Sallie Chisum

Comment by Steve McCarty on June 19, 2010 at 4:48pm

No quesiton about it. This is absolutely Sallie Lucy Chisum. She is easy to match up with the famous picture of her in the fancy light colored dress, which was probably taken before her family left Denton County, Texas. There are also pictures of Walter and Willi.

Comment by Steve McCarty on June 20, 2010 at 9:41am

Sallie was very blond and here her hair looks much darker than it actually was. Tintypes are funny that way. We've all seen the 3/4 profile of Wyatt Earp. In it his hair and mustache look inky black, but they weren't. He had blond hair and a red/blond mustache.

Comment by Steve McCarty on June 20, 2010 at 9:47am

Since I believe that I've got the picture that Billy gave to Sallie, as some historians have written, then she may have exchanged one of her with him. If that's the case this just might be that very picture. It has been folded into thirds just above and below the tin. It's nearly coming in two. Did Sallie give this to Billy and did he take it, fold it, put it in his shirt pocket and ride off into the sunset? Could be.

If this happened then why did Sallie end up with the picture, which she kept nearly until her death? Could be that when the Kid discovered that Sallie was going to marry William Robert that he returned it to her, he not wanting to carry around a picture of another man's wife.

Comment