Person Page - 2803

     John Shirley married Elizabeth Hatfield, Elizabeth was John Shirley's third wife, as he had previously twice married and twice divorced.

     Myra Maybelle Shirley was also known as Belle Starr.
Note: Christened Myra MayBelle Shirley - she later changed her name to Bella (not Belle) on a whim. Her father was John Shirley and her mother was believed to be Elizabeth Hatfield, related to the feuding Hatfields of West Virginia-Kentucky. She was born Februrary 5, 1848 and was educated at the Carthage Female Academy where she was liked and considered a very pretty girl.

From Wikipedia:
After a Union attack on Carthage in 1864, the Shirleys moved to Scyene, Dallas County, Texas. According to legend, it was at Scyene that the Shirleys became associated with a number of Missouri-born criminals, including Jesse James and the Youngers. In fact, she knew the Younger brothers and the James boys because she had grown up with them in Missouri. Her brother, John A. M. "Bud" Shirley, was called Captain Shirley by local Confederate sympathizers. He does not appear on any list of Quantrill's Raiders, but rode with a group who were called partisans by some and bushwackers by Union sympathizers. Bud Shirley was killed in 1864 in Sarcoxie, Missouri, while he and another scout were eating at the home of a Confederate sympathizer. Union troops surrounded the house and when Bud attempted to escape, he was shot and killed.

Bella Shirley married first Jim Reed (said to have taken place on horseback). Years later she said she married Jim Reed because he killed the soldier who had killed her brother Bud. It was as Reed's wife that Bella's life of crime really began. A little girl was born in 1869 she was named Rosa Lee Reed and was apparently given to Reed's mother to raise. She was later known to history as Pearl Younger.

Following the war, the Reed family also moved to Scyene and May Shirley married Jim Reed in 1866, after having had an earlier crush on him as a teen. Two years later, she gave birth to her first child, Rosie Lee (nicknamed Pearl). Belle always harbored a strong sense of style, which would feed into her later legend. A crack shot, she used to ride sidesaddle while dressed in a black velvet riding habit and a plumed hat, carrying two pistols, with cartridge belts across her hips. Jim turned to crime and was wanted for murder in Arkansas, which caused the family to move to California, where their second child, James Edwin (Eddie), was born in 1871.

Later returning to Texas, Jim Reed was involved with several criminal gangs. While Jim initially tried his hand at farming, he would grow restless and fell in with bad company—the Starr clan, a Cherokee Indian family notorious for whiskey, cattle, and horse thievery in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), as well as his wife's old friends the James and Younger gangs. In April 1874, despite a lack of any evidence, a warrant was issued for her arrest for a stagecoach robbery by her husband and others. Jim Reed was killed in August of that year in Paris, Texas, where he had settled down with his family.

One night while Reed was eating at a diner a John Morris entered the room and demanded Reed surrender himself. Reed didn't and John shot Reed through the heart. Morris collected the $1700 reward but it did little good because he was killed a short time later. Bella's father died during this time and she moved back to Missouri and acted as a "fence" for stolen animals. The James brothers and Youngers stopped off at Bella's during this time. On June 5, 1880 she married Sam Starr and settled on a 1000 acre claim near the Canadian River near Eufaula Oklahoma and moved into a log cabin. This became a popular meeting place for some of the most notorious outlaws of the day. While here Sam & Bella were arrested on a horse theft and possesion of liquor charge. The Starr's said they were framed and "Hanging Judge" Isaac Parker apparently believed them. They were given light sentences of one year each in the Detroit, Michigan House of Correction. On release, the Starr's returned to Younger's Bend with Pearl and an orphan, Mabel Harrison. Shortly after this Sam was killed. On Sunday Februrary 3, 1889 Bella rode to the King Ranch Store to eat dinner with the proprieter. Bella left the store about 1 pm, stopped by Mrs. Barnes' for some corn and passed the time until 3 pm. At 4 pm Mike Hoyt spotted Bella's running horse. Hoyt rode back up the road and found Bella's body with two shots from a shotgun in the back. It will probably remain a mystery but many believe a neighbor (Edgar Watson) had done the killing.

Children:
Belle's son, Eddie Reed, was convicted of horse theft and receiving stolen property in July 1889. Judge Parker sent him to prison in Columbus, Ohio. Belle's daughter, Rosie Reed, also known as Pearl Starr, became a prostitute to raise funds for Eddie's release. She did eventually obtain a presidential pardon in 1893. Ironically, Eddie became a deputy in Fort Smith and killed two outlaw brothers named Crittenden in 1895, and was himself killed in a saloon in Claremore, Oklahoma on December 14, 1896

Pearl operated several bordellos in Van Buren and Fort Smith, Arkansas, from the 1890s to World War I.

