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July 20, 2007
Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Click picture to enlarge

In
1937 the Ripley's Believe It or Not crew went to Skagway, Alaska and
made a drawing of the Soapy Smith Skull painted onto the bay cliff.
Above is the Colorado Gazette that Jefferson R. Smith III (Soapy's son)
put into a scrapbook on his father.

July 13, 2007Hundreds of Soapy Wake photographs
Needless to say a good time was had by all. More photos and videos to come.Hundreds of photographs can be seen at the Magic Castle website of this
year's Soapy Smith Wake. Just CLICK HERE and take a look. If you scroll down
you will also find photographs from last year's Wake. Enjoy!

July 11, 2007

Soapy’s Wake a "RIP-ROARING SUCCESS."

Here is the Magic Castle Newsletter report:

The Magic Castle’s 4th Annual Soapy Smith
Party was celebrated Sunday, July 8th, and the hallways of the Mecca of Magic
were festooned with card sharps, con men, grifters and dance hall girls, all on
had to “drink a Toast to Soapy’s Ghost” and take part in the AMA’s annual event
dedicated to the memory of America’s frontier con man, Jefferson Randolph
“Soapy” Smith, the man who built the three-shell game into a criminal empire.

Sponsored by the Soapy Smith Preservation Trust, Whit Haydn and Chef
Anton’s School for Scoundrels, dedicated to the study of the classic street
cons of the past and their applications to the magic of today, and the this
Soapy Smith Party beat all previous events in every detail. Students of the
School for Scoundrels set up “Soapy’s Parlor” in the Inner Circle, which
features multiple gaming tables, Faro dealers and Chef Anton’s Pool Table, on
which the Chef demonstrated his mastery of the picturesque and peculiar pool
shots that are his specialty. Tables featuring the Shell Game, Fast &
Loose, Three Card Monte and other swindles were scattered throughout the Magic
Castle.

Each AMA member and guest entering the Castle was given a stake of $100
in Soapy Gold Rush Dollars for playing the games, and at the end of the
evening, shell game master Giuseppe Aliotta having fleeced his customers of
over $6,000, won the Dealer’s Prize, a set Colorado Sterling silver shells from
the School for Scoundrels. The Player’s Prize was split between Joseph
Tran and Vanessa Lauren, who will share a beautifully framed and mounted chip
from the original headstone of Soapy Smith’s grave, authenticated by Smith’s
great-grandson, Jeff Smith, who was also in attendance.

Music was provided by the effervescent Songbird of Skagway, Brandy
LaPlante, and her accompanying gold-pan alley associates Lee Newman and Johnny
A. The trio presented a rousing version of “The Ballad of Soapy
Smith.” Jeff Parmer’s Frontier Quartet provided smooth harmonies
throughout the Castle, and Professor David Bourne’s turn of the century dance
hall medleys at the piano set the perfect mood.
An auction of rare memorabilia and gambling supplies raised
approximately $1600 for the Dai Vernon Fund, and the special admission charge
to the benefit of the Fund raised close to $1400. (The Soapy Smith grave marker
chip in a shadow box had a winning bid of $70).

Frontier Judge and Soap Pitchman Mark Nelson presided over a panel
consisting of Jeff Smith and “German” Pete, who selected the most authentic,
sexiest and funniest costumes of the evening. Splitting a decision, the
judges awarded a “most authentic” prize for male and female, and “Gentleman”
Michael Johnson and “Lucky” Linda Flinn received the honors; the “sexiest”
prize was presented to silver-spangled C.J. Johnson (Michael’s spouse); and
“funniest” to the AMA’s own Kurt Freitag, who’s befuddled old telegraph
operator was also in the running for “most authentic” until German Pete spied
his Castle host walkie-talkie prominently displayed on his outfit!

A host of volunteer dealers and Academy members helped the event to run
smoothly, including Rich Cowley, Nancy Haydn, Vanessa Lauren, Steve Mitchell,
Wendy Sobel, and more than a dozen students of the School for Soundrels.
Special thanks to our Frontier Auctioneer Rob Zabrecky, who once again handled
the Soapy auction with personality and panache, sacrificing both his voice and
his moustache to coax maximum bids out of the partygoers. Next year’s Soapy Smith
Party will commemorate the 110th Anniversary of the demise of America’s First
Gangster, and we’ll see you on Monday, July 8th!

Judge Mark Nelson

Jeff Smith’s memories of the night,

Sunday 2:00 pm My daughter Ashley and I arrived at the Magic
Castle and met up with Jim and Suzanne Petersen of Los Angeles, Keith “Grifter”
Cobb of Chicago, DaveV, of Las Vegas, Kym “Calamity” Younger and Whit “Pop”
Haydn. We all walked down Hollywood Blvd to grab a late lunch before the
evening festivities. Jim and Suzanne were dressed in their period old west
clothing while the rest of us were going to change into western attire later. I
told Jim and Suzanne not to worry about looking out of place, as this was
Hollywood, where people are out of place if they don’t look out of place…or
something like that.
We ate at a sandwich shop located next to Graumann’s Chinese
theater, where the premier for the new Harry Potter movie was taking place. The
crowds and media to see movie stars were huge and loud. We ate and got out of there
as quickly as we could.

