# Reuben Samuel > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Reuben_Samuel > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Reuben_Samuel.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_Samuel > Source revision: 1309882366 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Reuben Samuel** (January 12, 1828 – March 1, 1908) was the stepfather of the American [outlaws](/source/Outlaw) [Frank](/source/Frank_James) and [Jesse James](/source/Jesse_James). He was married to the pair's mother, [Zerelda James](/source/Zerelda_James), from 1855 until his death in 1908. ## Early life Reuben was the son of Fielding and Louisa Samuel, and was born and raised in Kentucky in 1828. He traveled to [Cincinnati](/source/Cincinnati) to attend medical school. The third husband of Frank and Jesse James' mother, [Zerelda](/source/Zerelda_James), Samuel was 27 years old when he married the 30-year-old Zerelda on September 25, 1855. He left behind the medical profession upon marrying Zerelda and moved onto a farm,[1] raised tobacco, and acquired a total of seven slaves by 1860.[2] He took on Zerelda's three living children, Frank, Jesse, and Susan, as well as having four more with Zerelda: - Sarah Louisa Samuel (April 7, 1858 – July 14, 1921) - John Thomas Samuel (December 25, 1861 – March 15, 1934) - Fanny Quantrill Samuel (October 18, 1863 – May 3, 1922) - Archie Peyton Samuel (July 26, 1866 – January 26, 1875)[3] ## Civil War During the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War), militiamen searching for [Frank James](/source/Frank_James) (who had joined the [South](/source/Confederate_States_of_America)) raided the Samuel farm, and briefly (though not fatally) hanged Dr. Samuel, torturing him to reveal the location of the guerrillas.[4] Some researchers believe that Frank joined [William Quantrill](/source/William_Quantrill)'s pro-Confederate guerrillas in the August 21, 1863, [Lawrence Massacre](/source/Lawrence_Massacre), but it has never been proven.[5] ## Pinkerton Raid On January 25, 1875, [Allan Pinkerton](/source/Allan_Pinkerton), the [Pinkerton Agency](/source/Pinkerton_Agency)'s founder and leader, attempted to capture the outlaw James brothers. He staged a raid on Samuel's homestead, throwing an incendiary device into the house; it exploded, killing James's young half-brother Archie (named for [Archie Clement](/source/Archie_Clement)) and blowing off the right arm of Zerelda. Samuel himself almost died and suffered brain damage from the explosion.[6] Though Pinkerton denied that the raid's intent was [arson](/source/Arson), a letter written by Pinkerton was discovered in the [Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress) in which he declared his intention to "burn the house down."[7][8] ## Death Samuel died in 1908 after spending seven years at the St. Joseph State Hospital for the Insane, in St. Joseph, Missouri.[9] He was 80 years old. Some of Reuben Samuel's family still live in the [Kansas City, Missouri](/source/Kansas_City,_Missouri) area. ## References 1. ["1860 United States Federal Census"](https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/records/40098151). *Ancestry.com*. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. 1860. Retrieved March 22, 2025. Line 3. 1. ["1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"](https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7668/records/94522059). *Ancestry.com*. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1860. Retrieved March 22, 2025. Line 22. 1. Woog, Adam. *Wild West For Kids: Jesse James*. Sky Pony Press. p. 8. 1. Harris, Kathleen (21 July 2014). ["25 Little-Known Facts About the Outlaw Jesse James"](http://www.whizzpast.com/25-little-known-facts-about-the-outlaw-jesse-james/). *www.whizzpast.com*. Retrieved 25 November 2017. 1. Woog, Adam. *Wild West For Kids: Jesse James*. Sky Pony Press. p. 15. 1. Monahan, Sherry (22 January 2016). ["A Deadly Kitchen"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190116045805/https://truewestmagazine.com/a-deadly-kitchen/). *[True West Magazine](/source/True_West_Magazine)*. Archived from [the original](https://truewestmagazine.com/a-deadly-kitchen/) on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019. 1. Yeatman, Ted P. (2000). [*Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend*](https://books.google.com/books?id=u4WlW39O8-UC). Cumberland House Publishing. pp. 128–44. ISBN 1-58182-325-8. 1. Stiles, T.J. (2002). [*Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War*](https://books.google.com/books?id=uAINAAAACAAJ). Knopf Publishing. pp. 272–85. ISBN 0-375-40583-6. 1. ["Happenings in Missouri: James' Boys Stepfather Dead"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/859142321). *Newspapers.com*. Ancestry Operations Inc. March 13, 1908. Retrieved March 22, 2025. ## External links - Official website for the Family of Frank & Jesse James: Stray Leaves, A James Family in America Since 1650: [http://www.ericjames.org](http://www.ericjames.org) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190228205815/http://ericjames.org/) 2019-02-28 at the Wayback Machine - Harris, Kathleen (21 July 2014). ["25 Little-Known Facts About the Outlaw Jesse James"](http://www.whizzpast.com/25-little-known-facts-about-the-outlaw-jesse-james/). *www.whizzpast.com*. Retrieved 25 November 2017. - Woog, Adam. *Wild West For Kids: Jesse James*. Sky Pony Press. p. 8,15. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reuben Samuel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_Samuel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_Samuel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.