Sallie Chisum's Collection of Ferrotypes

[Steve McCarty]

I've found Sallie Chisum's personal/private collection of tintypes and carte de visits. They came from Sallie's relatives who moved to Oregon after Walter Pitzer Chisum's death in 1919. Over time the family pretty much lost interest in their history and sold off much of that they had from the old days in a yard sale. I found the pictures in a little antique store and bought them.

Most of the images are of Sallie's family including she and her first husband, their children and her brothers, cousins and John S... There are also images of Sallie's female friends including Lily Casey, Helena and Phoebe Coe, and even Buck Powell's wife Eliza Jane Hestor. Collection includes many Regulators, including Billy, Tom Folliard, Doc Scurlock, Joe Smith, John Jones, maybe Big Jim French, Juan Patron, and maybe Iginio Salazar. We even see Alexander McSween, Godrey Gauss, Sheriff Brady and Dirty Dave Rudabaugh.

Book follows.

[Chris Lampe]

Janet,

I never thought Tomlinson's initials were "JH". I have no idea what that post is.

[Chris Lampe]

I just discovered this thread (navigating the True West boards is not something I've mastered yet) so I'm a bit late to the party.

One thing I think is being overlooked in regards to the photos of Waite and the guy claimed to be Brady is their age differences. If Steve's photo is Brady then Fred Waite would have been a child back in Indian Territory when it was taken. Waite was something like 25 years old when he was in N.M.T. and Brady was in his 50's.

[Marie Bartholomew]

Did you buy any other info on Sallie? Sallie Chisums mother was Ara Josephine Wright. Her grandfather was James Gillenwater Wright. He is our dead end. There are several of us searching this line. I'd be very interested in seeing these pictures and finding what else you might have. Sallies brother William moved to Los Angeles where he died.

[Chris Lampe]

Steve,

You now have tintypes you think are Jim French and Bob Olinger? I'd love to see them if you don't mind e-mailing them. I'm still convinced of the authenticity of Tom Foliard and Frank Coe and I think your George Coe stands a good chance of being legit as well. You have several others that are definite maybes.

[Steve McCarty]

I have five pictures of Sallie Lucy Chisum. One shows her as a young child...this could be her sister, but it's not. Another was taken when pictures of her mother Ara Josephine Wright and her elder sister Mary Branch were taken the wear similar clothing and share a hairpiece. Mary Branch died in 1873 and since Sallie was born in 1858 she would be about 14/15 in that picture. Then I have one of her solo that I think she may have exchanged with Billy. In this image she is about 22. I have another where she is posed with her first husband, William Robert and Lastly I have one that I found in her family's archive near where I live. In this image she is in her 70's. I have a copy of a great photo that I purchased from the Haley in Midland. This shows not only Sallie but her husband and two boys, Fred and John in 1886. It is an 8x10 postcare and it has a post mark, so the date is absolute.

I had a long talk with a women who knew Sallie in the 20's and 30's. She said that Sallie was "slight" and that she always wore her hair "up". All pictures that I have seen of her show her hair in some sort of bun. She was very blond and blue eyed. She was trim and athletic. The women I interviewed, Leona Rockhold of Roswell, told me that she always wore and apron and that she liked to putter around in her garden. Her grandson by Fred T Roberts, William Lee Roberts lived with her during the final 14 years of her life. She moved between Artesia and Roswell several times, eventually renting out the stone/concrete home in Artesia. She finally sold it. I knew William Lee's daughter very well four decades ago. She almost never mentioned her family. She said that her father was "older". In the 70's he was still living. She also said that her dad knew a lot about Sallie that is not normally known (her exact words). At the time I didn't have much interest in the history of the Lincoln County War or the Chisum family. I wish I could ask some questions now...but William Lee is gone and I can't find the lady I knew almost half a century ago, but I have her family's pictures.

[Marie Bartholomew]

I also have 2 pictures of Sallie and her brothers. These are in Roswell Historical Society along with transcripts of her dairies. All but the first diary, which is missing.

[Steve McCarty]

Marie:  It has been two years.  I have been trying to find transcripts of Sallie's diaries.  I understand that they are in Artesia, but I have not been able to access them.  Do they have copies in Roswell too?  I need to see if Sallie mentioned her collection of tintypes.

Steve

 

[Marie Bartholomew]

Th last time I was there they had them transcribed.  It is very hard to get any response from them.  Maybe you'd have better luck!

[Leman Saunders]

With all this talk about a possible pardon and all the news coverage...The Christian Science Monitor ran an article with a photo that it says is of Billy the Kid.  It is a group of 4 men, 2 sitting and 2 standing.  I had not seen it before, anyone know where it came from?  Here is a link to the story with the photo online.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/1229/After-130-years-will...

[Steve McCarty]

This picture was collected by Sallie Chisum.  I did not know who it was but then I found another of the same man in the photographer's album.  This is John Middleton.  No one has seen him before.  I am quite sure it is he.[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa23/GermVMA211/Regulators/Birds...[/IMG]

[C. F. 'Charley' Eckhardt]

There are several 'probable' Billy photos, some of which came from the Anaya family.  However, they don't have the impeccable provenance of the 1 determined to be Billy.

[Steve McCarty]

Yes, Charley. My pictures came from Sallie Chisum's collection. I deduce this because so many of them are of her family including her brothers, parents, children, husband, herself, her sister, and even her inlaws. I even have a picture of William Robert that was taken in Europe which I believe he gave to Sallie while they were courting.  They were married in Anton Chico by the fellow who was Sallie's teacher in a finishing school she was attending there.  She was living in his house as a boarding student.

There are many Regulators in the collection.  Some, like Folliard look very much like known images.  Others not so much, but I'm confident they are authentic. Here you see Sallie and William Robert.