Suzanne and Jim Petersen pose with Ashley Smith

Being the great great granddaughter of Soapy, Ashley had to
get special permission to attend the event, as she is only seventeen. She had
to wear a wristband. The entrance to the Magic Castle is an experience in
itself. You enter into a library and the only way you can get in is to say
“Open sez-a-me” to a figurine owl on a bookshelf. The wall suddenly slides open
as the entrance. I gave Ashley, Jim and Suzanne a tour of the Castle as we made
our way down to the W. C. Fields bar area where the main party was to take
place. We set up Soapy’s grave marker on display. There we met up with Peter
Menyhart and his wife, Maureen. Peter has been to every Wake at the Castle thus
far. Brian Tolman, John “T,” and a host of other scoundrels were also present.

The Wake took place all throughout the Castle but the
hard-core Soapy fans stayed downstairs in the Fields bar area for the most
part.

Ashley deals chuck-a-luck like a pro

I talked my to everybody non-stop until 10:30 pm. Phil Gessert of pharobank.com
traveled from Arizona to
the Wake with a full size roulette table, Blackjack, faro, chuck-a-luck and a
wheel of fortune. Ashley was invited by Phil to assist as a dealer at the
Chuck-a-luck table. Chuck-a-luck utilizes an hourglass shaped cage with three
large dice inside. They tumble around as the cage is turned upside down by
twisting a knob. Players place a wager on a board with the numbers 1 through 6
on it. If one die comes up with their number than they win even money. If two
of the dice show their number than they win double their money, three numbers
on the dice pay triple. The play gambling was non-stop. At first Ashley was a
little shy but I helped her out by hollering out a spiel and drew in a crowd
for her to work. Within half an hour Ashley had become a pro at dealing the
game, cashing in chips and paying off winners. I walked away for a minute and
upon my return she had taken up my hollering to attract a crowd of her own, and
a large crowd at that. Several people approached her after she had finished
dealing and mentioned what a fun time they had betting on a game operated by
Soapy’s g-g-granddaughter. We had a wonderful time working together.

Jeff Smith announces that his daughter Ashley will give this years toast
to Soapy's ghost.

At 9:00, after Chef Anton wowed the crowd with his
world-class pool trick-shot exhibition, Whit “Pop” Haydn got the attention of
the attending crowd and called Ashley and I up to the front for the official
9:15 toast. I gave a short talk on Soapy and explained the history of the
Wakes. At 9:15 we were given the signal and Ashley had the honor of giving the
toast, “Here’s to Soapy’s ghost.” I was very proud. I remember how my father
used to push me into the forefront at such times and it made me feel good to do
the same with her.

The toast already filled me with emotions that I had to
conceal and it was made all the harder when Brandy LaPlante sang, “The Ballad of
Soapy Smith.”

May 22, 2007

Jeff Smith's Parlor is tilting!

More info on the sale of Soapy's Saloon

Jeff received some more information on the sale of Jeff Smith's Palor from his inside source at the KlondikeGold Rush National Historical Park. As we guessed, it will be some time before the Parlor is completed.

Our inside source writes,

Hi Jeff:

Yes, the sale finally went through after about 20 years of working on it. We are just at the beginning stages in what will probably be a 10-15 year project, and that's for the buildings alone. By the way, the Parlor is tilting a bit so the first thing on the agenda I suspect will be stabilization of the building. That's also true for the 5th Avenue warehouse. The other buildings are in much better shape. One of the things we have to do on all of the buildings is write up a Historic Structure Report. This report will describe in depth the history of each building and it's current condition. Also included in the report is a section on the archaeology of the lot the building currently stands on. I'm not sure I'll be writing the history of the buildings. We may contract this job out - but in either case, I'm now searching for any historical information on the building itself. So anything you feel up to sending would be much appreciated. We have just started a photo-documentation of each building (inside and out).

I'm sure the collection contains materials related to Soapy but I don'r know what they are right now or how many items in the collection that are related to Soapy. I know there are one-armed bandits and other gambling equipment in the collection but I'm sure there are more things. It is going to take us at least two years just to sort through the collection and split the collection between the park and the city. A lot of material is going to need conservation work as well and that will take years. One of the things I hope to do this week is set up a scanning shop and start scanning the estimated 1,000 historic photographs in the collection and the other paper documentation. This way we can start using the images and historic paper from the collection in our historic research on the buildings and get the information out to others. If something comes up that has "Soapy" written all over it, I'll certainly let you know.

