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| Soapy Smith's notebook Front cover Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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NOTE CORRECTION/UPDATE
On December 6, 2022 I published a post in which the name "Charles Anderson" may be a victim published in newspapers dated 1893, thus, if correct, change the date of the note in that section of the notebook to late April-early May 1893.
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Pages 1-2 and insert Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Pages 1-2 (minus insert) Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Page 1 side-view Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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Page 1 (shown above) has the following, as best as I could decipher them.
Frank H. Anderson
818 Market St.
San Francisco, Cal
Charles Anderson
834 Folsom
Ella Gusset
same address
In May 1887 Soapy received a letter sent from Deadwood, South Dakota from "Charles Anderson." This may be J. "Kid" Anderson. I could not find any information on Frank Anderson or Ella Gusset. It is not known how or why Soapy may have met them. This notation may date to 1884 as Soapy was in San Francisco at this time. It could also date to 1897-98 as it is believed Soapy traveled up and down the west coast. The dating in Soapy's notebooks vary. One such notebook in a cousins collection has writings from his father in the first portion of the pages, and then Soapy took possession of it, thus the dating is not easy to determine.
Page 2 has undecipherable text. The smudging is likely due to pencil markings and moisture. The one word I can make out, appears to be "Dawson" (Klondike) which would date in 1898. There are actually two pages missing, being cut out.
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Insert-A Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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The insert was located on page 1-2 (shown above). This was found in the notebook, but it is not one of the pages from the notebook. This may be Soapy's, but it also may be notes from his son, Jefferson Randolph Smith III.
The insert has the following on the front, in handwriting, as best as I could decipher it.
Newnan Ga.
Miss Ethel Smith
______________
Washington D.C.
Camerdish - Herald
Riseling - Post
O. Connell - Times
Thornton - News
McKelway - Star
______________
Col Edwin B. Smith
1710 14th N.W.
Polomac 279
"Miss Ethel Smith" is Soapy's cousin (daughter of his uncle). "Col Edwin B. Smith" is also a cousin to Soapy. Edwin grew up with Soapy in Georgia and Texas. It was Edwin who with Soapy, witnessed the shooting death of outlaw Sam Bass in Round Rock, Texas. In later life, Edwin became the doorman in congress, so he was able to assist Soapy gain contacts in government.
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Insert-B Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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The other side of the insert (shown above) is a typed list of newspapers and their editors for Brooklyn and New York.
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Pages 3-4 Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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Pages 3 and 4 are badly smeared. Nothing of any importance can be deciphered. The following two pages are blank.
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Pages 7-8 Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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Page 7 has a personal note in Soapy's handwriting.
Morgage [mortgage] May 19th
60 days
Note 60 days May 11th
There are several letters in my collection that deal with Soapy reminding wife Mary to pay the property mortgages. These reminders always came with the money to pay them.
Pages 8-16 are blank with no cut out/torn out page in between.
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Pages 17-18 Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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Pages 17-18 are smeared with pencil graphite, and at least one page was torn out. It is probable that the torn out page(s) had penciled notes.
Pages 19-36 are blank with no cut out/torn out pages in between.
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| Soapy Smith's notebook Pages 37-38 Artifact #69 Jeff Smith Collection |
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Page 37 has a financial accounting record. Page 38 appears to be a smudged "copy" of page 37. It is a collection of names and a dollar amount to each name. Were these payments, payoffs, collections, Soapy made? The names definitely indicate this was written in Denver, Colorado, by Soapy, circa late 1880s-90s.
The following is the list of names in handwriting, as best as I could decipher them.
Mart H. Watrous - 200.00
Harry - 650.00
Bob Austin - 55.00
Yaungsun - 120.00
Gaylord - 150.00
Chase - 125.00
Mulgrew - 500.00
Mob to Dricsan [?] - 300.00
Cook - 1000.00
Sydam - 50.00
Sam How - 45.00
Police - 26.00
Tim Connors - 50.00
The total figures add up to $3,271.00 which is equivalent of $95,030.89 in 2020 dollars. Below are the deciphered names and their connections to Soapy.
Mart H. Watrous: Proprietor of Murphy's Exchange saloon and gambling house in Denver. Co-owner of the Denver Exchange saloon and gambling complex in Creede, Colorado when Soapy was there. He was present at Murphy's Exchange, grabbing Jim Jordan, when gambler Cliff Sparks was shot and killed, possibly by Soapy. He wrote at least four letters to Soapy in 1895.
Harry: Could be Korry, Harry "Shotgun" Smith, who was killed by Bascomb Smith, Soapy's younger brother.
Bob Austin: Proprietor of a saloon mentioned by Soapy in 1893 as "Bob Austin's Place."
Yaungsun: Could be "Denver Sun," for a newspaper payoff. A tough one to decipher.
Gaylord: Ed Gaylord, partner of "Big Ed" Chase in the Palace Theater (saloon, gambling) business in Denver, latter 1880s
Chase: "Big Ed" Chase, Denver's underworld crime boss and gambling czar. Proprietor of the Palace Theater (saloon, gambling). Partner of Soapy in the Tivoli Club.
Mulgrew: Probably Felix B. Mulgrew, friend of Soapy's who once loaned Soapy $3,500. Could this be part of the payback?
Mob to Dricsan: I am having trouble deciphering what Soapy wrote here.
Cook: Probably George Cook, Denver police detective. Elected chairman of the Arapaho County Republican Party in 1892.
Sydam: Could be Suydam, the city assessor in Skagway, Alaska when Soapy was there. However, this list does not appear to date as far as 1897-98 when Soapy was in Skagway.
Sam How: Sam Howe, Denver police detective. Howe did know Soapy and spoke of him numerous times over the years. Funny that he is listed here as Howe has a historical reputation of being an honest cop.
Police: Perhaps Palace?
Tim Connors: Denver policeman. Partnered with John Kinneavy in buying the Jockey Club (saloon and gaming house) in Denver. Involved in election fraud.
"My advice to the unborn is, don't be born with a gambling instinct unless you have a good sense of probabilities."
—Jack Dreyfus of Dreyfus Mutual Fund
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