See the following resources:

Belle Starr and Her Times
by Glen Shirley
Starr Tracks: Belle and Pearl Starr      by Phillip W. Steele
Belle Starr and her Pearl
by Edwin P. Hicks

More:

BY RICHARD D. ARNOTT

THE LIFE OF Myra Maybelle Shirley, better known as Belle Starr, has been romanticized by many writers and, of course, by Hollywood. The appeal of a "lovely lady" leading thieves and rustlers has been powerful through the years, often too powerful to allow facts to spoil the stories. Many tales were published by the National Police Gazette in the 19th century, and other publications picked up on the intriguing copy. Fraudulent biographies, spiced by bogus letters and entries from Belle's diaries, sold for 25 cents. The fascinating, often fantastic, stories led to the myth and legend of Belle Starr. Belle Starr, according to the legend, was the "Bandit Queen"--a lovely lady who ruled outlaw gangs with her guns, her will and her personal favors.

She was born on 5 February 1848 at Carthage, Jasper Co., MO. She was the daughter of John Shirley and Elizabeth Hatfield. Myra Maybelle Shirley married James Commodore Reed, son of Solomon Reed and Susan Demanda Brock, on 1 November 1866 at Collin Co., TX. Myra Maybelle Shirley married Sam Starr, son of Thomas Starr and Catherine Reese, on 5 June 1880. Myra Maybelle Shirley died on 3 February 1889 at King Creek, Oklahoma, at age 40.

     Robert Forbes Shirley married Mary Elva Slocum, daughter of Leigh W. Slocum and Elva Reesa Burr, on 1 February 1936. Occupation: Airline pilot for United Airlines. Robert Forbes Shirley died on 30 June 1956 at Arizona On the morning of June 30, 1956, two airliners took off within minutes of each other from Los Angeles. United Flight 718 for Kansas City, a DC-7, climbed eastward above the great Mojave Desert to its requested cruise altitude of 21,000 feet. The other was a Lockheed Super Constellation, TWA Flight 2, also climbing toward the east. Destination: Chicago Midway. Both were on instrument flight plans under the control of the CAA (Civil Aeronautics Authority). TWA 2 was assigned 19,000 feet.
Over Arizona, both airliners obtained clearances to divert "off airways."
It was the custom of that time on commercial flights to give passengers a view of the Grand Canyon. There were towering clouds over much of Arizona, and the pilot of TWA 2 radioed a request for a higher altitude in order to fly above them. The request was denied by the CAA enroute controller in Salt Lake City.
According to the "hemispheric rule," eastbound instrument flights are assigned odd altitudes. The next such for TWA 2 would have been 21,000 feet, which was already occupied by United 718. The pilot of the Constellation elected to go "visual" and cancelled his instrument flight plan. Under the visual flight rules in effect at that time, a plane could legally fly at any altitude and in any direction so long as it remained clear of clouds. "See and avoid" then became the operative principle for separation. TWA 2 climbed to 21,000 feet.
Unknown to each other, the two airliners -- one a silver-winged cylinder with tall tail marked in red, white, and blue, the other having an inflected fuselage, gleaming white, and triple tail -- each with four perfect engines delivering rated power, each gently banking above the clouds, their passengers gaping at the natural wonders below -- two crafted marvels of performance and reliability took up momentary courses that converged in the sky.
All persons aboard both planes, a total of 128, died. Front pages around the world pictured only sooted rocks and aluminum shards glinting on the desert cliffs. Inaccessible silence. The worst such tragedy of its time. But not the last.

Bob Shirley was the pilot of the United flight.

     Viola Shirley married Henry Fulgham.

     Peggy Shirtliff was born circa 1925. She married Edward Earl Coates, son of Earl James Coates and Bertha Lila Cheek, on 6 December 1943 at Payette Co., ID.

     Ella Shisler was born on 5 January 1887.¹ She was the daughter of John B. Shisler and Hannah Cassel.¹ Ella Shisler married Ellsworth Nyce, son of Abraham H. Nyce and Leah Ann Gottshalk, on 15 September 1906.¹

     Emma Laura Shisler was born on 21 September 1884.¹ She was the daughter of Henry B. Shisler and Irene Frederick.¹ Emma Laura Shisler married Levi N. Shelly, son of Jeremiah S. Shelly and Elizabeth Nice, on 10 October 1903, Ceremony by Rev. H. Krouthammel.¹

     Gordon D. Shisler was born on 24 May 1920 at Franklin Co., OH, Date from SSDI.¹ He was the son of Stanley H. Shisler and Oma L. Boyd.¹ Gordon D. Shisler died on 11 May 1999 at Wilson, Teton Co., WY, at age 78 Date and location from SSDI.

