Pot of "Bloody Bill" Anderson's Gold Found at Yancey Inn - 1912

[Texas Jay]

I ran across this story while researching William C. "Bloody Bill" Anderson recently. Today, the value of the gold coins found in 1912 would be at least $600,000 in gold value alone. That's using the minimum estimated value ($10,000) of it in 1912 and isn't counting the coins' numismatic value so it's safe to say that the value of those coins today would be well in excess of a million dollars and that's a very conservative estimate. Bill Anderson was a member of the Knights of the Golden Circle.
***

Pot of Gold at Yancey Inn.
This is from the Higbee [Randolph County, Mo] News
of 13 Sep 1912 under the headline, "FINDS BURIED LOOT":

Farm Hand Discovers Can of Gold in Missouri--Wycke Patterson Flees With
Fortune Secreted by Civil War Bandit--Refuses to Tell Amount--May Share With
His Employer--Liberty, Mo--


One stroke of the pick made Wycke Patterson, a farm hand, rich beyond his fondest expectations when he struck a pot of gold concealed in the wall of an old building which he was helping to raze on the farm of his employer near Huntsville, [Randolph County], Mo. A notice of the discovery of the treasure was received here by C. E. [Charles Edwin] Yancey, owner of the place. How the farm hand's quick wit enabled him to make away with the thousands in gold before the eyes of seven helpers was told in the message. The old building, used before the Civil war as an Inn, had long been an eyesore on the big mule ranch owned by the Yancey family. A force of workmen under the direction of Patterson began tearing down the ruins last week. After removing a stone casing in the second story, Patterson struck something that gave out a sharp metallic sound. Two white laborers and five negroes crowded about him as he dug into the masonry and found a sealed pot. One blow knocked off the lid and the group gazed upon the vessel filled with gold pieces. Jaws dropped and eyes opened. "Good Lawd, we'se all struck it rich," said one negro. "What'll we--" But Patterson had his presence of mind. He seized the treasure pot and darted down the steps and out of the door. By the time his companions had recovered and followed, he was out of sight. Through Saturday night and Sunday the farm hand guarded the pot of gold. Not even his wife was permitted to know how much it contained. "If Yancey don't know how much is in it, he won't know how much to sue for," said Patterson. Monday morning a man walked into the Bank of Yates, a small town near the Yancey ranch. He carried a heavy package under his coat. After recovering from his surprise, W. H. Stark, the cashier, counted out the thousands in gold coin. Much of it was in Mexican money of 1831. How much the total was had not been given out by the finder or the banker. That it exceeds $10,000 has been admitted. That it might run as high as $30,000 or $40,000 has been reported. Although the law gives the treasure to the owner of the property, Yancey said he was willing to divide with the finder. The two men probably will divide the sum equally. The theory that Bill Anderson, a noted desperado of the Civil war period, hid the treasure while stopping at the place when it was used as an inn, has been advanced. Anderson spent the night at the inn two nights after banks at Huntsville and other towns had been robbed of 30,000 or $40,000 [in 1864]. He was killed near Orrick, Mo, a day or two later by Confederate bushwhackers.

***


From:

 

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[Texas Jay]

The pot of gold coins, found in 1912, could have been from Bill Anderson's raid of the county treasury at Huntsville, Missouri.
***
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mohoward/cwpart2.html

***

"End of June 1864

'[William Anderson left Texas three weeks after Quantrilll and made his way back to Missouri.] In June Anderson crossed the Missouri River into Carroll County below Waverly.-. killing as he marched, Anderson moved from Carroll into Howard, entered Huntsville the last of June with twenty-five men, took from the county treasury $30,000, and disbanded for a few days for purposes of recruiting.' (Noted Guerrillas, Edwards, pp. 236239)"
***

Then here's another possibility of where the money came from. It seems that the Howard County treasury at Huntsville was the goose that kept laying golden eggs for Bill Anderson. This is from the same source: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mohoward/cwpart2.html

***
"7/15/1864

On the same day as the above incident took place the Huntsville Citizen reported in an article reprinted in the Columbia Missouri Statesman,August5,1864,p.2,col.3, that "a band of outlaws under Bill Anderson' entered Huntsville, robbed the county treasury of $18,000, a number of stores and citizens of an amount totaling over $30,", and killed a traveling salesman named George Damon of St. Louis who was staying in the hotel there."
***

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I came onto this article while studying Daviess County Missouri Jay, thought you would want to see it. Civil War ? Daviess County Historical Society

L.C.

