New information on Soap Gang member Joe Simmons (Josiah Boren Simmons)

Samuel Silas Simmons
1858 - 1924
Brother of Joe Simmons
Courtesy of Anne Simmons Wise

(Click image to enlarge)

 

 

he birth-name of Joe "Gambler Joe" Simmons was Josiah Boren Simmons.

     In researching Joe "Gambler Joe" Simmons for my book, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, I utilized Beth Simmons Jackson, the granddaughter of Joe Simmons, who helped round out Simmons' early history.

     On August 12, 2019, I received a welcomed email from Linda Jackson Rankin, the daughter of Beth Simmons Jackson, and great-granddaughter of Joe Simmons. She writes,

Hi,
     My name is Linda Jackson Rankin and my mother Beth Simmons Jackson contacted you a while ago regarding my great-Grandfather Joe Simmons. As you know, we have been trying for years to figure out where he came from. Thanks to Ancestry.com, I now believe I know! I searched for Joe Simmons and stumbled upon a person named “Josiah Boren Simmons” who was born in Smith, Texas, in 1860 and died in Creede, Colorado, in 1893. He was the youngest son of Caleb Woodson Simmons who was originally from Wilkes, GA. The Simmons family tree shows that they were early settlers in Surrey, VA, and Currituck County, NC. (1600s).
     Of course I was suspicious because this new information did not align with what we were told originally (German, father was a brewmaster from Wisconsin). The final confirmation was when I found out that I have DNA matches to people who are related to the Simmons family tree! So, now we know for certain where Joe Simmons came from. ...

If the information is correct, and it likely is, then Joe "Gambler Joe" Simmons was born Josiah Boren Simmons in 1860 or December 17, 1862, in Smith, Texas according to one Simmons family tree on Ancestry. Interesting to note that Joe was born in the same year as Soapy, when previously it was believed that Joe was older than Soapy. Smith, Texas, is about 250 miles from Round Rock, Texas, where the Smiths took up residence in 1876. In 1880 20-year-old Joe moved with his parents to Williams County, Texas, where in Round Rock, 20-year-old Jeff Smith may have still lived with his father and siblings, making it possible that the two young boys may have known one-another in Texas. Joe's father, Caleb Woodson Simmons II, died in Round Rock on November 26, 1881, so it is possible that they had lived there since 1880. The problem is that Soapy may have already moved on. He is believed to have operated in Ft. Worth by 1878-79 and to have visited Denver in 1879.


Linda continues,

     I would really like to know how Joe (and Soapy) ended up in Denver. After all, that appears to be where my Grandfather (William Edward Simmons) was born.
     If you have information on how Soapy (and possibly) Joe ended up in Denver, I would love to hear it.

All the best,

Linda (Jackson) Rankin

 I responded twelve days later.

August 24, 2019

Hi, Linda.
     First, allow me to apologize for my lateness in responding. It is certainly not because it isn't important to me.
     I remember your mother [Beth Simmons Jackson] very well. Mistakes in family research happen all the time. I have made numerous ones myself, and continue to do so.
     From what I am gathering from your email, Joe Simmons' birth name is Josiah Boren Simmons?
     Up until now, Josiah ("Joe") Simmons is not mentioned until he was manager of the Tivoli Club (Soapy's saloon) in Denver. I don't think Soapy and "Joe" came to Denver together, as his son, William Edward Simmons, was born in Denver in 1876 and Soapy was still living in Round Rock, Texas at the time. The earliest recording of "Joe" being with Jeff is November 1890, though they no doubt knew each other before then. Soapy arrived in Denver in 1879, but was still a nomad, moving around the West until making Denver his permanent home in about 1885.
     I also just received an email from "Anne Simmons Wise" who states that "Joe" was born December 17, 1862, and being that son William was born February 1, 1876, that means "Joe" was only 13 years old at the time. One of the dates must be incorrect. The photo I attached is of "Joe's" brother Samuel Silas Simmons. She also states that the Simmons family lived in Round Rock, Texas, around the time the Smith family lived there. I also attached the old photo supposedly of Joe Palmer and Joe Simmons (on right, standing). If the other photo is Joe's brother, then I do see a resemblance.

 

Josiah Boren "Joe" and Samuel Silas Simmons
A comparison

(Click image to enlarge)

 

Anne Simmons Wise responded, agreeing with the family resemblance between Josiah "Joe" Simmons and his brother Samuel.