Attention Soapy Smith descendants: If you are one of the lucky ones who have artifacts from Soapy...The Park Service wants any and all information on Jeff Smith's Parlor that it can find. There might be some information in your collections...please look and contact us here. You will get the full credit for information that is useable and you will be helping rebuild the Parlor correctly.

May 21, 2007

Jeff Smith's Parlor SOLD!

Well, it finally happened. The May 11, 2007 issue of the Skagway News announced that Jeff Smith's Parlor has been sold, along with the entire gold rush era collection once owned by George Rapuzzi. This is actually very good news! Jeff supplied the news.

Jeff writes,

In 1994 I dealt with Phyllis Brown in an attempt to purchase the Parlor to open it up as a museum on Soapy. That attempt was unsuccessful and the Parlor, up to this time, has been sitting vacant for some forty years without proper upkeep. Perhaps now it will be restored and opened to the public, as this historic building should be. It appears the National Park Service (Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park) will have control of the building and will most likely restore it to the way it looked when Soapy ran the place in 1898. The Park Service has done this with a few buildings in Skagway and I can't imagine them not doing it to the Parloras it is undoubtedly one of the most famous buildings in Skagway. I was so afraid that Brown was going to sit on it and let it rot as numerous other buildings in Skagway have done.

Here’s the story as I received it from the Skagway News,

Million dollar Rapuzzi collection acquisition complete

An extraordinary, one of a kind collection of artifacts encompassing the Klondike Gold Rush and early 20th Century life in historic Skagway will be protected and made available for public viewing and research through the collaboration of the owner and four Alaska partner organizations.

The George and Edna Rapuzzi Collection, which was started a century ago by a Klondike Gold Rush stampeder, was purchased in April for $1 million by the Rasmuson Foundation. The foundation will develop a plan to distribute the collection to the City of Skagway, the Alaska Natural History Association, and the National Park Service, according to an NPS press release.

The collection, which includes an estimated 450,000 items and five historic buildings, was started by Martin Itjen, a stampeder who later led Skagway’s developing tourist trade. His long-time friend, George Rapuzzi, was a tourism promoter and tour guide, as well as a consummate collector in his own right. He and Edna passed away in the 1980s. Together the collection came to be owned by Phyllis Brown, the Rapuzzis’ niece, who finalized the sale at the end of April after years of effort by many parties who wanted the collection to remain in Skagway.

“This is an amazing accumulation of Alaska’s history,” said Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Superintendent Jim Corless. “The generous support of the Rasmuson Foundation is providing a fabulous opportunity to share with both visitors and Alaskans an important part of our nation’s history through authentic objects in their original location.”

Brown was away from Skagway and could not be reached for comment.

Among the stunning number of items in the collection are these:

• The 1897 parlor that belonged to the famed Jefferson “Soapy” Smith. After the gunfight which caused his death in 1898, the saloon became a restaurant and then the home of the Skagway Hook and Ladder Company. Martin Itjen acquired the building around 1935, remodeled it, and re-opened it as Jeff Smith’s Parlor Museum. This landmark structure retains much of its 1898 appearance as Soapy Smith’s headquarters.

• The 1900 YMCA Gymnasium and Reading Room and Meyers Meat Market complex, later used as an automotive garage and still holding many automotive artifacts from the 1930s.

• Martin Itjen’s famous “Skagway Streetcar,” a home-converted 1906 Packard, used in early Skagway tours and still emblazoned with his marketing slogan “Nothing Like It In the World.”

• The original silk banner of the Arctic Brotherhood, formed in 1899 by stampeders to provide mutual assistance, friendship, and social interaction in the northern communities. The Arctic Brotherhood Hall is owned by the City of Skagway, now operating as visitor center for Skagway’s 900,000 visitors each year.

• Numerous objects representing Native Alaskan stories including Tlingit carvings and baskets and a unique “Native Packers for Hire” sign from the gold rush. The collection also holds scores of photographs, hotel registers and ship manifests that add depth, texture, and personality to the story already told by Skagway’s historic architecture.

The collection will be managed by the three Skagway partners, with a comprehensive inventory being the group’s first priority. The plan is that the National Park Service, which has orchestrated the partners’ purchase from Ms. Brown, will preserve and display items related to the Gold Rush era. The City of Skagway is contributing $100,000 toward the purchase, and will add to its museum collection those items that tell other city stories, including those of Native Alaskans, tourism, and its port. The Alaska Natural History Association will restore the collection’s World War II Commissary building and focus its Skagway operations there and partner with the city in exhibiting Skagway’s WWII history.

The Rasmuson Foundation was founded in 1955 to support projects of lasting impact for the public benefit of all Alaskans.

May 17, 2007

Ellen’s deadly duelist’s

The year was 1820 and 16 year-old Ellen Stimpson Peniston (Soapy’s grandmother) must have been giddy that two young men were fighting for her attention. The happiness soon turned to horror as the fighting took a deadly turn, one in which both gentlemen were killed. They agreed to fight a duel in a secluded church lot. Both being apparent good pistoliers, shot and killed one another. It has been said that Ellen never completely got over the fact that she had been partly responsible for the deaths. The attending physician at the fight was Ira Ellis Smith who within seventeen months would take Ellen as his bride.