 

[Texas Jay]

I came onto this article while studying Daviess County Missouri Jay, thought you would want to see it. Civil War ? Daviess County Historical Society

L.C.

Thank you, L.C. When I began our investigation into the life and death of Bloody Bill Anderson in 2006, of course one of the first things our contributing members had to do was to study the events and people surrounding the October, 1864 ambush where Major Cox claimed that they killed "Bloody Bill" Anderson. We spent hundreds, perhaps thousands, of hours on this one event and we arrived at the conclusion that the historical facts proved that "Bloody Bill" Anderson was NOT killed that day but, rather, he had remained at camp as some of his men, who were designated for such duty, gave chase to Cox's Yankee scouts and were led into the ambush. Cox lived out his life taking undeserved credit for killing "Bloody Bill" when, all the while, the one and only "Bloody Bill" was living and farming at Salt Creek, Brown County, Texas until he finally revealed his true identity in 1924 at the age of 84.
~Texas Jay
true story told here

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I wonder if that hat with the feather is still in their family? There may be some DNA on it to help prove your studies Jay, especially if the person wearing it was shot in the back of the head.

L.C.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Thank you, L.C. When I began our investigation into the life and death of Bloody Bill Anderson in 2006, of course one of the first things our contributing members had to do was to study the events and people surrounding the October, 1864 ambush where Major Cox claimed that they killed "Bloody Bill" Anderson.
~Texas Jay


View attachment 1529805

I hope you are correct in your findings Jay. If Cox didn't kill Anderson then Jesse would have known that Anderson was still alive and well. That would help to prove another motive for Jesse and Frank's execution of Sheets in Gallatin Missouri on on Dec. 7th, 1869.

L.C.

 

[Texas Jay]

I wonder if that hat with the feather is still in their family? There may be some DNA on it to help prove your studies Jay, especially if the person wearing it was shot in the back of the head.

L.C.

Hi L.c. We've proven that one of Bill Anderson's lieutenants (probably Bill Smith) rode Bill's horse into the ambush. That's what William C. Anderson testified to in his 1924 interview with newspaper staff writer Henry C. Fuller. That was the cause of the Yankee's misidentification of the guerrilla riding Bill Anderson's horse as being Bill himself. Of course his saddlebags contained Anderson's papers so that's been used as their sole evidence ever since. The black hat with the plume, which is only shown in the famous photo that's alleged to be of Bill Anderson but which has no provenance proving the photo was even of Bill and not of another guerrilla, has to my knowledge never claimed to have been retrieved from the dead guerrilla's body. Death photos of the guerrilla show no such hat but show a tan or beige colored hat. I just searched some of my photos archives for the death photo with the tan hat in it, which I know I have somewhere, but I can't locate it so I'll post one of the others that were taken at the time.
The point is that there is no solid proof that the man killed in the ambush was "Bloody Bill" but there is a lot of evidence, that our group has uncovered over the past 12 years, that it wasn't.
The fact is that traditionalist historians don't want to conduct DNA tests on the body, if there even is a body there, in the Richmond, Missouri grave that they claim is "Bloody Bill" Anderson's. If they did, nothing has stood in their way of exhuming that body anytime during the past 153 years. We've nearly begged them to exhume that grave and compare the DNA in it to William C. Anderson's but they won't even consider it.
~Texas Jay

 

[Texas Jay]

I hope you are correct in your findings Jay. If Cox didn't kill Anderson then Jesse would have known that Anderson was still alive and well. That would help to prove another motive for Jesse and Frank's execution of Sheets in Gallatin Missouri on on Dec. 7th, 1869.

L.C.

Of course Jesse and Frank James knew that their leader Bill Anderson was still alive. Both men visited with him at his Salt Creek, Brown County, Texas farm on several documented occasions. I've talked to the grandson of one of the men who witnessed a meeting between Bill Anderson and Frank James on the banks of Salt Creek which flows through Bill Anderson's farm when he was a young boy. Frank James also visited Brownwood, about 7 miles from the Anderson farm, many times. The attached photo was taken of Bill Anderson outside of his Salt Creek home in 1924 when he was 84 years old.
~Texas Jay

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Of course Jesse and Frank James knew that their leader Bill Anderson was still alive. Both men visited with him at his Salt Creek, Brown County, Texas farm on several documented occasions. I've talked to the grandson of one of the men who witnessed a meeting between Bill Anderson and Frank James on the banks of Salt Creek which flows through Bill Anderson's farm when he was a young boy. Frank James also visited Brownwood, about 7 miles from the Anderson farm, many times. The attached photo was taken of Bill Anderson outside of his Salt Creek home in 1924 when he was 84 years old.
~Texas Jay

View attachment 1530259

That is one tough looking old Gizzard for sure, looks like the kind of a man that may harbor a grudge. !

