuit of another story that intersected with the                    Quantrill story and its connection to Augusta Arkansas in Woodruff County.

(1) "While attempting an escape on horseback, he was shot with the bullet hitting his spine and paralyzing him from the waist down. He was transferred to the Federal military hospital in Louisville, then to a Catholic Hospital. Lingering for a month, he died at age 27. Following a conversion to Catholicism and receiving last rites in the days prior to his death, he made arrangements with the hospital priest to purchase a plot with a marker for burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. The priest, fearing vandals, ordered the grave restored to a natural condition without a marker, yet this would not be his final resting place. Some twenty years later, the strange odyssey and the disbursement of his bones began. A request was made by his mother and his childhood friend to take his remains back to Ohio, but this was refused. However, the grave was opened upon his mother's agreement and the contents viewed. His friend removed the skull, and his mother identified the remains based on a chipped tooth in the skull. Under cover of darkness, the entire casket was stolen. Upon return to Dover, his remains were interred in the family plot in the Dover 4th St Cemetery, minus the skull and various bones the unscrupulous friend had removed and kept. Eventually, some of the bones were archived at the Kansas State Historical Society, and the skull at the Dover Museum until buried in a separate container in the family plot. Finally, the last of the stolen bones were repatriated by the Missouri Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and interred at the Old Confederate Veteran's Home Cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri."

-Ref -Linda Davis find a grave

(2) "In 1887, a newspaperman and Quantrill's boyhood friend, William W. Scott, dug up the grave at the prompting of Quantrill's mother, a Dover school teacher. He brought the bones back home. Or at least some bones. Experts believe more remain in Kentucky. And what guerilla leader worth his salt is buried in only two places? A Quantrill grave in a Confederate cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri holds still more fragments.

In Dover, Quantrill remains were buried in the Fourth Street Cemetery in 1889 -- maybe. No one knows what was in the box that went into the ground. Scott kept the bone fragments and the skull for himself, unsuccessfully attempting to sell it over the years -- in secret so he wouldn't hurt Mrs. Quantrill's feelings."

Ref Replica Head of Confederate Raider Quantrill, Dover, Ohio

(3) The following story appeared in the July-Sept issue of the William Clark Quantrill Society Newsletter:

 "August 25, 1921

​HOW QUANTRELL DIED. Rev. Thos. Cobb of Lexington and brother of Mrs. Mary Worley of this place is well acquainted with the facts of the case. Rev. Cobb was one of the first recruits to Captain Frank Cockrell's company of the second Missouri Infantry and afterwards transferred into Lyon's cavalry under General Forrest. Sometime ago he told a newspaper reporter the following story. "I knew Captain Horseley intimately. He was my warm friend. I do not believe he made the statement attributed to him in regard to the death of Quantrell. In December 1864, Captain Horseley and myself went into the Southern counties of Kentucky as cavalry recruiting officers under the authority of General Forest, and remained there until 1865, when we surrendered to General John M. Palmer at Louisville...."While in that country we met Quantrell's band and traveled and camped with it for two days and two nights. Quantrell was on his way to West Virginia and Maryland to join Mosby. Horseley and Quantrell had many long talks and Quantrell urged us to go with him. Quantrell did not interfere with the rights of private citizens in that country and had no trouble with Confederate troops. We left him and he continued his march through Kentucky..."When we reached the central counties of Kentucky, General Lee had evacuated Petersburg and was on the retreat and it looked as if the army would surrender. Quantrell therefore stopped his march to await developments. It was then that he had a skirmish with Federal troops, the Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry, and was seriously wounded. He was not known as Quantrell during that expedition but went under the name of Captain Clark...."He was taken to Louisville and placed in a hospital. He sent for a priest when he learned that he would probably not survive his wounds and asked to be sent to the Sister's hospital. There he died and the body was buried in the Catholic cemetery in Louisville as that of Captain Clark...."I was paroled in Louisville about that time by Colonel Folsom. One day Col. Folsom asked me if I knew Quantrell, and I told him i did. Then he asked if I would identify him if alive?" asked Col. Folsom. "No." I replied. I was taken to view a body, but it was not that of Quantrell. But a day or so after, several of Quantrell's men saw the body of their leader in the Sister's hospital and attended his funeral in the Catholic cemetery. This, I believe, is the true story of Quantrell's death and burial.

