Zerelda Mimms

Zerelda Amanda Mimms James (July 21, 1845 – November 13, 1900) was the first cousin and wife of Jesse James.

Zerelda Amanda Mimms was the daughter of Pastor John Wilson Mimms. Her mother was a paternal aunt of Jesse James', the sister of his father, Robert S. James.

She and Jesse James married on April 24, 1874, while the James-Younger Gang was still in full force. Of the Jameses and Youngers, Jesse was the first to marry. Zerelda and Jesse had two surviving children:

• Jesse Edward "Tim" James (born August 31, 1875 and died March 26, 1951)
• Twins Gould and Montgomery James (born February 28, 1878 and died in infancy)
• Mary Susan James (born June 17, 1879 and died October 11, 1935)

Mimms died November 13, 1900 in Kansas City, Missouri. She was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Kearney, Missouri. Eighteen months after her death, her husband's body was moved from the James family farm to rest next to hers.

• 2007: In The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Mary-Louise Parker
• 2001: In American Outlaws by Ali Larter
• 1995: In Frank and Jesse by Maria Pitillo
• 1980: In The Long Riders by Savannah Smith Boucher
• 1949: In I Shot Jesse James by Barbara Woodell
• 1957: In The True Story of Jesse James by Hope Lange
• 1953: In The Great Jesse James Raid by Barbara Woodell
• 1939: In Jesse James by Nancy Kelly
• 1927: In Jesse James by Nora Lane