L.C.

 

[Texas Jay]

That is one tough looking old Gizzard for sure, looks like the kind of a man that may harbor a grudge. !

L.C.

Bill Anderson definitely was tough and he had many good reasons to harbor grudges against the Yankees. One was that the Yankees shot Bill Anderson's parents "down in cold blood" (words of Cole Younger about the way Bill Anderson's parents were murdered) and another was when the Yankees deliberately caused the collapse of the brick Bingham building in Kansas City where several female members of Quantrill's Guerrillas' families were being imprisoned. This resulted in the death of Bill Anderson's middle sister Josephine and in the permanent injury of his youngest sister, 10 year-old Mattie. His youngest sister may have escaped serious injury except for the fact that her leg was shackled to an iron ball so when the building collapsed, she was unable to jump away from the falling debris like her oldest sister Mary was.
~Texas Jay

 

[Benjamin Gates]

I hope you are correct in your findings Jay. If Cox didn't kill Anderson then Jesse would have known that Anderson was still alive and well. That would help to prove another motive for Jesse and Frank's execution of Sheets in Gallatin Missouri on on Dec. 7th, 1869.

L.C.

Also, if you can prove Anderson was still alive after 1864, then this also makes Jesse's death in 1882 all the more suspicious. Shows precedence...if it can be done once before...then it can be done again...and again.

 

[Benjamin Gates]

Bill Anderson definitely was tough and he had many good reasons to harbor grudges against the Yankees. One was that the Yankees shot Bill Anderson's parents "down in cold blood" (words of Cole Younger about the way Bill Anderson's parents were murdered) and another was when the Yankees deliberately caused the collapse of the brick Bingham building in Kansas City where several female members of Quantrill's Guerrillas' families were being imprisoned. This resulted in the death of Bill Anderson's middle sister Josephine and in the permanent injury of his youngest sister, 10 year-old Mattie. His youngest sister may have escaped serious injury except for the fact that her leg was shackled to an iron ball so when the building collapsed, she was unable to jump away from the falling debris like her oldest sister Mary was.
~Texas Jay

View attachment 1530573 View attachment 1530575

Jay I wanted to read the rest of that newspaper article.

 

[Texas Jay]

Jay I wanted to read the rest of that newspaper article.

Hi Benjamin. Proving that "Bloody Bill" Anderson was alive after 1864 was exactly what we did in the first year of our Bloody Bill Anderson Mystery group's investigation that began in 2006. Since that time, we've compiled irrefutable historical evidence that proves that fact. This link below leads to the 6 photographic copies containing the complete Cole Younger interview. You'll need to click on each photo to enlarge it so you can read it.



~Texas Jay

 

[Texas Jay]

A few nights ago, I ran across this interesting article that tells of more Guerrilla (KGC) treasure buried near the Red River on the Oklahoma/Texas border. One of the first things I found when I started my investigation into Quantrill's Guerrillas 12 years ago was that the Raiders spent all of the winters, during the War, near Sherman, Texas in this area.

***

"...Bill Brown now lives in Denison, but grew up in Colbert, where he listened to many stories told by Mrs. Mabel Bacon, an old-timer in the area. Bill said there were a lot of stories of gold buried along Red River. Mrs. Bacon told Bill that Frank and Jesse had a relative living east of Denison, near Carpenter’s Bluff and that they came here to hide out when officers got high behind them. She said that Frank came more than Jesse.

Some of her stories were of the Younger Brothers and Quantrill’s raiders roaming the river and hiding out. There are supposed to have buried their gold along the river, then came back and get it.

Bill’s dad grew up in the area north of Hendrix and he said that he and his brother found part of a map that had lines on it marking trees and other landmarks. One day Bill’s grandpa and the family were in the fields and several men got off the train and rode by their house.

They ask Bill’s dad and his brother if they had seen a piece of paper with writing on it. They handed the paper over to the men, who rode off toward the river. Bill said he thought the area in which they were looking was where Eastman Creek emptied into the river. Bill’s dad said that at one time there was a big cottonwood tree and the X was around the area of the tree.

Bill talked to a lot of the older people as he was growing up and they told him where Frank and Jesse stayed when they came to this part of the country. They said that both were good to people and that was one of the reasons they helped them out..."

