EMMETT DALTON - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 03/09/1936 - HFSID 350473

EMMETT DALTON
The former outlaw assigns all rights, including the Dalton name, to his stepdaughter.
TLS: "Emmett Dalton", 1p, 6x8. Hollywood, California, 1936 March 9. To his stepdaughter Jennie Gilstrap Perrier, Skiatcok, Oklahoma. In full: "I hope this finds you well and happy. My shoulder is getting worse. Your mother Julia and I borrowed from your oil money when you were young to make my first picture, and also to pay Double Day to print the book When The Daltons Rode. We have never repaid you. I am making assignment of all my rights, title, and interest including the Dalton name, to your mother Julia. This I am giving to you for the money I owe you, upon her passing, and any interest in my brother Frank Dalton's name that I used in the motion picture. There are no other Dalton heirs, and all in perpetuum rights are yours." 2 file holes at upper blank margin. Lightly soiled, light stains at right margin. Overall, fine condition. Accompanied by an unsigned Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage for Emmett Dalton and Julia A. Lewis, 1p, 8½ x 14. Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 1908 September 1. 2 file holes at upper margin. Lightly soiled, else fine condition. With Final Decree from the state of Oklahoma signed by the Judge of the County Court, 1p, 8½ x 14. County of Tulsa, 1951 April 27. Naming Jennie Gilstrap Perrier sole and only heir, the document lists personal property as well as the copyrights willed to her. Tape stain at right edge at mid-horizontal fold from tape repair on verso. Lightly soiled, stained at judge's signature. Overall, fine condition.

In March 1936, the year before his death on July 13, 1937 at the age of 66 at his home in Los Angeles, former outlaw Emmett Dalton signed this letter to his stepdaughter, Jennie. The letter briefly explains his bequest, including rights to his books, films and the Dalton Gang name, which would be left to her after her mother's death, which occurred in 1951. The Dalton boys had been raised near Coffeyville, Kansas, where they rivaled their heroes, the James and Younger gangs. Emmett was only 21 when the Dalton Gang attempted to rob two banks simultaneously in Coffeyville on October 5, 1892. He was the only survivor of "Death Alley", the street between the banks where the Daltons attempted to flee; four townspeople died on that fateful day. Emmett suffered chest and leg wounds and his right arm was nearly shattered from the barrage of bullets. Charged with the murder of two townspeople, he was found guilty and served 14 years of a life sentence before being pardoned by Kansas Governor Edward W. Hoch in 1907. The following year, 37-year-old Emmett Dalton married 36-year-old Julia Johnson Gilstrap Lewis on September 1, 1908 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. A few years later they moved to California, where he wrote two books: Beyond the Law (1918) and When the Daltons Rode (1931). In the 1918 silent, Beyond the Law, based on his book, Emmett Dalton played three roles: himself and his brothers Frank and Bob. He consulted on many westerns. Three years after his death, When the Daltons Rode was released by MCA/Universal Pictures. It starred Randolph Scott, Brian Donlevy and Broderick Crawford with Frank Albertson as Emmett. Framed to an overall size of 50 x 23¾.