Click to enlargeDue to the fact that the bulk of the photographs have been chosen for the upcoming biography I am free to start posting the thousands of items in the family collection for your viewing pleasure and learning experience.
Pictured above is a splendid piece from the Kyle Rosene collection, who is a descendant of Eva Katherine Smith and William Sydney "Cap" Light. It is signed, "from Jeff Smith" (Soapy) and was sent to Eva around 1892.
The Poem, Jeff and Joe was written in 1892 in Creede, Colorado and is based on the death of Joe "Gambler" Simmons and how hard his friend, Soapy Smith took it. It is this poem that is responsible for the fallacy that Jeff and Joe were cowboys together when they were young. There can be no doubt that Jeff valued the poem for after his death in 1898 in Skagway, Alaska, a copy of the poem was found in his trunk. You can find general information about this poem and Joe Simmons in Frank Robertson's SOAPY SMITH KING OF THE FRONTIER CON MEN. My upcoming Soapy biography will go into much greater detail on the poem, its' author, William De Vere, Joe Simmons, and how they were all connected.
Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith
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