Strong Connnections to Grayson - Genealogy.com

***

~Texas Jay


The attached photo shows former Quantrill Guerrilla Cole Younger (front row wearing black hat with watch chain on his vest).

 

[L.C. BAKER]

A few nights ago, I ran across this interesting article that tells of more Guerrilla (KGC) treasure buried near the Red River on the Oklahoma/Texas border. One of the first things I found when I started my investigation into Quantrill's Guerrillas 12 years ago was that the Raiders spent all of the winters, during the War, near Sherman, Texas in this area.

***

"...Bill Brown now lives in Denison, but grew up in Colbert, where he listened to many stories told by Mrs. Mabel Bacon, an old-timer in the area. Bill said there were a lot of stories of gold buried along Red River. Mrs. Bacon told Bill that Frank and Jesse had a relative living east of Denison, near Carpenter’s Bluff and that they came here to hide out when officers got high behind them. She said that Frank came more than Jesse.

Some of her stories were of the Younger Brothers and Quantrill’s raiders roaming the river and hiding out. There are supposed to have buried their gold along the river, then came back and get it.

Bill’s dad grew up in the area north of Hendrix and he said that he and his brother found part of a map that had lines on it marking trees and other landmarks. One day Bill’s grandpa and the family were in the fields and several men got off the train and rode by their house.

They ask Bill’s dad and his brother if they had seen a piece of paper with writing on it. They handed the paper over to the men, who rode off toward the river. Bill said he thought the area in which they were looking was where Eastman Creek emptied into the river. Bill’s dad said that at one time there was a big cottonwood tree and the X was around the area of the tree.

Bill talked to a lot of the older people as he was growing up and they told him where Frank and Jesse stayed when they came to this part of the country. They said that both were good to people and that was one of the reasons they helped them out..."

Strong Connnections to Grayson - Genealogy.com

***

~Texas Jay


The attached photo shows former Quantrill Guerrilla Cole Younger (front row wearing black hat with watch chain on his vest).

View attachment 1531201

The Grayson County connection is good Jay!

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I was mistaken Jay! It was an honest mistake...https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=10577 I was referring to another Grayson County! After reading your post and linked story I realized it.

Never mind..... L.C.

 

[Texas Jay]

I was mistaken Jay! It was an honest mistake...https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=10577 I was referring to another Grayson County! After reading your post and linked story I realized it.

Never mind..... L.C.

Yep, I caught that when I read it. No problem.

~Texas Jay

 

[Texas Jay]

[h=2]"Bloody Bill" with Jesse James AFTER the War ![/h]
I nearly fell out of my chair as I was researching old newspapers the other night, looking for articles about "Bloody Bill" Anderson, and I read this article from the Manchester Democrat about Jesse James upon their announcement of the death of Jesse's step-father. Members who have been with our group for a long time will remember when I conversed with William C. "Bloody Bill" Anderson's granddaughter Berneice Perkins several times. She told me a lot about "Paw" Anderson which is what he was called by his family members. She was a very young girl when Bill Anderson died at Salt Creek in 1927 and she remembers the scene as he was laid out for viewing in his farmhouse. Berneice told me that "Paw robbed banks and trains with Jesse James after the War." If "Bloody Bill" robbed banks and trains with Jesse James after the War, that can only mean one thing - Bill Anderson was NOT killed in the ambush in October, 1864 at Orrick, Missouri. I've searched for years for confirmation of her statement and I finally found it in this long article tonight! Berneice passed away several years ago but I knew her when she and Bill's other late granddaughter Patsy Anderson were speaking to historical groups many years ago, trying to convince them of the truth about their grandfather. They have been vindicated now. The article begins at the top of the 4th column and the part about Bill Anderson being a member of the gang is in the 5th column under the stage coach drawing.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...rell+treasure&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

~Texas Jay

Attached is a charcoal drawing of "Bloody Bill" Anderson by Elmer Stewart who had met Bill Anderson during the War. You'll notice that in this image, Anderson didn't wear his hair long as was the hair of the man who was killed in the ambush and who was misidentified as being Bill Anderson.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Hat has "THE STAR", too...

 

[Texas Jay]

Yes, Rebel, the 5-point symbolic star of the KGC, just like the peak of William C. Anderson's Salt Creek, Brown County, Texas farmhouse had on it. Look at the very top of the peak above the second-floor window and you'll see the 5-point star. William C. "Bloody Bill" Anderson is on the far right side of this old photo of the Salt Creek house. You'll also notice that Bill continued to wear his hats with the left side of the brim turned up, even at age 84 as he was in this photo taken in 1927.
~Texas Jay