William V. Morrison: Difference between revisions
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*[Bud Hardcastle speaking] "Yes here he [Orvus Lee Howk] was, but he had deserted Nadine and Sidney.." |
*[Bud Hardcastle speaking] "Yes here he [Orvus Lee Howk] was, but he had deserted Nadine and Sidney.." |
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*"He [Orvus Lee Howk] had been run off from Mermac Caverns." [Meramec Caverns, located about 4 miles outside Stanton, Missouri. J. Frank Dalton lived in a cabin near the caverns for about 18 months |
*"He [Orvus Lee Howk] had been run off from Mermac Caverns." [Meramec Caverns, located about 4 miles outside Stanton, Missouri. J. Frank Dalton lived in a cabin near the caverns for about 18 months (March 1949 - September 1950), courtesy of Lester B. Dill, owner of the caverns. Dill was using Dalton as a tourist attraction, advertising Dalton as being Jesse Woodson James, the famous outlaw.] |
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*"But the main thing here is that he [Howk] calls Joseph [Joseph L. Hines] a brother to Jesse [J. Frank Dalton], not knowing that years later I [Bud Hardcastle] would have this letter.." |
*"But the main thing here is that he [Howk] calls Joseph [Joseph L. Hines] a brother to Jesse [J. Frank Dalton], not knowing that years later I [Bud Hardcastle] would have this letter.." |
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*"As you know he [Orvus Lee Howk] later [for example, in the book titled ''Jesse James was One of His Names'', 1975] called this man Jesse James [J. Frank Dalton] a cousin to J.W. james." [Jesse Woodson James] [Here, what Hardcastle is trying to point out (admittedly, in a somewhat confused and misleading manner) is that Howk sometimes claimed (as in the letter we are here viewing) that Joseph L. Hines and J. Frank Dalton were brothers, while at other times Howk claimed that Joseph L. Hines and J. Frank Dalton were cousins. For example, in ''Jesse James was One of His Names'' (1975) Schrader and Howk make the following claims: J. Frank Dalton's real name was Jesse Woodson James (whom they also refer to as the "Kentucky Jesse", because he was born in Kentucky), and he was born on April 17, 1844. This Jesse (the "Kentucky Jesse") was a cousin of the |
*"As you know he [Orvus Lee Howk] later [for example, in the book titled ''Jesse James was One of His Names'', 1975] called this man Jesse James [J. Frank Dalton] a cousin to J.W. james." [Jesse Woodson James] [Here, what Hardcastle is trying to point out (admittedly, in a somewhat confused and misleading manner) is that Howk sometimes claimed (as in the letter we are here viewing) that Joseph L. Hines and J. Frank Dalton were brothers, while at other times Howk claimed that Joseph L. Hines and J. Frank Dalton were cousins. For example, in ''Jesse James was One of His Names'' (1975) Schrader and Howk make the following claims: J. Frank Dalton's real name was Jesse Woodson James (whom they also refer to as the "Kentucky Jesse", because he was born in Kentucky), and he was born on April 17, 1844. This Jesse (the "Kentucky Jesse") was a cousin of the James brothers of Kearney, Clay County, Missouri. The real name of the Jesse born on September 5, 1847 was Jesse Robert James (not Jesse Woodson James), and they refer to Jesse Robert James as the "Missouri Jesse". Most of these claims first appeared (in a slightly different version) in a book titled ''Jesse James "The Outlaw"'' (1961) by Henry James Walker (1908-1970). Walker's book was published about 15 years prior to the publication of ''Jesse James was One of His Names'' (1975). It appears that Schrader and Howk "borrowed" these key ideas (and several others) from Walker's book, without mentioning Walker as the true originator of these ideas. Walker's slightly different version of these claims is that Jesse Woodson James (alias J. Frank Dalton) was born in Kentucky on March 8, 1848 (rather than on April 17, 1844 as claimed by Schrader and Howk), and that Jesse Woodson James (alias J. Frank Dalton) was a cousin of Frank James but not a cousin of the "Missouri Jesse" (born on September 5, 1847), as Frank James and the "Missouri Jesse" were only half-brothers who had different fathers.] |
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*"Also he signed this letter Lee." [because his name was Orvus Lee Howk]. |
*"Also he signed this letter Lee." [because his name was Orvus Lee Howk]. |
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Revision as of 10:04, 6 September 2018
William Vincent Morrison | |
|---|---|
 William V. Morrison Author Photo | |
| Born | November 26, 1906 Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | August 30, 1977 (aged 70) |
| Alma mater | LaSalle University |
| Occupation(s) | Probate Investigator, Author |
William Vincent Morrison (November 26, 1906 - August 30, 1977) was a lawyer, probate investigator, and genealogical researcher best known for his efforts in seeking a pardon for William H. "Brushy Bill" Roberts in 1950, a man who appeared in the 1940s claiming to be Billy the Kid. [1]
Early Life & Career
Morrison was born in Kaskaskia, Randolph County, Illinois and was a descendant of French-Canadian fur trader Pierre Menard (1766-1844) and Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell (1818-1875). Maxwell was the owner of a huge tract of land in New Mexico and Colorado known as the Maxwell Land Grant. Morrison's parents were Jarrett Joseph Morrison (April 25, 1886 - August 30, 1970) and Afra Bertha Link (September 30, 1887 - May 2, 1970), who were married on November 15, 1905 in Evansville, Illinois. After graduating from high school, in 1930 Morrison became manager of a grocery store in St Louis, Missouri, and studied law via correspondence courses from LaSalle Extension University (Chicago, Illinois), from which he graduated in 1940 with a law degree. By the mid-1940s, Morrison had become a court-appointed probate investigator, specializing in wills and bankruptcies, often working with various law firms in St. Louis and Texas.