ODESSA DEMOCRAT."

Ref The William Clarke Quantrill  Society

Who Was L.J. Crocker, did William Clarke Quantrill Survive?

*Article by the Author / Editor G.C. Stevens, based on information obtained from the Woodruff County Branch Library, courtesy of Karen Golden Operations Manager, additional article "The Man Who Played Quantrell", By Anne Sanderson Smith.

(4) Coincidentally, In 1867, another enigmatic figure arrived in Woddruff County and that was a man identified as Captain L.J. Crocker. When he arrived in Augusta Arkansas, he was walking down the street, when a man by the name of Hutchinson saw Crocker, he became agitated and identified Crocker as the famed civil war guerrilla leader William Quantrill. According to this story, Captain Crocker downplayed the encounter and explained that yes, he had been involved with Quantrill and that Hutchison was the only man to make his escape from the "Gorilla Gang."

Another witness, by the name Mrs. Watt Keith of the town of Howell-Wiville tells a story of spending many days in the Crocker home and that Captain Crocker would talk for hours about his pioneer life, and it was said that he was never known to have a picture made of himself and that he died he died in 1905.

But out of these early stories, rumors and legend began to grow around Captain L.J. Crocker it was said that Crocker was none other that the infamous Guerrilla leader, William Clarke Quantrill, The story however, in this community goes much deeper than mere legend and it appears that Crocker and Quantrill were connected in many unexpected ways. The story takes a very strange twist when a man by the name of Mr. Fakes was in St. Louis in 1904 during the World's Fair and went to a theater where Frank James was a door man. He tried to talk to him, but Frank James refused to talk until Mr. Fakes told him he knew Captain Crocker. Upon hearing Crockers name, Frank James attitude changed and he opened up to Fake and he admitted his connection to the story and told of his visit when he was wounded at the Edmonds home. Though it was suspected for many years, It was not known for certain until then that the wounded gentleman was Frank James. Then in 1910, in an open confession to a good friend, W.E. Ferguson of Woodruff County.

Adding to this story is an article found on find a grave By author Gary Telford titled: The Great Quantrill-Crocker Mystery in Augusta, Arkansas. The author provides a fair summary of the mystery surrounding L.J. Crocker:

“On Friday August 21, 1863, in one of the more tragic and senseless acts of the Civil War, William Clarke Quantrill, an outlaw and self-appointed Southern officer, and a number of his men raided Lawrence, Kansas, burning the town, looting the stores and people's purses, and murdering about 150 men in a wanton slaughter that served no useful purpose.

They destroyed about $1,500,000 worth of property. After which the mention of his name brought terror to Northern sympathizers in Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky.

Quantrill led the largest and best-known band of guerrillas in Missouri. Anyone who wanted to join his band was asked only one question: "Will you follow orders, be true to your comrades, and kill those who serve and support the Union?" Frank James and Cole Younger were two of the people who answered "yes" to this question and joined Quantrill's Raiders. Whole battalions of Federal troops were sent out to track Quantrill down and bring him in dead or alive.

Finally on Wednesday May 10, 1865, in a farm house near Spencer, Kentucky, Quantrill and a small number of his band were surrounded by Federal troops. He and his men fought desperately from the windows and doorways of the house until their ammunition was exhausted.

Quantrill was badly wounded in the shoulder by a bullet that raged down through his body, and his left hand was mangled. After the surrender he and one of his men, who was even more severely wounded, were placed under guard and taken to a military hospital at Louisville, Kentucky for treatment, where according to one legend, William Clarke Quantrill died. The death of Quantrill would effectively close a long and bloody chapter of guerrilla warfare motivated more by criminal than patriotic instincts. The legacy of Quantrill's Raiders would long haunt the hills of Missouri.

"Did he really die?" Not so, according to another legend; Here is what really happened.

