What Bank/Railway/Company???

[warsawdaddy]

Ok,I can't post the pics until my son is home,4Aug.But this is a heavy tin box,appears to have been mainly green.Has W & S on top.Has a handle on top center.Has heavy latch for a lock on the front.No other markings.Measures in inches - 14lg x 10w x 6 deep.Won in a poker game with the Youngers by my g'g'gpa,who was a friend of them and the James'.Suppose to have been from a bank/train they had robbed.

 

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[warsawdaddy]

My sis has already promised the box to her g'son but I was promised ol'ma's sugar bowl.Jesse James has taken sugar from it.

 

[warsawdaddy]

No guesses/inputs on the box?

 

[doublet2a]

 

[Monty]

Sounds like a metal ammo box or something real similar. Monty

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

We need pichers!!

 

[Deftone]

I'm sure that Mr. James took sugar from dat bowl. Bet it was gave! imho.

 

[warsawdaddy]

Here's the box--same dimensions as above--

 

[warsawdaddy]

More--

 

[warsawdaddy]

Here is the sugar bowl.It's about 6-7"tall.The lid goes on a certain way or else it falls through due to wear.

 

[Lucas]

Well it does look like a cash box, and it does look mid-19th century.

Serious detective work is needed to match the initials with a company patronized by the James Bros.

Maybe fingerprints?

 

[warsawdaddy]

Another possibility would be the Kansa City Exposition robbery.

 

[Lucas]

Hard to see the sugar bowl. Shape is Victorian, and it is hand painted.

 

[richm]

Wisconsin & Southern RR Possibility?? http://www.wsorrailroad.com/gallery/vintage.html

 

[richm]

Here is an old post on Treasurenet about the James/Younger gang laying low in Wisconsin (W&S Wisconsin Southern Line?) http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,80332.0/topicseen.html

 

[ivan salis]

in 1924 at RONDOUT , ILLINOIS there was a MAIL TRAIN robbery --$3 million in CASH , JEWELS AND BONDS stolen by the newton gang * --it made what jesse james and the younger did look like childs play --to this date al lthe money has NOT been recovered / accounted for , leading many to believe it was buried nearby .

the wisconson and southern rail line ran on that line by the way wonder if some of the money in the "mail car" was in that there --- wisconson and southern rail road money box ? -- if so it might be from the newton gang robbery rather than jesse james / youngers .

 

[westerntreasurehunter]

i think the real question is... what was in the box?? That would be exciting if this really was part of a train robbery.

 

[warsawdaddy]

No Younger escaped from Northfield.No mention of any of my family ever knew any of the Newton gang.Family story is that my g'g'g'father won the box from the Youngers who were family friends.Perhaps after Cole Younger got out of prison in 1901,maybe he retrieved it somewhere and the poker game took place then

 

[ivan salis]

one of the newton gang supposedly buried 25,000 out in the country side after he escaped the dragnet that was looking for them ---he buried the money while drunk --but he was never able to remember exactly where because of being drunk at the time of its burail --about 100,000 was not recovered to date

 

[Noodle]

WSD, you have some great history there! Write some of it out in bulk form for us someday, ok? We'll get it published! Very interesting.

Had a thought. Have heard/read of so many train robberies being contributed to famous (infamous?) characters back in the old wild west days. Gold and silver were almost always involved. Just wondering how many robberies were 'never solved' but assumed by the public (based on info from home companies and media) to have been committed by the infamous characters.

Meanwhile, the coffers of the RR owners, or their employees, get so much richer. No insurance in those days to speak of, but wild west characters were a dime a dozen. Ship "a load" from New York to Chicago to San Francisco, and halfway there, it's missing. Enter... "Jesse James." No one's the wiser. Just a thought. = Noodle