Aug 22, 2019
     I'm sure you can see the family resemblance as I did.
     DNA evidence has linked a descendant of Joe Simmons to my Simmons family from Round Rock and Tyler, Texas. I'm descended from Samuel Silas Simmons, a stonecutter. Josiah Boren "Joe" Simmons was born 17 December 1862 in Smith County, Texas, and family story said that he died in a gunfight in Creede, Colorado, 18 Mar 1893. We didn't have any more information on Joe until the DNA link showed up to "Gambler Joe." The year is wrong, but everything else seems to match up.
     I saw that someone else did a genealogy match up with a different Joe Simmons from Wisconsin. I would think that the DNA match would trump that claim. Also, when I read your blog, I saw that Soapy Smith moved to Round Rock, Texas, in the 1870s with his family. My Simmons family (including Joe) was living in Round Rock in the 1870s and 1880s.
     I'd love to learn more about "Gambler Joe" and his best friend.

Sincerely,
Anne Simmons Wise

Four days later I responded.

Aug 26, 2019
     Hello, Annie.
     I apologize for the delay. "Joe" Simmons is very important to the history of Jeff "Soapy" Smith.
     I certainly do see the resemblance in the photographs.
     I have spoken numerous times to that Wisconsin family (Beth Simmons Jackson and her daughter Linda Jackson Rankin). Linda has gone through the DNA information and found Josiah Boren "Joe" Simmons to be accurate. This is pretty exciting news!
     There are still a few questions and issues, which is common (as you know) in history and genealogy.

• You mention that "Joe" was born December 17, 1862. His son William was born in Denver on February 1, 1876. That would put "Joe" at 13 years old when his son was born.
• "Joe" died of pneumonia in Creede, Colorado, on March 18, 1892. There are great newspaper articles, drawings, and a poem written about "Jeff and Joe." Great stuff!
• Very interesting that the father was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, two hours from Coweta County where "Soapy" was born. Then the Simmons family ended up in Round Rock, Texas. Do you have my book? It has all the information on "Joe" as a member of the Soap Gang in Denver and Creede.

That same day, Anne wrote back.

 

Aug 26, 2019
     That is awesome. I believe that it was Linda Rankin that I spoke to about the DNA results linking her family to Josiah Boren Simmons.
     Until this DNA breakthrough I knew nothing about Josiah "Joe" other than that he died in Creede, Colorado. I've been in contact with one of the other Simmons researchers who originally found that information. Hopefully, we'll turn up some sources for that. As far as I know it was family legend.

      You are correct about the birth date possibly being incorrect. Although I believe he must be younger than his brother Samuel Silas Simmons, who was born in 1858.
     I've been enjoying your website and blog.

     I just ordered your book, and am excited to read it.
 

Anne Simmons Wise

 

There are some minor issues with dates but overall it seems pretty clear that Josiah Boren Simmons is Joe "Gambler Joe" Simmons, or more correctly,  

 

Josiah Boren "Gambler Joe" Simmons

Visit the Soapy Smith Soap Box blog

 

Joe Simmons

Oct 17, 2008

Apr 20, 2010

Apr 07, 2011

Apr 21, 2011

Dec 22, 2015

Mar 25, 2019

Jan 09, 2021

Mar 11, 2021

 

Joe Simmons (Josiah Boren Simmons is Joe "Gambler Joe" Simmons): pages 33, 89, 131, 210, 214, 225-29, 273, 594. 

"The story of Soapy's death is at best Murky,
Be it known the killer was really Jesse Murphy."

—Jeff Smith

Shave or no shave: Dick Ware and the Round Rock shootout with Sam Bass

Texas Ranger Richard "Dick" Ware
Courtesy Robert W. Stephens, Dallas, Texas
(copied from the book Sam Bass and Gang by Rick Miller)

(Click image to enlarge)

