This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: jjhist1 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.pitts/383.390.394/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The information below is from research I did on James Gang members back in 2004. I work for the Clay County Missouri Historic Sites, which include the Jesse James Bank Museum and the Jesse James Farm & Museum. I Hope this helps. SAM WELLS Aka CHARLIE PITTS Born: 1844, Indian Territory. At a very early age, his family moved to the NE corner of the Indian Territory so his father could work in the newly opened lead mines. (Near what is now Commerce, Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Commerce is approximately 30 miles SW of Joplin, Missouri.) They moved to Jackson County, Missouri, between 1850-1860. Parents: Geo. Washington Wells and Margaret Shepherd Wells. They owned a large tract of land. Today, Unity Village sits on a portion of the original property. The Wells land was bordered on one side by land owned by Henry Washington Younger, father of Cole, Bob, & Jim. Washington Wells was a soldier for the C.S.A. He was killed October 1864 near the Battle of Westport (Now a golf course near 350 hwy & Westridge Rd. A small skirmish took place there). At age 15, Sam was "fostered out" to a nearby dairy farm for a term of 12 months. Meaning he served as an apprentice. Siblings: We know he had at least one sister, Valeria Wells. She married Charles Turner. One source (Homer Croy) says Sam was one of 12 children. Physical Description: Tall, 5'9"- 6', well-proportioned, big and surly with thick dark hair, dark complexion, usually wore a mustache and goatee, intelligent, quick-witted, sarcastic, hot-tempered, cruel, loud and profane mouth. (Indian blood, Cherokee.) Girlfriend: Lillian Beamer, he jilted her to marry someone else, so she told the sheriff the truth as to how he made a living. Wife: Here we have two different names. Whether they are the same woman (using an alias), two different women, or one just a wannabe, you'll have to work on that. We have Emma Henderson; married at Columbus, Kansas, 1874. (Reference currently misplaced). We also have a Jennie Fisher, who gave an interview with the Indian-Pioneer Press in Sept 1937. She stated that Sam left her in Choteau, in Indian Territory and went, or so she thought, to the "Kansas wheat fields," returning with a wagonload of flour. "While gone he met up with his friend Cole (Younger)." The couple and their children (names not known) quickly moved on to rent a farm near Chetopa, Ks., where Sam left Jennie again, this time, not to return. "He went to Minnesota with Cole and was killed there." Unfortunately, Jennie gave no dates in her interview. Association: In July 1862, while returning home, Mrs. Washington Wells and her son Samuel, age 17, found the body of Henry W. Younger. As she was well acquainted with the Younger family, she stood guard over the body as her son went for help. Cole was grateful to Sam and they became close friends after that. Years later, Cole would bring Sam, now using the name Charlie Pitts, into the gang for the train robbery at Adair, Iowa. It has been speculated that Sam got into some sort of trouble with the law near the end of the War, and changed his name to Pitts. Robberies: Train - Adair, Iowa, July 7, 1873. Bank - Baxter Springs, Kansas, April 19, 1876. Train - near Otterville, Missouri (Rocky Cut), July 7, 1876. Bank - Northfield, Minnesota, September 7, 1876. Death: Hanska Slough, near Blue Earth River, between Maddes and Madelia, Minnesota, September 21, 1876. Five bullets in the shootout had struck him. Souvenir hunters had sliced off his ear and the skin around a wound near the heart. Sam's mother tried to claim the body, but she was thwarted by Minnesota politicians every time. She enlisted the help of Missouri Governor, but he too was unsuccessful. Northfield authorities said the body was never claimed. His remains were sold to Dr.'s Murphy and Hoyt for the skeleton, to be used as a teaching tool. The body was placed in a simple box submerged just off shore in Lake Como to aid flesh decay and whiten the bones. It remained there several months. During the winter, ice cutters were working at the lake and discovered the remains. It was immediately thought they were the remains of a murder victim, But Dr. Murphy was quick to produce papers of ownership, along with viable explanations, settling all rumors and fears immediately. ! Several years later, the skeleton disappeared (was lost track of). A museum in Savage, Minnesota has a skeleton that they claim (with no proof) to be the remains of Charlie Pitts/Sam Wells. (Follow link http://www.mnsu.edu/news/read/?id=old-1235150709&paper=topstories for updated info on this subject.) NOTE: Bill Riley, of the Liberty, Missouri, Fire Department, is related to Sam Wells. He has lots of info and some genealogy, as well. Wells' mother was related to George and Ol Shepherd, also gang members. Another of Sam's sisters (name unknown) married a man named Hagen. The Hagen house still stands; it is in the Lee's Summit area. Riley also said the old slave cabin at Noland Rd. and Truman Rd. belonged to the (Ol & George) Shepherd family. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.