Jeff writes,

I remember first learning of the mysterious duel and later reading small bits and pieces of vague information always wondering if the duel actually occurred, or whether it was just family folklore. Over the years I was sent copies of early family letters describing the duel. I soon learned to believed that the fight had actually taken place but never in my wildest dreams imagined that the old church might still be standing … that is until Ellen Rafeedie emailed me that she had actually been to the church and took photographs. She also informed me that the flintlock pistol used by one of the young men in the duel was actually on display under glass at the church.

While awaiting Ellen Rafeedie’s photographs I searched the net and found some old photographs of the church. I emailed in hopes of obtaining more information and was not disappointed. Laura Willoughby, the Curator of Collections for the Petersburg, Virginia museums contacted me.

Laura writes,

Mr. Smith, We have one of the pistols that was purportedly used in the duel in our

collection. The maker is T. Kitland[sic: Ketland] & Co. of London. The pistol is made
of walnut and is 15" long. More research needs to be done to authenticate the pistol
however; all of the catalog information accompanying the pistol links it to the duel.
We do not permit photographs from our collection to be posted on the Internet unless
it is a museum sponsored site. However, I can send you a photograph of the pistol for
your records, if you want permission to publish the photo in your book that can be
arranged as well. Hopefully this information has been useful.

Laura Willoughby
Curator of Collections Petersburg Museums

Laura is sending what she has on the subject and I will post
it here, minus the photograph of the pistol, of which Jeff promised not to
publish.

“The secluded yard behind Old Blandford
continued to be the scene of duels even after they were outlawed in Virginia.
In 1820, R. C. Adams and James B. Boisseau drew their pistols to avenge an
insult to Miss Ellen Stimson[sic: Stimpson]
Penniston[sic: Peniston]. When the duel ended, both men were dead. Fifteen months
later, Miss Penniston[sic] became the bride of Ira Ellis Smith, reputedly the
doctor who attended to the wounded men.”

very informative.

The Brick Church on Well’s Hill, now known as Old Blandford
Church of Bristol Parish, was erected in 1735. Rich in Colonial, Revolutionary,
War of 1812, and Confederate history, this old church was abandoned after the
building of another Episcopal church in Petersburg, when the town of Blandford
had been absorbed by Petersburg. Necessary repairs for its preservation were
made by the City of Petersburg in 1882.

In 1901 the city delegated to the Ladies Memorial
Association of Petersburg the privilege of developing this church into a
memorial chapel and a Confederate shrine in memory of the 30,000 heroes buried
in its shadow.

The Confederate States honored their soldiers by placing in
the church memorial windows, designed and executed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
There are fifteen of these windows, making this shrine one of the art treasures
of our country. Other Confederate memorials have been placed from time to time
in this historic building. Memorial services were held here for George
Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson at their deaths.

The Cockade City Garden Club beautifies and cares for part
of the old cemetery which is visited annually by thousands.

If you wish to visit and take their tour,
the Old Blandford Church is located in Petersburg, Virginia in the Blandford cemetery
on US routes 301-460 Crater Road.


May 13, 2007

Con Man's Curse
A letter to the editor of True West Magazine

In the June 2007 issue of True West Magazine now available at bookstands,
there is an article about the role Si Tanner played during the drama that was
Soapy's reign in Skagway, Alaska, 1898.

The article, Con Man's Curse, is by historian Cathy Spude. Cathy and Jeff
were emailing each other regarding Si Tanner for a time but tensions grew
so poorly that Jeff had to ask that communications cease between them, for
reasons we do not need to discuse here. Let us say that Mrs. Spude is the
only person thus far we have had to separate ourselves from, and we have
Frank Reid relatives as members of Friends of Soapy Smith.

We were looking forward to the publishing of the article in True West but
did not expect to find any new revelations in the storyline. Jeff
traveled almost ten miles to find a copy on the first day it was out.
He has been biting at the bit to see how Mrs. Spude portrayed Soapy and
Tanner and had his keyboard ready to fire off a letter to the editor of
True West to discount any misinformation.

Jeff writes,

From my past dealings with Mrs. Spude I knew some of what to expect in her
interprettion of the facts. I was disappointed to see so much fillerand false
information used, especially since she had once lived in Skagway, Alaska.
Her iodolism of Tanner reads like a fictional novel in which Tanner is the
"can do no wrong" fearless leader. In this article I feel she did not do her
homework, especially since the resources were in her very own neighborhood.

Letter to the editor:

I am the great-grandson of Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith and President
of the Soapy Smith Preservation Trust. I consider myself the foremost historian
on the true adventures of this “King of the frontier con man.” I do not pretend
Soapy was one of the good guys, although he had many acts of charity officially
recorded in his name. Truth in history is my main concern here. There are some
mistakes I feel the need to address.