or many years I had heard the family stories that Soapy and his cousin Edwin Bobo Smith had witnessed the shooting death of Texas outlaw Sam Bass, but in my 25-years of research I could not find any provenance. Then in March 2007 I made a presentation on Soapy in Newnan, Georgia for the Coweta County Historical Society. While there my cousin brought a notebook of Soapy's to show me. In it was his description of the Round Rock shooting, plus some other fantastic stuff on Tombstone, etc. Unfortunately, my cousin has not scanned the notebook for me, and my only proof of it, is that author Gary Roberts was shown the notebook by myself.
      Before publishing my book I also located a nice description about witnessing the Bass shooting by Soapy's cousin Ed. That description is published on pages 30-31 of my book Alias Soapy Smith. Ed states he and Soapy were talking with Texas Ranger Ware in a restaurant, and that Ware was born within a mile of the Smith home, however, according to Rick Miller, author of Sam Bass and Gang (1999), Ware was born in Floyd County, which is over 65-miles from the Smith house. I am positive that Soapy and Ed witnessed the shooting in Round Rock, but there are discrepancies in the versions they give, with what is historically known to be true. In my book I report the error given in the Smith versions due to a shave Ranger Dick Ware was supposedly receiving in the barbershop. The idea that he was getting a shave came from an erroneous source because according to Miller, Ware was posted in German-born Henry Burkhardt's barber shop just east of Henry Koppel's store (where the shooting started) and across the street from the bank, the intended target of the Bass gang. Miller states Ware was in the barbershop on stakeout, with no mention of receiving a shave (Sam Bass and Gang, pp. 247-48). It is very possible that Soapy, Ed, and Ware met in a restaurant, perhaps located in the nearby Hart House hotel mentioned in Miller's book (Sam Bass and Gang, pp 258-59). There is no mention by Miller that Ware was eating breakfast in a restaurant as claimed by Soapy and Ed. Missing from Ed's version is a mention of the barbershop stakeout.

Sam Bass and some of the gang
(standing, left to right) Sam Bass and John Gardner
(seated, left to right) Joe Collins and Joel Collins
(Courtesy of Robert G. McCubbin, jr.)

      According to Miller, Ware came out of the barber shop after hearing the first exchange of gunfire. He saw Sam Bass, Seaborn Barnes, and Frank Jackson, crossing the street from Koppel's store and started a firefight with the men. He took cover behind a hitching post. One round split the top of the post within inches of his head and showered him with wood splinters. Ware kept advancing as the outlaws retreated and turned east down an alley to get to their horses. In his version of the fight, Ed Smith stated he and Soapy followed Ware as he advanced. Both Smith and Miller speak of Ware's "deliberate aim," but at what moment Ed was referring to is questionable. Miller states that Ware shot and killed Seaborn Barnes in the alley, Barnes dropping dead to the ground. In Smith's version Soapy stated "I think you hit him" after Ware fired a shot. Could this moment have taken place as the outlaws were entering the alley, or perhaps after? It appears from the Smith's versions that they believed Ware was shooting at Bass, but not knowing what any of the outlaws looked like, how would they know for certain? There is still some controversy as to who shot and killed Bass. Miller states Ranger George Herold shot Bass in the ally as he tried to mount his horse. Barnes, also trying to mount his horse is shot dead with a head shot by Ware as he and other Rangers enter the alley. Bass and Jackson race their horses out of the alley and out of Round Rock. The Rangers soon pursue the outlaws but Jackson escapes and the Rangers do not find Bass until the following day.

      Interesting to note is that Ranger Jim Gillett and Lee Hall both said that Bass stated that he had received both of his wounds just after leaving Koppel's store, which would align with the Smith's versions that Ware had shot him (Sam Bass and Gang, p. 260).

      Richard Clayton "Dick" Ware was born November 11, 1851, in Floyd County, near Rome, Georgia. He came to Dallas County, Texas with his parents in 1870. He joined the Texas Rangers on April 1, 1876. He was discharged from the Rangers on February 1, 1881, after having been elected the first sheriff of Mitchell County, Texas on January 10, 1881. He was reelected five time, until being defeated by one vote in 1892. On May 11, 1893 he was appointed U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas by President Cleveland. He served until he was replaced in 1898. Ware was then appointed an unpaid "Special Ranger" in "Volunteer Guards" in San Antonio in 1898 to protect property and aid the authorities. Ware never married and died in Fort Worth of heart trouble on June 26, 1902 (Sam Bass and Gang, pp 372-73).

 








July 21, 2009
October 3, 2013

Sam Bass: pages 30-31.

"He who knows best knows how little he knows."

—Thomas Jefferson

OCTOBER 23

1864: Union forces led by General Samuel Curtis defeat Confederate forces in Missouri under General Stirling Price, during the Civil War.

1865: Union forces retake Fort McIntosh from Confederates in Laredo, Texas.

1869: A mail route is established between Camp McDowell, Phoenix, Florence, Fort Grant, and Tucson, Arizona Territory.

1877: Future Lincoln Count War combatant, John Tunstall returns to his ranch in New Mexico Territory only to learn that all his cattle have been stolen.

1881: Outlaw Dave Rudabaugh escapes from the Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory jail and heads for Mexico never to return to the U.S.