Quantrill, who was so badly injured that he lay quietly in his bed, pleaded with the authorities to let his wife visit him. Finally they agreed. Then one of the most bizarre escapes in all of American history took place.

When Mrs. Quantrill arrived in the hospital room, Quantrill's companion in the next bed had just died. She and Quantrill stripped the dead man and dressed the body in Quantrill's uniform and placed it in Quantrill's bed. Then Quantrill himself put on his wife's clothes. She in turn put on the dead man's clothes, was gagged and tied, and lay down in the dead man's bed. Quantrill, dressed as a woman, walked out a free man. Mrs. Quantrill was later discovered bound and gagged, gasping she had found her husband dead in his bed and had been attacked by the other man in the room who made her exchange clothes with him and then gagged and tied her up. The Authorities believed her story and as a result of this dramatic escape plot no further search was ever conducted for Quantrill. Instead, the Louisville hospital records reflect William Clarke Quantrill died of his wounds and that an unknown member of his gang managed to escape.

Quantrill and his wife stayed in Kentucky for the next two years while Quantrill was fully recovering back to his normal health. Then one day in 1867 a stranger rode into the little town of Gregory, Woodruff Co., AR south of Augusta, on a very beautiful horse. He introduced himself as Captain L. J. Crocker. He wanted to buy some land, and he had the cash in his saddle bags to pay for it. He bought a tract of land about 12 miles south of Augusta, and he and his wife began clearing some acreage and building a log cabin.

At first Captain and Mrs. Crocker kept very much to themselves. Mrs Crocker seldom ever leaving the house. Captain Crocker rode his horse frequently into Gregory and Augusta making new friends wherever he went.

But there persisted an air of mystery about the Crocker's. Someone said that Mrs. Crocker was the daughter of Colonel Younger, the father of Cole, Bob and Jim Younger, the notorious bandits in Missouri. And it was rumored that the famous Jesse James and his brother Frank made several visits to the Crocker farm.

Then one day when Captain Crocker was chatting with friends in the livery stable at Augusta, a newcomer by the name of Hutchinson approached him and said, "You, Captain Crocker, are the man I knew as Quantrill, I was in the Federal Army and was captured by your men. It was you who finally let me escape."

Captain Crocker looked at the man and smiled slowly. "You are mistaken, Sir. My name is L. J. Crocker, and furthermore I think Quantrill would have shot any Yankee soldier that he captured." There were many other times when Crocker was recognized as Quantrill but each time he denied it.

Captain L. J. Crocker established a store south of what is now the town of Gregory by 1870, and his wife, Gabriella, was postmaster of the Crockersville post office, which was located in the store, from 1870 to 1873. In 1880, L. J. Crocker was granted a license to sell wine, beer and other liquors in quantities less than a quart in the town of Crockersville. In 1881, the firm of Crocker and Smith obtained a license to sell liquor in the town of Augusta. It is belived that Captain and Mrs. Crocker were separated at this time.

Captain and Mrs. Crocker had a daughter named Laura Lee, born September 26, 1864 and died August 1, 1868 and is buried in the Augusta Memorial Park Cemetery. They also adopted a son whose name was Joseph "Joe" Crocker, born in May of 1882 in Missouri. He was adopted when he was eight years of age. While still a young man Joe was brutally murdered. The man who committed the murder was sent to prison for several years. However Crocker always felt that another man in the community was responsible for the death of Joe. Joe is also buried in the Augusta Cemetery.

Captain Crocker had told a friend or two and his wife, who really knew who he was, not to reveal his true idenity until after his death.

Captain L. J. Crocker --or William Clarke Quantrill-- lived on his farm near Gregory for 50 years, from 1867 until his death in 1917.

Captain Leonard Josiah "L. J." Crocker was born October 18, 1839 in Kentucky and died June 23, 1917 in Woodruff Co., AR and is buried in the Augusta Memorial Park Cemetery.

After the death of Captain Crocker his wife, Gabriella "Gabie" Younger Crocker, who was born in 1841 in Kentucky, left Woodruff County and moved back to her relatives ( the Younger's) in Missouri.

