Presented in this lot is an Original Zerelda James Samuel Mother of Jesses James Cabinet Card Photograph, circa 1880s to1890s. Provenance: Tombstone Western Heritage Museum, Tombstone, Arizona. Photographer T. H. Hare began work in photography in 1868 in Hamilton, MO. Northcentral Missouri contained some of Missouri's most avid Confederates, and Zerelda was no exception. She supported secession, jailed until she signed a loyalty oath, but it did nothing to shake her sympathies; she named a daughter born that year after one of Missouri's most famous bushwhackers, William Quantrill. And when Frank and Jesse participated in the infamous massacre of unarmed soldiers at Centralia, Missouri in September 1864, Zerelda expressed pride in her boys and prayed that God would protect them. A Union officer described her as "one of the worst women in this state." She presented the James family as innocent victims of Federal troops and Radical Republicans. Outlaws Frank and Jessie were raised in the "Little Dixie" are of Missouri, and the family maintained strong Southern sympathies. After the war, the James brothers were most active as members of their own gang, the James-Younger Gang, from about 1866 until 1876. Zerelda continued supporting her boys as they transitioned into a life of crime. This cabinet card is in amazingly preserved condition, age tanning and staining observed. Reverse has the photographer's name and location. In pencil above the photographer's name is written "Mother of Jesse & Frank", on the immediate left margin, "Aunt Zerelda", and at the top right corner the museum number "LO-142." The cabinet card comes in a protective sleeve, the front has the museum label, "ZERELDA - mother of FRANK & JESSIE JAMES". Measures 4.25"W x 6.5"L, sleeve is 5.875"W x 8.375"L