1882: Seven dangerous prisoners escape from the county jail in Tucson, Arizona Territory.

1883: The railroad town of Abilene, Texas becomes the Taylor County seat.

1892: Soapy Smith and five others enter a Denver election polling place and forcefully eject the poll box keeper, placing one of their own in charge, then proceed to allow repeat voters in to cast fraudulent votes.

The real Sam Bass.

The real Sam Bass
Bass is on the left, under the "3."
(Courtesy of Robert G. McCubbin, jr.)

The not-so-real Sam Bass

n "Part One" of the Soapy Smith history pages of the Alias Soapy Smith website, I have been displaying the wrong picture of outlaw Sam Bass for quite a while now. No one mentioned the error to me. I found out after reading Bass and Sam Gang by Rick Miller (1999). I did not publish a Sam Bass photograph in Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, so I have no need for any corrections there. 
     I do not personally feel too badly for displaying the wrong photograph as in researching the wrong photo (see "The not-so-real Sam Bass") I found that the photo I mistakenly used is very commonly attributed to Bass, even in published books. However, this does not excuse my error as I passed on the blunder to those who trusted the accuracy of my sites information, and for that I am very sorry.
      Soapy Smith and his cousin, Edwin Bobo Smith, witnessed Texas Ranger Dick Ware shoot at Bass as he and his gang were attempting to escape Round Rock, Texas on July 19, 1878. The story is covered in Alias Soapy Smith, starting on page 30.

 









July 21, 2009

Sam Bass: pages 30-31.

"I'd rather be found wrong and learn the
truth than think I'm right and never know."

— Jeff Smith

OCTOBER 3

1860: Captain Nelson and a company of the 10th Infantry battle with Navaho Indians in the Tunicha Mountains, New Mexico Territory.

1860: Captain Holloway and the 8th Infantry battle around 50 Comanche Indians, killing two and "wounding many" at Chaparita, New Mexico Territory.

1863: President Lincoln declares that the last Thursday of November be recognized as Thanksgiving Day.

1865: Indian Chief Little Hill addresses the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. on the conditions of the Winnebago Indians in Nebraska.

1866: Arizona Territorial Governor McCormick reports bad news at the 3rd territorial legislature at Prescott. The territory has a population of 5,526 and no stagecoach line. The Apaches are on the warpath, and during the last year the territory only collected $355 in taxes.

1873: U.S. Army hangs four Modoc Indians for the murder of a Civil War hero General Edward R. S. Canby. [The first steamer Soapy Smith takes to Alaska in 1896 is the Canby, named after the famous  general.]

1878: Charles Earl “Black Bart” Bowles,  robs a Wells Fargo stagecoach, 10 miles outside of Potter Valley, California.

1879: Troops at Milk Creek, Colorado Territory are relieved by a regiment of black cavalrymen led by Captain Francis Dodge.

1879: The newspaper The Nugget begins publication in Tombstone, Arizona Territory.

1880: President Hayes meets with an Indian Chief in Maricopa, Arizona Territory.

1885: Soapy Smith is arrested for assault on a victim of one of his games in Denver, Colorado.

1891: Soapy Smith and 3 of his men attack and destroy the office of the Glasson Detective Agency in Denver, Colorado.

1893: The motor-driven vacuum cleaner is patented by J. S. Thurman.

1894: Soapy Smith officiates as timekeeper during a boxing match in Denver.

1900: Tom Horn shoots and kills Isom Dart, a black cowboy in Routt County, Wyoming, who had been accused of rustling cows.

1901: The Victor Talking Machine Company is incorporated. After a merger with Radio Corporation of America the company becomes RCA-Victor.

Why the Smith's (Soapy Smith's parents) moved to Texas.

(Click image to enlarge)

hy did Soapy Smith's parents move them all to Texas?

In my book I describe the horrific conditions the Smith family endured with Reconstruction in the decade after American Civil War. From the start the father immediately lost his law practice about 1866 with Reconstruction and never successfully regained it due to his growing problem with alcoholism. The family survived working their own farm fields but slowly lost nearly everything. It was in 1876-77 that the father chose to migrate his family to Round Rock, Texas. The state

was a haven for Southerners after the war. Laws were lax, and growth was everywhere. Round Rock had become a prosperous frontier-trading center for ranchers and farmers since arrival of the railroad in 1876, which turned Round Rock into a railway terminus. Round Rock was home to the Smith family for almost five years, but records of Smith activities there are few. The father attempted to resurrect his law practice but without success.  —Alias Soapy Smith, p. 26.