Shortly after the death of Captain and Mrs. Crocker a news article appeared in the Arkansas Gazette under this title, "Man Who Lived and Died Near Augusta Said to Have Been Quantrill, Notorius Guerrilla and Foe of Federals in 60's."

Could Captain L. J. Crocker have been William Clarke Quantrill?. His true identity may always remain a mystery to all of us and probably went to his grave with him at his death.

    L.J. Crocker on Find a Grave

The story is not over yet, as I anticipate additional information to come out in the near future.

-G.C. Stevens

Obituary for Capt. L.J. Crocker from 23 Jun 1917 Woodruff, Arkansas, 24 Jun 1917 Memphis, Tennessee, The Commercial Appeal.

Leaving Nauvoo: Courtesy of the Iowa Mormon Trails Association

I'd like to thank the Iowa Mormon Trails Association for allowing me to repost this story here. The Mormon spiritual experience is a poignant biblical story and emphasizes the strength and spirit of traditionally devout Mormons, who drove their wagons on a famed trek through Iowa and entered the promised land of the American west.

-The Editor 

Leaving Nauvoo Was Not As Simple as It Sounds

The Knights in the Spring Exodous from Nauvoo: was complicated as explained in “The Iowa Mormon Trail”, most Latter Day Saints, 10,000 to 12,000, left the Nauvoo area in the spring of 1846, not in the winter with Brigham Youn’s group of 2,000 to 2,500. Once the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated April 30 and May 1, they began pouring across Iowa. When ready, they left on their own, traveling in small groups of 2 to 25 wagons. Newel Knight’s diary (LDS Archives, Salt Lake City) contains one of the best accounts of  someone in the Spring Exodus, and Lydia in her Lydia Knight’s History supplements it. Their records show that the act of leaving town was not as simple as it sounds.

Departure Difficulties

Newel and Lydia Knight had 2 sons and 4 daughters plus an extended family of some 20 couples with children. Most of them lacked sufficient cash to buy wagons, animals, and supplies they needed because they could not sell or trade their property and belongings or could get only a fraction of actual value. Before they could leave, the Knight’s had to pay off obligations. Newel, a miller, had business debts. To pay back Elijah Fordham $250, he traded his gristmill, house, and barn, in total worth $1,000, in return for oxen, cows, a wagon and cash. Lydia, meanwhile, “got our tent, wagon covers, sacks, etc, all in readiness, provisions and goods packed, and all things about ready for the journey.” But then a creditor with a $200 note demanded payment in cash. So, Newel sold the items he had just traded for. By early April he managed to round up an outfit of 3 yoke of oxen, 2 wagons, and 3 cows for the  the trek west.

Go With or Without Relatives?

 In April Newel recorded that “some of my cousins called upon me, this evening, and said they knew no way that they could move, they could not bear the idea of my going and leaving them.” He wanted to help. “I asked God to give us wisdom, to devise a plan for their good.” He came up with an idea-a shuttle method of transport whereby the most able men and teams would travel about 200 miles west, taking farming tools and equipment and as many families as possible. They would stop, plant a crop and leave some men there to tend things, while other men and teams go back and retrieve those left behind. At first, some relatives liked the plan. Lydia, disappointed to be slowed down by it, nevertheless “cheerfully consented.” Most , however, backed out, except for two families, brother-in-law Freeman DeMille, somewhat crippled, and Newel’s elderly father, Joseph Knight Sr. Newel agreed to help the DeMilles move to central Iowa, then go back to help his father move.

