jesse james: last words

The Ford brothers also enjoyed a brief taste of celebrity as the killers of the notorious outlaw, even reenacting the experience in a stage show. 1. [8] Aside from slavery, the culture of Little Dixie was Southern in other ways as well. "Jesse James" is a 19th-century American folk song about the outlaw of the same name, first recorded by Bentley Ball in 1919 and subsequently by many others, including Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Vernon Dalhart, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, The Pogues, The Ramblin' Riversiders, The Country Gentlemen, Willy DeVille, Van Morrison, Harry McClintock, Grandpa Jones, Bob Seger, The . The atmosphere was volatile, with widespread clashes between individuals and between armed gangs of veterans from both sides of the war. 3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He . Jesse James : [last words] Don't that picture look dusty? In the 1880s, after James's death, the James Gang became the subject of dime novels that represented the bandits as pre-industrial models of resistance. Jesse Jr. became a lawyer who practiced in Kansas City, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California. Missouri was a border state, sharing characteristics of both North and South, but 75% of the population was from the South or other border states. No evidence has been found that connects either brother to the crime or that conclusively rules them out. However, his makeshift gang was already coming apart at the seams, fueled by the tension between Hite and Liddil over their competition for the affection of the Fords' sister, a widow named Martha Bolton. Rumors of Jesse James's survival proliferated almost as soon as the newspapers announced his death. After 1873, he was covered by the national media as part of social banditry. A substantial manhunt ensued. Richmond Missouri As to the money, he received only a fraction of the reward. His wife and two children were in a nearby room. Meanwhile, Bob Ford became an unwanted celebrity. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. The James brothers also launched an intimidation campaign against their perceived enemies near Zereldas farm and in April of that year one of their mothers neighbors, a former Union militiaman who had assisted the Pinkerton agents in preparing for the raid, was shot to death. Robert Newton Ford (January 31, 1862 - June 8, 1892) was an American outlaw who killed fellow outlaw Jesse James on April 3, 1882. His remains were later moved and reinterred at Richmond Cemetery in his native Richmond in Ray County, Missouri; "The man who shot Jesse James" was inscribed on his grave marker.[22]. Published in 1993, this book by T.J. Stiles is about how the Civil War made Jesse James the man that he was. After the war, as members of various gangs of outlaws, Jesse and Frank robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains across the Midwest, gaining national fame and often popular sympathy despite the brutality of their crimes. Detectives threw an incendiary device into the house; it exploded, killing James's young half-brother Archie (named for Archie Clement) and blowing off one of Zerelda Samuel's arms. [11], These men were the likely culprits in the first daylight armed bank robbery in the United States during peacetime,[20] the robbery of the Clay County Savings Association in the town of Liberty, Missouri, on February13, 1866. Later in 1876, Jesse and Frank James surfaced in the Nashville, Tennessee, area, where they went by the names of Thomas Howard and B.J. Woodson, respectively. Raised in the "Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained strong Southern sympathies. He was of English and Scottish descent. They brought slaves with them and purchased more according to their needs. By age 16, Jesse followed Frank as a marauding bushwhacker, with both joining a ruthlessly violent gang led by William Bloody Bill Anderson. His father, Robert S. James, farmed commercial hemp in Kentucky and was a Baptist minister before coming to Missouri. Jesse James is one of the most famous outlaws of all time, a sort of Robin Hood figure to the poor, but his crimes took a dark turn. The American outlaw and train robber was also a guerrilla and leader of the James-Younger Gang who grew up in the "Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri. [46] The James brothers eventually split from the others and escaped to Missouri. He turned around and noticed a dusty picture above the mantle, and stood on a chair to clean it. But biographer Ted Yeatman found a letter by Pinkerton in the Library of Congress in which Pinkerton declared his intention to "burn the house down. On April 3, 1882, the Ford brothers met James at his home in St. Joseph, Mo. Bob remained at the cottage and slyly migrated from room to room. Among the deputies was Jefferson B. Snyder, later a long-serving district attorney in northeastern