Pearl Starr

Rosie Lee Reed (September 1868 – July 6, 1925), better known as Pearl Starr, was an American bordello owner and businesswoman in Arkansas, the first child of Belle Starr, the reputed "Bandit Queen" of the American Old West, and Jim Reed, Belle's first husband.

Pearl Starr was born in Rich Hill, Missouri. As a small child, she moved often before her outlaw father died in a gunfight when she was six. Her mother then married a Cherokee named Sam Starr, and settled beside the Canadian River in the Indian Territory at a place called Younger's Bend. Starr was twenty-one when her mother, Belle Starr, was murdered.

Belle Starr claimed that Pearl was the daughter of the outlaw Cole Younger. While no official record exists, pictures of a young Pearl Starr show an uncanny resemblance to Cole Younger. Her parentage may always be in doubt.

Most historical writers accept that Starr gave birth to an illegitimate daughter named Flossie in April 1887, when she was 18. Belle Starr sent her daughter away to relatives to have her baby.

In 1888 Starr's brother, Edwin, was found in possession of stolen property and was shot by his accomplice. What became of Starr's daughter is unknown, but in the summer of 1888 Starr returned alone to her mother's house at Younger's Bend to care for her brother.

Edwin's case went to trial in July 1889. He was found guilty and sent to prison. About this time Starr married Will Harrison, but the couple were divorced in 1891. Capitalizing on the dime novel fame of Belle, Pearl Reed changed her name to Pearl Starr at this time. She became a prostitute in Van Buren, Arkansas, ostensibly to make money for the purpose of getting her brother out of prison. She eventually put together a defense team that managed to secure a presidential pardon for Edwin in 1893.

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