Ten Days to Cross a River

 On April  13, Newel and Lydia visited the temple (2 weeks before its dedication) “ to take our last view.” The next day he laid out covers on his wagons and “got ready for to load them.” But then the DeMilles slowed their departure by more than a week. Freeborn had but one yoke of oxen and a “very light wagon.” To make room for DeMille’s belongings, Newel unloaded items from their wagon and Lydia “left some things by the road.” He gave Freeborn lumber and irons for a wagon box, and money to buy nails. He traded a new saddle, rifle, a pair of blankets, and bedding for a horse “to help us along.” By then, Lydia wrote later, the Knights had given up “mills, house, barn, and all their possessions.”  On April 15, Newel finished loading their wagons and drove to the river ferry. But, high winds prevented a crossing. So, they went back and helped the DeMilles load. On the 17th, Newel arose before sunrise , fed and yoked his cattle , “bade farewell to our comfortable home, “ and started again to the ferry. So Newel “went to see my father and bade him farewell, and also left him sufficient means for his support, until I could return for him.” Finally, on April 18, at sunrise, the Newel Knight family ferried across the Mississippi. Near Montrose, they drive back from the landing and waited for the DeMilles. But, once more winds made waters to treacherous. I remained the balance of the day with my family,  “ Newel wrote, “pitched a tent, felt to offer thanks.” The next day, Sunday,  he recrossed the river “and once more had the satisfaction of walking through the streets of the City of Joseph, and beholding the great works, he had so nobly reared before his martyrdom.” Newel helped the DeMilles , then returned to his family. Three days later on Wednesday April 22, Elder Wilford Woodruff, still in Nauvoo, recorded that there was “much excitement “ about threats being made by the mob. Perhaps this excitement convinced Freeborn it was time to get out of town, for that evening the DeMilles finally crossed the river , with Newel’s help. They camped near the Knight’s tent. After another day and night encamped , the Newel Knight family started from Montrose on their journey across Iowa on April 24th, six days after they left Nauvoo. 

This article was written By Bill Hartley for the IMTA Newsletter the “Wheel Writes” Volume 9 Issue 2 Spring 2002 edition

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Trains, Trails and Outlaws Gets Five Stars! By G.C. Stevens

 

Trains, Trails & Outlaws:

 WILD WEST ANTHOLOGY #3

by G.C. Stevens Paperback

$12.99 

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Join me by the campfire with my new book Trains, Trails and OutLaws, where I shoot from the hip about the frontier, wild west and the modern American west. 

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"I really loved working on Trains, Trails, and Outlaws! Fun read for someone who grew up on the Eastern Plains of Colorado."

- Amanda Jones

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ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK

$8.00

Western Poetry & Stories III invites readers on a journey down dusty roads, roaring rivers, steel rails, and prairie paths where the American frontier still breathes, where I blend original Western poetry, short stories, personal photographs, RPPCs (Real Place Post Cards), postal history, and vivid historical sketches to celebrate Iowa and the Midwest as the doorway to the American frontier. From Jesse James, Wyatt Earp, Black Hawk, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid to the Pony Express, Chisholm Trail, Rock Island Railroad, and Sitting Bull, this collection captures legends, landscapes, and working people shaped by courage, hardship, memory, and myth, an affectionate tribute to Western heritage and imagination for readers of history and folklore alike.

 Other Books By

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Frontier Photographers Robinson Brother's and Stromsten; Photos, Ladies in Frontier Iowa

From the research archives of the Central States Lawman & Outlaws Historic Assn. Three unidentified cabinet card photos of women of frontier Iowa, probably taken sometimes during the 1890's. The frontier photographers who took these photographs are listed in the book Biographies of Western Photographers, by Carl Mautz. All of these photos are in mint condition, and a perfect example of professionally done photos of the time period. 

Robinson Brothers Photographic Artists                              

 

Stromsten Photographic Artist 

A listing appears in Biographies of Western Photographers:

The spelling of Stronsten may be an error, Allerton Iowa is a

short distance from Corydon Iowa. It's highly probable that this

is referring to Sophia Stromsten.

Also See Iowa Genweb information of Photograhers

Both Sophia and her son J.M Stromsten are listed on 

find a grave, 

J.M. Stromsten's obituary tells us that he was a photographer. Both are buried in Corydon Iowa, where the Stromsten photo originated from.

Photograher J.M. Stromsten, photo courtesy of find a grave

Contributor Thomas Sollenbarger

 List of 19th Century Photographers, this list is another reference

 but by no means exhaustive.

Photo Investigation: Not Frank and Jesse James: By G.C. Stevens

 

   Not Frank & Jesse; An RPPC (Real Place Post Card) published by AZUSA Post Card Co. Original Photo in the collection of the Denver Public  Library.

 Card from the authors collection.