Louisiana. Jesse James. [citation needed]. In June 1892, a man named Edward O'Kelley walked into his saloon, offered him a quick greeting ("Hello, Bob") and then shot him dead with a sawed-off shotgun. Library of Congress Return to Crime In the aftermath of the failed Northfield bank robbery of 1876, Frank and Jesse James were forced to hide under. The guerrillas also ambushed and defeated a pursuing regiment of Major A. V. E. Johnson's Union troops, killing all who tried to surrender, who numbered more than 100. A bitter conflict ensued, resulting in an escalating cycle of atrocities committed by both sides. They were brought into a meeting with Crittenden, as they had been around James's cousin Wood Hite the day Hite was murdered. Their escape from a botched robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, in September 1876 that wiped out the rest of the gang seemingly bolstered the myth that the brothers were beyond the reach of the law. He began to work with former Unionists who lived near the James family farm. The gang targeted the bank after learning that Adelbert Ames, a former Union general and Republican governor of Reconstruction-era Mississippi, had recently moved to Northfield. Meanwhile, James' legend continued to grow as one of the outsized figures of the heavily mythologized Old West. [15], On December 26, 1889, Ford survived an attempt on his life in Kansas City, Kansas when an assailant tried to slit his throat. By the spring of 1882, with his gang depleted by arrests, deaths and defections, James thought that he could trust only the Ford brothers. They surrendered themselves to legal authorities but were dismayed to be charged with first degree murder. Some of Sam Bass' last words. The gang barely escaped Northfield, leaving two dead companions behind. Some filmmakers portrayed the former outlaw as a revenger, replacing "social with exclusively personal motives. In January 1882, two James Gang members, Wood Hite and Dick Liddil, got into an argument while hiding out in the home of Fords sister. However, by March 1882 members of the James Gang had dwindled, so James agreed. Two other agents, Captain Louis J. Lull and John Boyle, were sent after the Youngers; Lull was killed by two of the Youngers in a roadside gunfight on March 17, 1874. Furthermore, James was no longer surrounded by men he could trust. Ford was buried in Creede. Sheets."[31]. [14], The death of Jesse James became a national sensation. The robbers inside the bank were thwarted when acting cashier Joseph Lee Heywood refused to open the safe, falsely claiming that it was secured by a time lock even as they held a Bowie knife to his throat and cracked his skull with a pistol butt. Their biggest function was turning their home and those of other Ford family members into safe houses for gang members escaping the law. [12][13] Frank followed Quantrill to Sherman, Texas, over the winter of 18631864. Daniel Rennie is a freelance writer residing in Melbourne, Australia. As he did so, Bob drew his gun and shot him in the back of the head, killing him. When the Civil War came, young Jesse watched his older brother Frank . Although Charles allegedly took part in the James Gangs final train robbery on Sept. 7, 1881, the Ford brothers did mostly odd jobs including holding the horses on raids. Museums and sites devoted to Jesse James: The Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield, Minnesota, is among the largest outdoor celebrations in the state. The only known civil case involving Frank and Jesse James was filed in the Common Pleas Court of Daviess County in 1870. As a young man, Ford came to admire Jesse James for his Civil War record and criminal exploits, eventually getting to meet him in 1880 at the age of 18. January 15, 1874. Edwards, his old enabler, no longer responded to his mail, seemingly content that many old Confederate colleagues had risen to positions of power around the region. Jesse James Facts According to his brother, Frank, teenaged guerrilla Jesse James killed Major Johnston. Ford lost the contest and left town. "[27] In 1868, Frank and Jesse James allegedly joined Cole Younger in robbing a bank in Russellville, Kentucky. Wikimedia Commons Robert Ford posing with the gun he used to kill Jesse James. Public opinion turned against the Fords for betraying their gang leader, and Robert was seen as a coward and traitor for killing James. Frank, however, decided to move to safer territory and headed east to settle in Virginia. And while Hite, Liddil and the newcomers were enamored of the chance to join a legend in action, their expanded circle of associates brought in even more people who held no personal loyalty toward James, including fellow Missourians Charley and Robert Ford. Now there was a problem Ford had just killed Jesse James cousin. In 2008, Brad Pitt starred as James opposite Casey Affleck as Ford in the. After Charley committed suicide in 1884, Robert hopscotched from town to