Some of the information presented in this article are a rehash of old
misinformation and I understand Mrs Spude making these normal mistakes.
However, some of the information she provides seems intentionally falsified
in order to make Tanner look larger than life.

Mrs. Spude and I have conversed several times in the past about the relationship
between Tanner and Smith. She has as much admiration for the history of Tanner
as I do for Soapy, but I feel in this article Mrs. Spude used too much filler, making
it read like a fictional novel in places.

Just underneath the title someone (either Mrs. Spude or someone at True West)
wrote “A new twist on who killed Soapy Smith.” For the record I wish to make it
clear that this is not a new twist. The Smith family and many followers of Alaskan
history have suspected for decades that Frank Reid did not kill Soapy. The official
family website -- www.soapysmith.net -- makes this very clear. The question has
always been WHO REALLY killed Soapy. The Smith family knows who killed
Soapy. All the evidence, including two letters regarding the true account of the
shoot-out from a U. S. Deputy in Skagway will be revealed with abundant back up
in my coming biography on Soapy Smith, due out in 2008.

Mrs. Spude writes,

“…Josias M. “Si” Tanner stepped up to Jefferson Randolph 'Soapy' Smith on the night of July 8, 1898 to ask him and his companions to turn around and leave the Juneau Company Wharf…”

According to what I have researched, which includes the newspaper accounts and
statements made by those who witnessed the events leading up to the gunfight,
Soapy walked right past Tanner, who was standing at the wharf’s rail, and up to
Frank Reid seconds before the gunfight erupted. Tanner is not recorded as doing
or saying anything.

“Tanner, Reid, Murphy and five others had gathered in front of the Manila Saloon at the corner of Sixth and State on the Fourth of July, watching Soapy lead the parade…Si, lounging in a chair he’d borrowed from Ed McDonald, the owner of the Manila, had pretended a nonchalance he didn’t feel, letting his ’92 Winchester rest against his thigh, ready to whip into action the moment it was needed.”

Mrs. Spude and I talked about the photograph she is basing this comment on.
Problem is, the photograph was taken AFTER Soapy was killed.

“Since then, Soapy had denied having anything to do with the theft of that gold poke in his Oyster Parlor Saloon.”

The theft did not take place inside Jeff Smith’s Parlor but rather in an alley beside
it. There are recorded witnesses who saw the whole drama take place from
a window in a nearby building. Soapy never denied taking the gold. He
officially stated that John Stewart had lost his gold in “a fair game.” This
occurred during a three-card Monte game the Soap Gang had convinced
Stewart to partake in. When Stewart balked at losing, the gang grabbed his
poke of gold and ran.

“Soapy earned his sobriquet (“Soapy”) in the early 1890s on the streets of Leadville, Colorado…”

It’s an old rehash from early biographies that Soapy went to Leadville, Colorado.
Truth is there are no records he was ever there. He gained the sobriquet, “Soapy,”
in 1885 in Denver, Colorado. He had been arrested by a police officer who forgot
his first name and wrote “Soapy” in front of his last name in the log book. He hated
to be called “Soapy.” His friends called him Jeff. I have in my vast collection, an
original letter (one of hundreds) Soapy wrote to the editor of a Denver newspaper in
which he signed his name Jeff R. Smith alias “Soapy” which is the basis for the title
of my biography. Other than that he never used the name.

“Si rolled Soapy’s prone body over to find a gaping hole in his side and sightless eyes staring up at him.”

Too much filler in this article for my personal taste. I have not seen any accounts
that anyone, let alone Tanner, touched Soapy until he was picked up and taken to
the morgue later in the evening. However, Tanner is recorded as having picked up
Frank Reid’s gun after Frank had rolled off of it.

“It took Frank Reid 10 days to die.”

Frank Reid died twelve days later on July 20, 1898.

“Si’s assistants, under his able leadership, had rounded up three of the most dangerous of Soapy’s gang: Tripp, who had been his bartender and gunman, a man named Bowers and “Slim Jim” Foster, a dangerous hophead high on opium.”

There is not a lot known on the men in the Soap Gang. Much of what has been
written is filler and Mrs. Spude carries on the tradition it seems. Van B. (“Old-Man”)
Triplett was an elderly three-card Monte operator. He was indeed a criminal but I
do not recall reading anywhere that he was physically dangerous, a gunman, or
Soapy's bartender. Nate Pollack was actually the bartender, fourth from the left in
the photograph on page 53.