Correct Photos of Frank and Jesse James from the authors collection

    While writing my first book on Jesse James, "A Fiendish Crime" I went in search some verifiable photos and artwork for my book. I searched Ebay and found a grouping of several post cards published by AZUSA postcard company. The grouping of cards memorialized the James gang infamous great Northfield Minnesota bank robbery which occurred on September 7, 1876. The grouping was comprised of eight post cards (see photos below) that covered members of the gang and the posse who captured some of the outlaws, with the exception of Frank and Jesse James. The James brothers escaped and blazed a trail through Minnesota and Iowa during their flight back into Missouri. During my research, I ran into a photo, (which is posted at the top this article.) It was on the website of the Denver Public Library and was said to be in their collection. I immediately inquired about the photo of Frank & Jesse James on their website and its provenance. A photo of two men sitting together with pistols drawn, which appeared to be a tintype. 

I received a prompt email response from Kellen Cutsforth, who is currently the executive director of the Western Writers Association, he told me:

 "So we do not have any provenance for this particular photo. It was acquired long before any of our current staff came on board. When it was acquired, the staff did not sign any agreements nor retain any receipts detailing whether it was purchased or a donation."  

Photo was noted as a false photo in the book "The Many Faces of Jesse James" By Phillip W. Steele and Artist George Warfel Published in 1995 by Pelican Publishing Co . 

*Note

This photo is but one of many photos that have surfaced over the years that have purported to be Jesse James. But what was unique about this photo was that it was part of a published set, alongside other photos which were confirmed to be members of the James - Younger gang who were involved in the Great Northfield Minnesota Raid in 1876. There were however, also some inconsistencies with the descriptions of other parties involved.  

Top card labeled (more likely mislabeled) Oscar Suborn, probably Asle (Axle) Sorbel.

Bottom Photo: Posse who captured the Youngers (unverified).

"Two weeks after the James–Younger Gang raided Northfield, the gang appeared at the farm of Ole Sorbel on Lake Linden near Hanska. Ole spoke to the men briefly and his wife, Guri, provided the men with bread and butter for breakfast. The gang told the family that they were hunting in the area, but 17-year-old Asle Sorbel didn’t believe them. He had a hunch they were the Northfield robbers that authorities had been chasing around the area for weeks."

-Forgotten Minnesota

Well known photos of the Younger gang, Bill Chadwell and Clell Miller (Top Left)

Cole Younger (Top right), Bob Younger (Right Center), Jim Younger (Bottom Left) 

Charlie Pitz (Bottom left).All photos from the authors collection.

Photographic Evidence

Every photograph and caption must be assessed and evaluated just as you would textual documents in your genealogical research. These tips will help to classify and date the images you locate to determine if the pictured subject is appropriate to the date, place, and context observed in the photograph. As researchers, we must always do our own evaluation, seek out original records, weigh the evidence, and come to our own conclusions.

-Library of Congress

Note: Article updated 08/17/2026

  

19th Century Photographic Resources: By G.C. Stevens

 

Biographies of Western Photographers by Carl Mautz, is a highly detailed exhaustive document / listing of frontier photographers of the 19th century. It is 604 pages and belongs in the library of people who are serious researchers.

I have been collecting cart de visite's, tintypes, ambrotypes and RPPCs for over 30 years. In recent years, I've had the unique pleasure of investigating, identifying and connecting antique photos to their home locations and donating them to their respective state historic societies. I've also been able to identify other photos of people and updated their grave profiles on Find a Grave. This aspect has added to my genealogical pursuits and helped me to sharpen my research skills and to develop an eye for the backstory on many photos that have come into my possession.  It is, however, not an exact science, and it sometimes requires the hunch of a gumshoe. It's also an endeavor which requires some financial investment, though there are many free resources available. For those interested in early American frontier photographers like me, should pick up a copy of the book "Biographies of Frontier Photographers" by Carl Mautz. This publication is a 604-page exhaustive document with the names and locations of hundreds of frontier photographers. I've also listed some resources here, this is by no means an exhaustive list and true photo investigations sometimes take a state by state, county by county search for documentation and it may also require finding family members that are connected to the photos. It's worth noting, as a warning, that photo investigations can also have a controversial, and emotional edge when it comes to family members and protective owners who assume control of certain photos that come into their possession. In my personal experiences, and I have encounter many, emotions can run high in this area, and sometimes reactions include, hostility, protectionism, rejection and even threats. But for me, it's still worth those pitfalls when it comes to revealing the stories that old photos can tell.

