29. A Belle Who Preferred to Ride and Shoot Instead of Take Refinement Lessons
In her early years, Belle Starr led the life of a coddled wealthy girl. She was reportedly a bright student at the Carthage Female Academy, and a polite young lady who excelled at playing the piano. However, she liked to rub her “rich girl” status in the face of her peers, and went out of her way to become the center of attention. Unlike typical Southern belles, Belle loved the outdoors. She preferred to ride and shoot with her brother Bud, instead of stay cooped up inside her all-girls school.
Belle probably got her wild streak from her father, John Shirley. Although a prosperous farmer and businessman, Shirley was nonetheless considered the “black sheep” of a wealthy Virginia family that had moved out West. He married and divorced twice, before he wed Belle’s mother Elizabeth Hatfield, a relative of the Hatfields of the Hatfield and McCoy feud. Growing up in Missouri, Belle became acquainted with future dangerous outlaws Frank and Jesse James, and the Younger brothers Cole, Jim, John and Bob, who went on to form the infamous James-Younger Gang.