John L. (“Reverend” and/or “Professor”) Bowers is the most famous and dangerous
member of the Soap Gang. He had been with Soapy since the early days in Denver.
I was surprised Mrs. Spude did not know this as Bowers has the most written about
him. I was also very surprised she did not mention W. H. ("Professor") Jackson as
being the man who pressed his gun into Tanner's chest (she wrote face but the court
records clearly state the chest). Jackson received ten years in prison for it as they
claimed Tanner was a Deputy Marshal at the time but in reality he was not appointed
until later. Mrs. Spude describes Tanner as heroically staring down Jackson but I am
guessing that Tanner was shaking in his boots, who wouldn't? Jackson may have been
about to shoot Tanner but an oncoming crowd of vigilante's was running towards the
spot where the gunfight had occurred and Jackson no doubt thought it best to run to
the hills with the rest of the gang in an attempt to escape. Had it been John Bowers
who had shoved that gun to Tanner's chest, I would bet that Tanner would have been
killed that night as well.

There are no accounts that I have ever seen that state James (“Slim-Jim”) Foster
was a drug addict.

“Si calmly walked down the stairs through the mob, his tall stature and broad shoulders without a doubt giving him an advantage. With bullets flying over the crowd, Foster fled up the alley. Si met him at the corner of State and Fifth, a block and a half away.”

There are two accounts of Foster’s escape and recapture. The one I find much
more believable comes from Dr. Fenton Whiting who claimed he was actually the
man who captured Foster using his brand new Colt’s revolver. As Foster went out
the upper floor window in his attempt to escape Whiting ran around to the back of
the hotel and the two men almost ran into each other as Whiting turned the corner.
Whiting quickly dragged Foster over to Captain Yeatman of the U. S. army who
had just arrived on the scene at the request of several residents in town. As Whiting
handed over custody of his prisoner he tripped and knocked over the army Captain.
Michael Heney, the well-known railroad man, was on the scene and took Whiting
over to the Board of Trade saloon for a drink to calm him down. Letters between
the two men very much appear to confirm the story.

“Twenty-four hours later, the calm lawman had rounded up six more of Soapy’s henchmen and shipped them all to the Alaskan territorial court in Sitka, lest the vigilantes take further vengeance on the gang.”

A total of fifteen gang members were ordered released from imprisonment as there
was a lack of evidence to convict them. The Citizens Committee (the vigilantes)
illegally took the first ten men (nine shown in photograph on page 53) down to
Moore’s wharf for deportation aboard the S. S. Tartar. They were made to promise
never to return to Skagway and a photograph was taken of them for identification
should they try to return. Several days later the remaining five were deported in the
same manner. Tanner’s name is never mentioned.

Probably the biggest disagreement Mrs. Spude and I had was over the purported
Soapy gun photographed on page 52. I have always had my doubts regarding this
gun. For starters, the weapon photographed on Soapy’s deathbed is positively a
double-action revolver, very similar to the model 1892Army/navy, whereas the
Selmer gun is a single action. There is the typical cowboys movie “kill notches” on
the Selmer gun that someone obviously carved into the grips after seeing one too
many westerns. Mrs. Spude says the pistol was found in with Soapy’s belongings
but no pistols are mentioned in Soapy's estate assets paperwork. Mrs. Spude
claimed in several emails to me that the Colt paperwork shows that Soapy had
purchased the pistol but Maxine Selmer, the current owner of the gun says this is
just not so. Tanner has been accused of giving out pistols to friends claiming they
once belonged to Soapy, much as Bat Masterson did in his later years.

The Soapy Smith Preservation Trust website has a page devoted to the “Guns
of Soapy Smith” in which the Selmer pistol is listed. Please see the website page
here -- http://www.soapysmith.net/page15.html.


May 7, 2007

Confederate Veterans

While
we are on the subject of war this would be a good time to bring up the
military services of brothers Ira Ellis Caspar Wistar Smith and
Columbus Darwin Smith in the Confederacy during the Civil War
(1860-1865). Both survived the war. If anyone has more information on
these two gentlemen please send it in to us and we will publish it here.

Soapy's
uncle, Ira Ellis Caspar Wistar Smith was 20-years-old at the official
start of the war between the states. He joined up with the Confederacy
under Colonel William Phillip's Legion Cavalry Battalion, Company D,
known as the Coweta Rangers. There are two on-line websites devoted to
Phillip's Legion and they are here and here.

Don't confuse this Columbus Darwin Smith with the one posted on March 6. This
one was Soapy's uncle.

Columbus
was 33 at the start of the Civil War. He enrolled as a Second
Lieutenant in Georgia's State Guards, cavalry, 2nd Regiment, Company F.

A "detailed soldier record" can be found here. (Film
Number M226 roll 56) by typing "Smith" in the Last Name box, "C.D."in
the First Name box, selecting "Confederate" in the Union or Confederate
box,
Select "Georgia" in the State box and "cavalry" in the function
box. No need to do the Unit No. box. This will bring you directly to
"C.D. Smith." Click on his name link and you will go to the information
they have on him. If anyone orders copies from this roll...please share your find

here with us.