 

Correcting Morgan Earps Photo

(I corrected Morgan Earps photo on Find a Grave)

Frontier Photographers

(Article on this blog)

Photo Investigations

(Articles on this blog about my photo investigations)

G.C. Stevens Photographer

(My studio)

RESOURCES

Find A Grave

(Great resource)

Ancestry.com

(Requires a subscription)

19th Century Card Photographers

(Good listing, very basic)

LDS Genealogical Records

(A time- honored resource for genealogists)

Massie's Antiques

(Dealer of antique photos)

GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY RESOURCES

Library of Congress

Carlisle Barracks

(Military Photos)

National Portrait Gallery

Augustana College

(Upper Mississippi collection)

GLOSSARY OF PHOTO PROCESSES 

​ALBUMEN PRINT

Positive photographic print made on paper coated with eggwhite and salt solution which is sensitized with silver nitrate solution. Prints were made by exposing the paper to sunlight through a negative.

​AMBROTYPE

A glass collodion positive patented in the United States in 1854 by James Cutting.

​CABINET CARD

Essentially a larger (4 1/2" x 6 1/2") version of the carte-de-visite, this popular format supplanted the carte-de-visite by the late 1870s, although the first cabinet card photographs appeared in 1866 in England. Primarily a medium for portraiture, the cabinet card dominated commercial photography until the turn-of-the-century.

​CALOTYPE (also called TALBOTYPE)

The first successful negative/positive process invented by William Henry Fox Talbot and patented by him in 1841. This process entailed exposing paper sensitized with potassium iodide and silver nitrate in a camera and developing the negative in gallic acid and silver nitrate. Prints were made by the contact method in daylight on paper sensitized with salt and silver nitrate.

​CARBON PRINT

Prints produced by exposing a negative against a pigmented gelatin tissue sensitized with potassium bichromate. The surface of the tissue hardens in relation to the amount of light received and when washed, leaves a positive image which is permanent.

​CARTE-DE-VISITE

A format developed by Disderi in Paris and patented in 1854 consisting of a 2 1/2" by 4 1/2" mounted photographic print. The primary format for portraiture from the beginning of the Civil War to the late 1870s, the carte-de-visite is referred to often as "cdv" by collectors today. The format continued to be made up to the turn-of-the-century, but was eclipsed in popularity by the larger cabinet card.

​COLLODION PROCESS

A process for making negatives involving a glass plate coated with a light sensitive emulsion of gun cotton dissolved in alcohol and ether and mixed with potassium iodide and potassium bromide. Also known as the wet plate collodion process.

​CYANOTYPE

A print made with a paper impregnated with iron salts and potassium ferricyanide, creating an image where the darks are blue. Popular paper from the 1890s to WWI.

​DAGUERREOTYPE

The first practical photographic process introduced in Paris in 1839 by one of it's inventors, Louis Jaques Mande' Daguerre. The process required a silver coated copper plate which was sensitized with vapors of iodine and developed in mercury fumes after exposure in a camera. The images produced were one-of-a-kind and often beautiful although reflective like a mirror. Being very delicate to touch or the atmosphere, they were sealed and encased in glass, brass mat and leather case.

​DRY PLATE

The successor to the wet plate collodion process, dry plates were glass sheets coated with silver halides suspended in gelatin. These pre-prepared negative plates supplanted the wet plate process by the 1880s.

​FERROTYPE (also TINTYPE or MELAINOTYPE)

A positive photographic image appearing on a thin sheet of varnished iron which has been sensitized with collodion. A very popular format which competed with the carte-de-visite from the late 1850s through the 1870s, finally becoming a novelty format in use at fairs and amusement parks to the 1930s.