     Henry B. Shisler married Irene Frederick.¹

     Rev. James B. Shisler married Sallie Frederick.¹

     John B. Shisler married Hannah Cassel.¹

     Lillie Shisler was born on 15 November 1890.¹ She was the daughter of Rev. James B. Shisler and Sallie Frederick.¹ Lillie Shisler married Mathias Landis, son of Abraham M. Landis and Elizabeth Price, on 29 August 1911, Ceremony by Rev. James B. Shisler (father of the bride)

No children.¹ Lillie Shisler died on 8 January 1915 at age 24.¹

     Stanley H. Shisler was born on 27 October 1888 at Ohio Date from SSDI.^2,1 He was the son of William H. Shisler and Annie D. (?)² Stanley H. Shisler married Oma L. Boyd, daughter of Stephen Douglas Boyd and Rosa Irene Devol, circa 1915.¹ Stanley H. Shisler died in September 1968 at Columbus, Franklin Co., OH, at age 79 Date and location from SSDI.

     William H. Shisler was born in August 1859 at Ohio.¹ He married Annie D. (?).¹

     Amanda Shively married John B. Metzger.

     Catherine Louise Shively was born on 1 April 1915.¹ She was the daughter of Mery J. Shively and Nora M. Early.¹ Catherine Louise Shively died on 2 September 1915.¹

     Daniel E. Shively married Cora May Born on 14 February 1894 at Piatt Co., IL.

     Helen Elizabeth Shively was born on 3 March 1917.¹ She was the daughter of Mery J. Shively and Nora M. Early.¹

     Mary Shively was born on 20 August 1755 at Frederick Co., MD. She married Henry R. Rowland in 1776. Mary Shively died on 10 October 1831 at Washington Co., MD, at age 76.

     Mery J. Shively married Nora M. Early, daughter of Perry A. Early and Eliza A. Gilbert, on 24 April 1907.¹ Mery J. Shively lived in 1926 at Nappanee, Elkhart Co., IN.¹

     Robert Early Shively was born on 14 February 1919.¹ He was the son of Mery J. Shively and Nora M. Early.¹

     Sophia Shively was born. She married John Nyce, son of George Nyce and Elizabeth Price. Sophia Shively died on 24 February 1895.

     Susannah Shively was born on 19 July 1819 at Mifflinburg, Union Co., PA. She married Elder Robert Badger III.¹ Susannah Shively died on 30 November 1894 at Panther, Dallas Co., IA, at age 75. She was buried in December 1894 at the Panther Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery, Panther, Dallas Co., IA, Findagrave #14357194.

     Vera M. Shively was born on 30 October 1905 at Cerro Gordo, Piatt Co., IL. She was the daughter of Daniel E. Shively and Cora May Born. Vera M. Shively married Malcolm Wayne Stewart Jr., son of Malcolm Wayne Stewart and Gwendolyn Uhlma Duncan, circa 1927. Vera M. Shively died on 23 September 1997 at Illinois at age 91. She was buried in September 1997 at Westside Cemetery, Moweaqua, Shelby Co., IL.

     Willis Lafayette Shively was born in October 1880 at Nance Co., NE. He married Dolly Keo Moore. Willis Lafayette Shively died in 1956. He was buried in 1956 at Bureau Cemetery, Clarks, Merrick Co., NE, Findagrave #29995455.

     Wilma Myrta Shively was born on 26 July 1922 at Sargent, Custer Co., NE. She was the daughter of Willis Lafayette Shively and Dolly Keo Moore. Wilma Myrta Shively married Robert Gordon Johnson, son of Gordon J. Johnson and Lucy Morford, in 1940. Wilma Myrta Shively died on 23 February 2008 at age 85. She was buried in February 2008 at Eastern Cemetery, Summerfield, Noble Co., OH, Findagrave #126267958.

     Jay Shives was born on 4 December 1917 at Marion Co., IA. He was the son of Samuel Beryl Shives and Alle Belle Wendel. Jay Shives died on 28 December 1918 at Marion Co., IA, at age 1. He was buried at Gosport Cemetery, Gosport, Marion Co., IA, Find A Grave Memorial# 102252362.

     Samuel Beryl Shives was born on 21 February 1898 at Marion Co., IA. He was the son of Samuel Richardson Shives and Mary Elizabeth McLean. Samuel Beryl Shives married Alle Belle Wendel, daughter of Cyrus Edwin Wendel and Josephine Victoria London, in 1917. Samuel Beryl Shives died on 14 September 1972 at Milbank, Grant Co., SD, at age 74. He was buried in September 1972 at Gosport Cemetery, Gosport, Marion Co., IA, Find A Grave Memorial# 102252518.

     Samuel Richardson Shives was born on 2 February 1865 at Bond Co., IL. He married Mary Elizabeth McLean. Samuel Richardson Shives died on 18 May 1941 at Iowa at age 76. He was buried in May 1941 at Gosport Cemetery, Gosport, Marion Co., IA, Find A Grave Memorial# 91299211.

     George Fisher Shoaf was born on 2 September 1863 at Franklin Co., OH.¹ He married Laura Belle Miller on 17 February 1897. George Fisher Shoaf died on 2 February 1936 at Madison Co., OH, at age 72.