April 23, 2007

Ellen Stimpson (Peniston) Smith

Erik Anderson gives us the location of the two letters Ellen Rafeedie deciphered and sent to us and published here on April 14 & 16, 2007. Those of you who would like to contact the Louisiana State Univerity and obtain Copies of the letters plus other business matter letters can do so. Here is how they are listed

Peniston, Anthony, 1796-1826. Papers, 1821, n.d. 2 items. Location: Misc. Resident of New Orleans and St. Francisville, Louisiana. Letters on family and business matters. For further information see manuscript card catalog. Mss. 3123.

Peniston, Anthony, 1796-1826. Papers, 1821-1822. 5 items. Location: Misc. Resident of New Orleans and St. Francisville, Louisiana. Letters written to Peniston by his sister Ellen Peniston of Petersburg, Virginia, and by business associates. For further information see manuscript card catalog. Mss. 3361.


April 21, 2007

Correction

Family member, Erik Andersen sends in an important correction from the April 16, 2007 posting in which we listed Anthony Peniston as one of the founders of Tulane University, that his portrait hangs in Founders Hall and Peniston Street was named after him.

Erik writes,

According to what I have read on the web, Peniston Street is not named after Anthony Peniston. Apparently it was named after his & Ellen's brother Tom who was a doctor in New Orleans. Amelia Street (next to Peniston Street) was named after his wife, Amelia.

See: http://nutrias.org/~nopl/links/history/faubourgs.pdf

Also, please see this page from the Tulane website:

See: http://www.tulane.edu/~alumni/potpourri/IB.pdf

and: http://alumni.tulane.edu/potpourri/IA.pdf

The only mention of an Anthony Peniston on Tulane's website is an Anthony A. Peniston who is listed as one of the first graduates of the law school in 1848.

Food for thought....

Erik

The first link supplied by Erik comes from The Louisiana Historical Society and talks of Peniston and Amelia Streets.

Mrs. Avart had adopted Amelia Duplantier, who married Dr. Thomas Peniston. This explains the reason why we have Amelia Street, named after the adopted daughter, and Peniston Street, named after Dr. Peniston.

The second and third links are biographical sketches of the founders of the Medical College of Louisiana. Of the seven founders none are from the Peniston or Smith families. Information collected on both gentlemen is listed in several separate familt trees and had been accepted as fact by many. It is possible that information on Dr. Thomas Peniston had been mixed with Luther Martin Smith's, a President of Emory University (see posting for April 20, 2007). Neither university seems to have a Founder's Hall as of this posting.




April 20, 2007

Well I'll be a Soapy's uncle

Courtesy Emory University

Luther Martin Smith
(9/10/1826 - 7/04/1879)

A web page devoted to Luther

Luther Martin Smith, son of Dr. Ira Ellis Smith, was Soapy's uncle. Having died in 1879 it is unlikely that Luther, an attorney heard much, if anything, about the criminal side of his nephew. Luther was the first Emory University (Georgia), graduate to preside over the college as President (1867-1871). Luther graduated with the highest honor of his class when he graduated in 1848. Read more about Luther by clicking the link above.

Thank you to Emory University for posting the page and to Dan and Donna Dietz for finding and sharing it with us.



April 16, 2007

"It was reported you died in New York in an Oyster house"A letter from Soapy's grandmother, Ellen Stimpson Peniston, to her brother, Dr. Anthony Peniston

From Ellen Rafeedie

Petersburg, February 3d, 1820

Dear brother

Feeling sensibly your neglect I had almost determined on the same course of

conduct but my friendship conquered that inclination, and I cannot resist the pleasure

of writing though I am apprehensive that either the letter or the writer(or perhaps both) will be deemed by you unworthy of your notice. Although this conclusion is deeply mortifying, and the general tenour of your past conduct should forbid such a suspicion, the sincerity and ardour of my love, produce fears as to the perpetuity of your affection and lead me to draw from your silence the most painful inference. My mind is busied and agitated with a thousand conjectures as to the cause of offence which I may possibly have given you, but the most scrupulous and impartial retrospection of my past conduct, does not furnish me with a single instance in which I can accuse myself of having deviated from the strictest rules of a sisters duty. I entreat you not to leave me in that painful suspense attendant on your silence, but either inform me by letter in what manner I have offended you, or convey to me the assurance that my fears are groundless and that I still share some portion of your fondness.
    Nothing of moment has occured since you left us. I have boarded Mary C with a lady who is capable of attending to the morals as well as deportment, Mrs Gary of Prince George. She goes to school to Mr. Branch who is sufficiently learned, as yet, she being backward in her education.
    I have had the pleasure of hearing from you indirectly. The place of your residence is well known, and I am sorry you did not explain yourself explicitly, ere you left us, as you have been very much censured in this abode of friends, for the mystery which accompanied you altho' I am not acquainted with your affairs I am perfectly assured you always act from motives perfectly consistent with propriety.
    Samuel has left his school and friters away his time in the street not regarding any advice which is given him by me. The other children are well. Mr. Burke will hand you this he has met with a powerful friend in Boiling Robinson, who will no doubt, advance him considerably in his literary carreer. To hear of your prosperity and celebrity in your profession is the first wish of my heart and tho' tossed about by the rude billows of adversity, I still have a sheltering port in your affection, for I cannot bids you the injustice to believe you are selfish enough to forget those whom nature and religion bids us love and cherish - it was reported you died in New York in an Oyster house. Oh! the Poisonous breath of calumny vice vegetates more luxuriantly here than in any other place I have ever known, and a knowledge of the malignity of some of our dear Petersburg friends accounts for these reports. You will perceive that in one paragraph of my letter I have taken the sisterly liberty of admonishing, and is not dread greater in use than an astronomer would receive for remarking a small spot on the brilliant orb of the sun.
    Mrs A compliments and best wishes believe me to be ever yours
    devotedly,
    Ellen S. Peniston