Genealogical Studies and Research on the Maxwell Land Grant
Morrison was a member of the Missouri Historical Society, and conducted extensive primary research on the Maxwell Land Grant. Many of Morrison's papers were donated to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum (Springfield, Illinois), where they can be accessed under the title "William Vincent Morrison Papers, 1777-1975 (2 manuscript boxes - 0.84 linear feet).[2]
Controversial Claims of Joseph L. Hines and William Henry Roberts
In 1948, Morrison was appointed to settle a court case involving a man named Joseph L. Hines[3][4] (of Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida), whose brother had recently passed away (on April 2, 1948) in Minot, Ward County, North Dakota. During the course of proving his identity to the court, Hines claimed that he was in fact the notorious outlaw Jesse Evans who had fought in the Lincoln County War, and that Billy the Kid had not been killed by Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881. Morrison was intrigued, but skeptical. Hines would not reveal the name or whereabouts of Billy the Kid, but did provide some leads that Morrison was able to follow - which eventually led him to William H. "Brushy Bill" Roberts in Hico, Texas. Following a period of interviews and approximately one year of gathering evidence, Morrison became convinced that Roberts really was Billy the Kid, and he took the 90-year old Roberts in front of New Mexico Governor Thomas Mabry to obtain a pardon for Roberts. Mabry was unimpressed, and allowed numerous skeptics to attend the meeting, who peppered Roberts with questions. Roberts had a stroke on the spot, and died slightly more than a month later on December 27, 1950. Disappointed with the results, and believing that Roberts had not received a fair hearing, Morrison collaborated with renown folklorist C.L. Sonnichsen on a book titled Alias Billy the Kid (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1955), which presents much of the evidence Morrison had collected in favor of Roberts' claims.[5].
Death and Burial
Morrison died in El Paso, Texas, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
References
- ^ Moreno, Eric. "The Old Man Who Claimed to Be Billy the Kid". Atlas Obscura. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 10/8/2017.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=1tmArgEACAAJ&dq=billy+the+kid:+an+autobiography&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJ_Y3TvOHWAhUmzoMKHSxFC5wQ6AEIJjAA
- ^ For a detailed account of the controversy over the true identity of Joseph L. Hines, see: (1) Updated Info on Jesse Robert James (alias "Joseph L. Hines") (2) More About Joseph Hines James (3) RE: Joe Vaughn and (4) RE: Their Daddy, Robert
- ^ Letter from Orvus Lee Howk (1905-1984) (annotated to make its meaning more clear to the reader) dated February 1951 regarding his visit to see Joseph L. Hines (aka Joseph Hines James) in 1951 in Pensacols, Escambia County, Florida. Orvus Lee Howk was aka Jesse Lee James, Jesse Lee James III, Jesse James III, and as "the Hawk". - For the original letter (without the annotations) see: RE: Joe Vaughn
- Annotated Letter:
- [Bud Hardcastle speaking] [Bud Hardcastle, an amateur historian living in Purcell, Oklahoma, is an expert on the "alternative history" of Jesse Woodson James, J. Frank Dalton, etc. Hardcastle was the man who organized and paid for the exhumation of J. Frank Dalton in the Granbury Cemetery, in Granbury, Texas, on May 30, 2000.] "Good for you Lou --" [The person referred to here is Lou Kilgore, a researcher on the "alternative history" of Jesse Woodson James, J. Frank Dalton, etc.]
- "Now for another post that Phillip will love.." [The person referred to here is Philip K. Kromer (born November 27, 1952), another researcher on the "alternative history" of Jesse Woodson James, J. Frank Dalton, etc.]
- "From a letter written by Orvus lee Howk In Feb. 1951." [Orvus Lee Howk, under his pen-name Jesse James III, was co-author with Del Schrader (1917-1982) of the infamous biography of J. Frank Dalton titled Jesse James was One of His Names (Santa Anita Press, 1975). This book is often referred to by J. Frank Dalton aficionados as "the black book".]
