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| Soapy Smith's "star" notebook 1882-1883 Courtesy of the Geri Murphy collection |
(Click image to enlarge)
THIS POST UPDATED
August 23, 2023
OAPY SMITH'S "STAR" NOTEBOOK
There are several notebooks in the Smith family collection in which Jefferson Randolph Smith II kept personal and business jottings. This one was shared to me by my cousin, Geri Murphy. Naturally, these are a treasure-trove of information as to what city and state (or territory) he was traveling to, the date, his profits, expenditures and the names of some of the individuals he met, while operating his prize package soap sell racket and other bunko games.
This notebook is identified by the large star on the cover, hence the name "star" notebook. It spans the years 1882 and 1883, when Soapy was still a nomad confidence man traveling around the American West.
The notebook pages are written in pencil, in Soapy's handwriting, and sometimes hard to decipher. The goal is to transcribe the pages and to receive help from readers in identifying words I am have trouble reading. I will include the original copy of each page, an enhanced copy, and a copy in negative, as tools to aid with deciphering the notes. There are 24 pages which means that there will be 24 individual posts for this one notebook. Links to the next page will be added at the bottom of each post for ease of research. When completed there will be a sourced record of Soapy's activities for parts of 1882-1883.
Important to note that the pages of the notebook do not appear to be in chronological order, with Soapy making additional notes on a town and topic several pages later.
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| "star" notebook cover 1882-1883 Courtesy of the Geri Murphy collection |
(Click image to enlarge)
Let's begin. Note that the top appears to have faint text. A pencil was used in the notebook and throughout the notebook he periodically wrote on the rear of the previous page, as well as on the front of each page. The deciphering will be separated into two sections ["rear of page #_ (top")] when utilized, and ["page #_ (bottom)]."
What is seen on the back of the cover is pencil sediment or residue "stain" from the pages resting on-top of one another. There appears to be a dollar sign ($) and some artwork that appears to be two fancy letters, perhaps "JS." Was Soapy playing around making a fancy abbreviation to his name?
The next three pictures are page #1: Enhanced, page #1: Negative, and page #1: deciphered. These were made to aid in deciphering the text, and this process will be used in the next 23 pages to come.
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| Page #1 Enhanced Courtesy of the Geri Murphy collection |
(Click image to enlarge)
Here is what I believe to be the correct deciphering of the text. Do you agree, or do you see something else? All comments, suggestions and ideas are welcome! I will update the new information to this post.
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| Page #1 Negative Courtesy of the Geri Murphy collection |
(Click image to enlarge)
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| Soapy Smith's "star" notebook Page 1 - deciphered 1882 Courtesy of Geri Murphy |
Click image to enlarge
Here is what I believe to be the correct deciphering of the text. Do you agree, or do you see something else? All comments, suggestions and ideas are welcome! I will update the new information to this post.
- Line 1: "Salem [Oregon] Sept 18th"
- Line 2: "to [Sept] 24th"
Interpretation: These are planning notes. Soapy made plans and then later (in this case on page 5) he wrote the actual dates he was in the location as well as the amounts he made. He had initially planned to be in Salem, Oregon, from September 18 to September 24, but actually operated from September 18 to September 22. the year is 1882, which was determined on page 5.
- Line 3: "Baker City [Oregon] Sept"
- Line 4: "27th to Oct 4th"
Interpretation: Though Baker City, Oregon, from September 27 to October 4 is listed, it does not appear in the notebook again. I found no city or county fair in 1882, it may be that Soapy decided to skip Baker City, or upon arrival he did no work.
- Line 5: "George Ebell, Secretary" [Maybe a fair or city secretary that Soapy met? Online and newspaper search came up with only one reference to a "George Ebell" in regards to water rights in an ongoing court case since 1888.]
- Line 6: "Union, Oregon"
- Line 7: "Oct 9th to 16th"
Interpretation: Soapy lists Union, Oregon, as a possible stop. The County of Union did have a fair, but "Union, Oregon is not mentioned again in the notebook, thus it is unknown if Soapy stopped or operated there.
- Line 8: Appears to be "Olympia City" [Washington Territory]. I cannot read this clearly as Soapy scratched it out. Page 5 does not list "Olympia," but page 8 does. It is not known if he went there. He may have scratched it out as a planned stop.
- Line 9: [Scratched out] Do I see "1st" on the far right end?
- Line 10: [Scratched out] I see a "4" on the far right end.
- Line 11: [Scratched out] Can't decipher.
- Line 12: [Scratched out] Can't decipher.
- Line 13: [Scratched out] There is a town name "[Wilsonville? Milwaukie? Winston? Willamina? Williamette?]. Looks like "Sept 4" on the right.
- Line 14: [Scratched out] "L?" Perhaps "Lake?" [can't decipher the rest, maybe "Falls City?"] I see "Sept" at the end.
- Line 15: "Walla Walla [Washington Territory] Oct 5th"
- Line 16: "and last 5 days" [?]
April 24, 2017
Part #2
Part #3
Part #4
Part #5
Part #6
Part #7
Part #8
Part #9 (not published yet)
Part #10 (not published yet)
Part #11 (not published yet)
Part #12 (not published yet)
Part #13 (not published yet)
Part #14 (not published yet)
Part #15 (not published yet)
Part #16 (not published yet)
"...but in my humble opinion, I'm no hustler. You see, neighbor, I never go looking for a sucker. I look for a champion and make a sucker out of him."
—Amarillo Slim
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Thank you for leaving your comment and/or question on my blog. I always read, and will answer all questions asap. Please know that they are greatly appreciated. -Jeff Smith