Ellen's brother Anthony was a physician in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was well educated and was one of the founders of Tulane University. His portrait hangs in Founders Hall. Peniston Street was named in his honor. (see posting for April 21, 2007 for corrections)

Jeff was able to easily locate both landmarks on a map. Tulane University is in the upper left corner and Peniston Street runs north and south between the two red stars.

Jeff also did a Google search on Anthony and found a medical journal (in french) dating to 1854. The notebook is at the Louisiana State University (LSU)

1 Vol. Location: M:20 It said for further information see online catalog. Mss. 339

April 14, 2007

I am married!!!!

Ellen Rafeedie sends in this wonderful letter written two weeks after Soapy's grandparents, Dr. Ira Ellis Smith and Ellen Stimpson Peniston were married. She was writing her brother, Anthony Peniston, a physician, who co-founded the School of Medicine in New Orleans which later became the Tulane University. His portrait hangs in Founders Hall. There will be more on Anthony coming up very soon.

Mount Laurel Dec. 24, 1821

Dear brother

Months have roll'd[sic] by, hours of anxiety have suceeded[sic] each other, with out a single line to relieve my solicitude. I wrote in answer to the letter enclosed to Mr. Sproner, but imagine you never received it, any other conclusion would be too mortifying and so then is the mood soothing to affection, I adopt it with the friends he has of the truth. How many prayers do I offer up to that throne of devine[sic] mercy, for your safety and protection. Through the toil some and diversified scenes of precarious existance[sic], no selfish [illegible] can erase my anxiety, or cause me to forget the brother, my early love, the friend who supported me through the thorny path of adversity, and lighten'd[sic] the bursting heart of sorrows devoted child. Can I forget your assiduousness to tranquilize my feelings under every affliction? or cease to be grateful for the many tender proofs I have experienced, of your steady and underacting love. Rembrance[sic] cherishes them in my bosom and gratitude shall perpetuate them -

The important era in the eventful life of your sister has pass'd [sic]. I am married!!!! The marriage was solemnized at Mr. Akins before a large and brilliant assemblage of ladies and gentlemen, the 6th of this month. I am united to a man of worth, one who is universally belov'd[sic], and, whose merits an envious world is willing to acknowledge. Dr. Smith of Dinwiddie, he is a partner of Dr. Peter Haraway and as that is the case, we reside at his house in [illegible] before we commence house hunting. Mary Catherine is with us. All our brothers are well. Samuel causes me more sorrow than any thing in the world. He is in Petersburg, but has no home. He has been refused board every where he appli'd[sic] and he is too lazy to think of any alternative himself and too headstrong to listen to my advice. if you do not send for him disgrace and ruin will attend him, for you are the only person who can manage him at all. I deliver'd[sic] your letter safe to Mrs. M, who has never condescended to speak easily to me who she [illegible sentence]

business and she spends in fashion and folly, his hard earnings, as soon as she can grasp at them - her mother has lately died, but the dear propensity can not be still'd[sic], not even by the hand of Death! It is astonishing to me how a mother can be so blind to the interests of her children, or a wife so destitute of affection for her husband! You will gratify me more than I can express, by sending me your miniature by the first opportunity - tis not impracticable and the pleasure of gazing on your features, though still and inanimate, will convey to your sister's bosom the most delightful emotions - a willing gaze on it and fancy, I see in the delicate combinations of that face the irradiations of your brilliant understanding and almost think the lips parting to give me a smile of love. Write to me brother. I entrust you to torture me no longer, By your neglect or deepen the wound it has already occasion'd[sic]. How shall I find words to express how warmly and affectionately I am your

sister, and friend.

Ellen S. Smith

April 10, 2007

Ellen’s deadly duelist’s

If you wish to visit and take their tour,the Old Blandford Church is located in Petersburg, Virginia in the Blandford cemeteryon US routes 301-460 Crater Road.

If you wish to visit and take their tour,
the Old Blandford Church is located in Petersburg, Virginia in the Blandford cemetery
on US routes 301-460 Crater Road.