      Before publication of my book I could not find much more regarding why the father chose Texas over other states.

      At the bottom of each post on this blog I publish a section called ON THIS DAY. One day while researching material for that section I came across the following event for January 17, 1874: “Armed Democrats seize Texas government ending Radical Reconstruction.” I found this very interesting and hoped that perhaps I might gain better incite on the situation in Texas at that time. I googled and found the following information on the Coke-Davis Dispute at Lone Star Junction. Apparently in 1874 Texas was the first state to forcefully cease Reconstruction. No doubt this news reached every southern household and many probably expected other states to follow. 

Coke-Davis Dispute
(January 1874)

      Austin was a landmine in early 1874. People from all over the state had gathered to witness the inauguration of Democrat Richard Coke as its next governor. At long last, this would mark the end of Reconstruction and radical military rule in Texas.

      The mood was far from festive, however. Despite a Coke victory over incumbent E. J. Davis by a margin of more than two-to-one, Davis refused to relinquish his office. By proclamation on January 12, he cited a trumped-up ruling by the state supreme court, and declared the election invalid.

      Davis was supported by members of the Radical faction of the Republican party. Further, Davis and his Radicals claimed to have as an ally President U. S. Grant, and threatened that federal troops would be called in if necessary to maintain peace. In fact, unknown to the Democrats, Grant had already declined federal support. But Davis continued to believe that federal military backing would come, especially if the Democrats used force to make their case.

      By mid-January, the situation seemed grave indeed. Davis and his Radicals took control of the lower level of the old capitol building. Tensions among the city's armed citizens were strained to the point that any violence might easily trigger an uprising that could result in the deaths of hundreds of people.

      The newly elected members of the Legislature ignored Davis' proclamation. In short order, they organized and gained control of the legislative chambers on the second level of the capitol--one floor above Davis and the Radicals. They confirmed Coke as Texas' new governor, and Coke was inaugurated late the night of January 15. Texas now had two governments. And both of them were "holed up" in the same building. A violent showdown seemed unavoidable.

      The standoff continued. Then on January 17, Davis received a telegram from Washington in response to his second appeal for military assistance. The answer came via U. S. Attorney General George Williams. Williams stated bluntly that President Grant:

"...is of the opinion that your right to the office of the Governor at this time is at least so doubtful, that he does not feel warranted in furnishing United States troops to aid you in holding further possession of it, and therefore declines to comply with your request." [Wooten, vol. 2, p. 207]

With his options now severely limited, Davis finally gave in. With this action, Reconstruction in Texas was at long last ended. Further, Governor Coke began a Democratic reign in Texas that would last without interruption for more than 100 years.

      Other southern states did not follow Texas' lead as surely hoped. The Smith's waited two years before deciding that Georgia, their home state, would not follow suit, so they migrated to Round Rock, Texas where they lived for about five years. Soapy Smith moved out on his own as all young adults eventually do, but the Smith family stayed in Texas, the father dying there in 1902, and daughter (Soapy's sister) Eva in 1952. 

Smith family in Texas
July 21, 2009
Aug. 30, 2009
Sept. 25, 2009
Sept. 28, 2009
April 5, 2010
May 11, 2010
May 22, 2010

Smith family in Texas
Too many to list here 

"I think you hit him"

—said to Texas Ranger Richard Ware after shooting outlaw Sam Bass.
Round Rock, Texas July 19, 1878 (Alias Soapy Smith, p. 31).

JANUARY 2

1788: Georgia is the 4th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1867: 14 Arizona Rangers led by Tom Hodges attack Apache Indians at Rock Springs, killing 21.

1871: Golden, Colorado is incorporated.

1872: Brigham Young, the 71-year-old leader of the Mormon Church, is arrested on a charge of bigamy. He has 25 wives.

1879: Thomas Edison begins construction on his first generator.

1889: In a fight over which town will be the seat of Gray County, Kansas, the town of Ingalls hires Dodge City men, including Jim Masterson and Bill Tilghman, to raid the Cimarron courthouse for the county records. Residents of Cimarron open fire and capture four of the raiders including Masterson. His brother “Bat” Masterson sends a telegram asking Cimarron to free his brother or else he will “hire a train and come in with enough men to blow Cimarron off the face of Kansas.” The four are freed, and later tried and acquitted for the death of J. W. English.

1890: Alice Sanger became the first female White House staffer.

1893: The first commemorative postage stamps are issued.