RALSTON JAMES, ANN - Jackson County, Missouri | ANN RALSTON JAMES - Missouri Gravestone Photos

Ann RALSTON JAMES

Hill Park Cemetery
Jackson County,
Missouri

Ann
25 Jan 1853 Independence, Jackson County, MO
6 Jul 1944 Excelsior Springs, Clay County, MO
Parents: Samuel Ralston 1809–1899, Mary Catherine Hill Ralston 1829–1893
*Obit below.

Frank
1843 - 1915

Frank was a Confederate soldier and guerrilla; in the post-Civil War period, he was an outlaw. The older brother of outlaw Jesse James, Frank was also part of the James–Younger Gang.

During his years as a bandit, James was involved in at least four robberies between 1868 and 1876 that resulted in the deaths of bank employees or citizens. The most famous incident was the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota, raid on September 7, 1876, that ended with the death or capture of most of the gang.

In his final years, James returned to the James Farm, giving tours for the sum of 25 cents. He died there at age 72 on February 18, 1915. He left behind his wife Annie Ralston James and one son. He is interred in Hill Park Cemetery, in the western portion of Independence, Missouri.

Widow Of Notorious Frank James Dies
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo., July 6 (AP)—Mrs. Ann Ralston James, 91,
widow of Frank James, notorious Missouri outlaw, died today. She had
been in ill health and blind for several years. Until the last, Mrs. James
adhered to the vow that the "true story" of Frank James and his
equally-notorious outlaw brother, Jesse James, would die with her.

For several years, Mrs. James had spent the winters in Texas and the
summers at the James farm, three miles east of Kearney, Mo. The James
boys lived near Kearney during many of the years of their banditry.

A son, Robert James, who lives on the north Missouri farm, is Mrs. James's
only survivor.

FRANK JAMES' ASHES WILL BE BURIED
To Be Placed in Small Cemetery Outside Kansas City Alongside Those of His Widow.
Kearney, Mo., July There'll be a double burial in a small family cemetery just outside
of Kansas City in a few days. The ashes of Frank James, notorious Missouri bandit
leader who died in 1915, and those of his widow, Mrs. Ann Ralston James, who
married him 69 years ago over paternal opposition and remained true throughout
life and death will be interred together.
Ashes its Bank Vault.

Robert Frank James, a son of the couple, disclosed the ashes of his father had been
in a bank vault since his death and subsequent cremation. Following the wishes of his
mother, James said, she likewise would be cremated and both urns would be placed
in the small family plot belonging to her parents.

Funeral services will be held tomorrow in Kansas City for Mrs James. Her body will be
cremated and the double interment will follow in a few days.

Mrs. James, 91, blind and in ill health during her last years, remained true until the last
to her vow that the "true story of Frank and Jesse James" would die with her.

Following his death in 1913. James' body was cremated in accordance with his instructions.

Jesse was slain in 1882 by a follower who reputedly was trying to collect a reward; Frank
surrendered soon afterward, was tried of a murder charge and acquitted. After his acquittal
he and his wife lived quietly dividing their time between Oklahoma and St. Louis.

Contributed on 5/20/20 by tomtodd
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Record #: 825505

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Submitted: 5/20/20 • Approved: 5/21/20 • Last Updated: 5/24/20 • R825505-G825504-S3

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