​POSTCARD

The photographic postcard became common just after the turn of the century. Beginning in 1902, Eastman Kodak and other manufacturers marketed postcard format photographic paper that was sensitive enough to print under artificial light. This simplified the process of printing photographic negatives and further encouraged both amateur and commercial production of photographic postcards. It was the widespread use of the postcard format in the hands of both professionals and amateurs that continued the visual recording of culture begun by stereoviews.

​STEREOVIEW (also STEREOGRAPH)

A pair of views taken at slightly different angles and mounted side by side. Viewed separately by each eye in a stereoviewer, the two images merge to create the illusion of three dimensions. This format was used early in the daguerreotype era and increased in popularity when paper prints became the standard, eventually becoming an item of amusement in virtually every household in America. It is through this format that 19th century culture can be visually witnessed.

Editorial: Preserving History, Collaborations, Cooperation and Problem Solving.

 

BREAKING BREAD

No Man Is An Island

-John Donne

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thine own

Or of thine friend's were.

Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.

How do we grow a tree, how to reap the meal from the garden? How do we raise a family? How to we bring food to the table? How do we grow ourselves? How do we create anything without the hands of other beings? Are we always alone in our endeavors? None of what we do or create is done alone.  That's a hard lesson for many to learn, but it's a reality. Where history or the historic genre is concerned, it would not exist with cooperative people to bring it all together. Centralized and controlling organizations and individuals stifle the flow of information and stand in the way of new information and new stories, Irrational control of narratives and artifacts lay waste to research and healthy inquiry. Certain social media sites should display risk warnings when overzealous individuals with agendas attack people with threats, false accusations and disinformation are allowed to terrorize anyone asking simple questions, especially when the people asking the questions are engaged in true research. I welcome all inquiries and anyone who wishes to collaborate.

G.C. Stevens

                  

2700 Identified Carte de Visits of Iowa Civil War Soldiers By O.J. Fargo & Edited by G.C. Stevens

Identified photo courtesy of O.J. Fargo, Army of the Southwest.

O.J. Fargo Army of the Southwest, Photo by the author

LEGACY

I've only known O.J. Fargo for a short time, about three years to be exact. We became acquainted when I joined the Army of the Southwest (ASW), which is a civil war reenactment group based in Iowa. We both got into civil war reenacting around the same time in the 1990's. O'J. was one of the founding members of the ASW, and, like myself, he is an avid researcher.  At a recent event in Zearing Iowa, I saw O.J. had a laptop and folder with a cover that said something about locating peoples civil war ancestors, and he mentioned a project that he was working on to create a searchable database of Iowa civil war soldiers. He also mentioned something about legacy, I heard what he said, and I thought I knew exactly what he was talking about. I answered him in my own mind and didn't say it out loud, but in recent months I had been thinking the exact same thing. I didn't exactly understand the depth of what his project was about until he put out and additional email explaining what he had been working on. When I read his email, I sat up in my chair, because he went on to explain that he had compiled a database of approximately 2700 identified Cart de visit photos of civil war soldiers from Iowa units that served in the conflict. To the best of my knowledge, besides large, organized collections in various military museums and historical societies, this was quite the endeavor. 

"I have just finished another lengthy project to supplement my Iowa Civil War soldiers searchable database. Tilting at windmills is my specialty. I have 2700+ CDVs (Carte de Visits)/pictures of Iowa soldiers with at least 2 from each regiment That doesn’t make a dent in the 72,000+ that served but it is a one-of-a-kind collection. I thought that might be of interest to you as a curiosity. I can call them up alphabetically or by regiment. Coupled with the database there could also be specialty searches e. g. everyone who was wounded in the 4th Iowa, those born in Denmark etc. All of the 2000+ photos are identified and matched to my searchable database. I can tell someone everything Civil War-ish about each person in the picture. 

Attached are 3 pictures I just have handy. Two are labeled the third one is Amos Rawley of the 4th Cavalry. He is a relative of Mike Rowley who didn’t know he existed until I sent him the picture." 

-O.J. Fargo 

ASW

Amos Rawley of the 4th Cavalry

Credit where Credit is due photos here from: “Iowa Civil War Images Facebook Group.”