Belle Starr grew up in the chaos of the Civil War. Classically educated and trained to shoot and ride, she became an anomaly among the ruffians she surrounded herself with in Indian Territory. As her star rose and she yearned for the straight life, a Christmas party proved a turning point for both good and ill.
Recommended reading: “Belle Starr and Her Times: The Literature, the Facts, and the Legends” by Glenn Shirley
Cited sources:
Newspaper clipping report - https://www.newspapers.com/image/77251106/?clipping_id=32216357&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjc3MjUxMTA2LCJpYXQiOjE3MDIzMTg4MTgsImV4cCI6MTcwMjQwNTIxOH0.snld09q1L4ocfggmNshGpe873AF-_Ut2EafyQULXQfM
Belle Starr bio - https://www.biography.com/crime/belle-starr
Belle bio - https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=ST018
Belle bio - https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/belle-starr-2406/
Belle bio - https://www.nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/belle-starr-a-black-widow.htm
Article on Belle’s life - https://texashighways.com/culture/people/when-belle-starr-married-outlaw-jim-reed-her-legend-as-the-female-jesse-james-began/
Brief Frank West info - https://www.odmp.org/officer/14019-police-officer-frank-west
Frank West - https://lawmen.genealogyvillage.com/lawmen/westfamily.htm
Sam Starr bio - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Starr-1135
Sam and Belle - http://thejamesscrolls.blogspot.com/2013/08/sam-and-belle-starr.html
Sam and Belle - https://www.titchenal.com/Cherokee/chapter3/page09.html
Quantrill’s Raiders - https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=QU002
Bruce Younger marriage - https://www.nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/belle-starr-a-black-widow.htm
Belle story - https://www.historynet.com/belle-starr/?f