- "He [Howk] was using stationary from the San Carlos Hotel, Pesacola, Fla." [Pensacola, Florida] [At the time of Howk's visit in 1951, Joseph L. Hines was living either in or near the San Carlos Hotel, or at a location nearby - possibly somewhere in Cottage Hill, Florida.]
- [Orvus Lee Howk speaking] "Dear Folks-- Glad to hear from you again."
- "I [Orvus Lee Howk] am visiting with Joseph Hines James [Joseph L. Hines] [ past] 100, brother to our old Jesse James.." [Here, Howk is referring to J. Frank Dalton (1848 - August 15, 1951) as "our old Jesse James". Howk was acting as Dalton's caretaker at this time. Dalton died in Granbury, Texas, about 6 months after Howk had written this letter.]
- "He [Joseph L. Hines] has been hiding out for years.. I [Orvus Lee Howk] told him [Joseph L. Hines] in 1948 that Nadine, Sidney and I would vist him again.." [Nadine was Howk's wife at the time, and Sidney was their daughter.]
- "Well here I am..........."
- [Bud Hardcastle speaking] "Yes here he [Orvus Lee Howk] was, but he had deserted Nadine and Sidney.."
- "He [Orvus Lee Howk] had been run off from Mermac Caverns." [Meramec Caverns, located about 4 miles outside Stanton, Missouri. J. Frank Dalton lived in a cabin near the caverns for about 18 months (March 1949 - September 1950), courtesy of Lester B. Dill, owner of the caverns. Dill was using Dalton as a tourist attraction, advertising Dalton as being Jesse Woodson James, the famous outlaw.]
- "But the main thing here is that he [Howk] calls Joseph [Joseph L. Hines] a brother to Jesse [J. Frank Dalton], not knowing that years later I [Bud Hardcastle] would have this letter.."
- "As you know he [Orvus Lee Howk] later [for example, in the book titled Jesse James was One of His Names, 1975] called this man Jesse James [J. Frank Dalton] a cousin to J.W. james." [Jesse Woodson James] [Here, what Hardcastle is trying to point out (admittedly, in a somewhat confused and misleading manner) is that Howk sometimes claimed (as in the letter we are here viewing) that Joseph L. Hines and J. Frank Dalton were brothers, while at other times Howk claimed that Joseph L. Hines and J. Frank Dalton were cousins. For example, in Jesse James was One of His Names (1975) Schrader and Howk make the following claims: J. Frank Dalton's real name was Jesse Woodson James (whom they also refer to as the "Kentucky Jesse", because he was born in Kentucky), and he was born on April 17, 1844. This Jesse (the "Kentucky Jesse") was a cousin of the James brothers of Kearney, Clay County, Missouri. The real name of the Jesse born on September 5, 1847 was Jesse Robert James (not Jesse Woodson James), and they refer to Jesse Robert James as the "Missouri Jesse". Most of these claims first appeared (in a slightly different version) in a book titled Jesse James "The Outlaw" (1961) by Henry James Walker (1908-1970). Walker's book was published about 15 years prior to the publication of Jesse James was One of His Names (1975). It appears that Schrader and Howk "borrowed" these key ideas (and several others) from Walker's book, without mentioning Walker as the true originator of these ideas. Walker's slightly different version of these claims is that Jesse Woodson James (alias J. Frank Dalton) was born in Kentucky on March 8, 1848 (rather than on April 17, 1844 as claimed by Schrader and Howk), and that Jesse Woodson James (alias J. Frank Dalton) was a cousin of Frank James but not a cousin of the "Missouri Jesse" (born on September 5, 1847), as Frank James and the "Missouri Jesse" were only half-brothers who had different fathers.]
- "Also he signed this letter Lee." [because his name was Orvus Lee Howk].
- "After august 15 of this same year [August 15, 1951, the date of J. Frank Dalton's death in Granbury, Texas] he [Orvus Lee Howk] became Jesse lee James the third [Jesse Lee James III, aka Jesse James III] a grandson of jesse...." [that is, a grandson of J. Frank Dalton = Jesse Woodson James = the "Kentucky Jesse" (born on April 17, 1844, died on August 15, 1951), not a grandson of Jesse Robert James = the "Missouri Jesse" (born on September 5, 1847, died supposedly under the alias Joseph L. Hines on an unknown date). What Hardcastle is pointing out here is that Howk didn't dare claim that he was J. Frank Dalton's grandson until after Dalton had died. That's because Howk was aware that Dalton had informed certain key people, notably Ola Mae Everhard (1916-1988) (author of an unpublished biography of Dalton titled The Hoax that Let Jesse James Live), that (contrary to Howk's claims) Howk was not related to him, and that Howk was definitely not his grandson.]
- "BUD" [Bud Hardcastle] (end of the annotated letter)
- ^ https://books.google.com/books/about/Alias_Billy_the_Kid_I_Want_to_Die_a_Free.html?id=2JfWnopgj7wC