town, before opening a saloon in Creede, Colorado. After the James brothers successfully conducted other robberies and became legendary, some observers retroactively credited them with being the leaders of the robbery. . [3] This area of Missouri was largely settled by people from the Upper South, especially Kentucky and Tennessee, and became known as Little Dixie for this reason. But soon he was released on one condition that he murder Jesse James. [1], In the 1950s, James was pictured as a psychologically troubled man rather than a social rebel. Wikimedia CommonsFord was promised the $5,000 bounty once he killed James, but received only a fraction of the amount when he did. The Ford Brothers Indicted, Plead Guilty, Sentenced To Be Hanged, And Pardoned All In One Day", "Asdeewhere Jesse James's ancestors originatedCounty Kerry, Ireland", "Lost River has unique history, role as 'urban oasis', "Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival 2017", Gangs and the Military: Gangsters, Bikers, and Terrorists with Military Training, Primary sources and essays by Jesse James biographer T. J. Stiles, Official website for the Family of Jesse James, A 1901 newspaper interview with the Younger brothers, Death of Jesse James with pictures from the National Archives and Library of Congress, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesse_James&oldid=1149394970, The Jesse James Bank Museum, on the square in, First National Bank of Northfield: The Northfield Historical Society in. Frank Triplett wrote about James as a "progressive neo-aristocrat" with "purity of race". Yet, it is the last four letters in James, the "ames" that bears a strong likeness to Jesse's. Read one of Jesse's original stories here: http://jessejamesphotoalbum.com/a-deck-of-cards/ Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage 1998 WWF WWE Road Dogg Jesse James DX 420 Shirt Men's Size XXL 2XL at the best online prices at eBay! [88] It is held annually in September during the weekend after Labor Day. Who Is Suspected Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira? With the saloon out of business, Ford moved on to Creede, Colo. On May 29, 1892, he opened a dance hall but six days later it burned down along with Creedes business district. After agreeing to help his brother and share in the reward, Charley convinced James that Robert was the man they needed to pull off their next heist. [56][57][58] Narrator : And so it went, Jesse was increasingly cavalier. They continued in crime for several years afterward, recruiting new members, but came under increasing pressure from law enforcement seeking to bring them to justice. The Ford brothers surrendered to the authorities and were dismayed to be charged with first-degree murder. Displaced by Reconstruction, the antebellum political leadership mythologized the James Gang's exploits. [59] The governor's quick pardon suggested he knew the brothers intended to kill James rather than capture him. The James brothers made a name for themselves as bank and train robbers,. Because the gang received support by many former Confederate soldiers in Missouri, they eluded the Pinkertons. Jesse James and four members of the gang robbed their first stagecoach near Hot Springs, Arkansas, taking cash and jewels valued at approximately $3,000. Jesse James : Now you think otherwise? (In fact, the slain cashier turned out not to be Cox.). The two men shot it out at Bolton's home in December, with Robert believed to have stepped in and fired the fatal bullet at Hite. [6][pageneeded] Crittenden had made capturing the James brothers his top priority; in his inaugural address he declared that no political motives could be allowed to keep them from justice. After they arrived in Clay County, 16-year-old Jesse James joined his brother in Taylor's group. Meanwhile, former Union officer Thomas Crittenden began his tenure as Missouri governor in 1881 with a promise to bring James to justice. That August, Frank took part in an infamous raid on the abolitionist town of Lawrence, Kansas, during which more than 150 men and boys were killed and numerous buildings destroyed. [70] His story did not hold up to questioning from James's surviving relatives.[71]. However, when Ford first met James in 1880 he was an admirer of his exploits. Allan Pinkerton never pursued his hunt for Jesse and Frank any further. Three days after the fire, on June 8, 1892, Edward O'Kelley entered Ford's tent saloon with a shotgun. [29][30] An 1882 history of Daviess County said, "The history of Daviess County has no blacker crime in its pages than the murder of John W. He was buried in Granbury Cemetery, where the headstone bears the name of "Jesse Woodson James". Steele, Philip W. "Jesse and Frank James: The Family History". Initially, Ford was charged with murdering both Wood Hite and Jesse James, but true to his word; Governor Crittenden pardoned him while he stood trial for the murder. In November 1881, after the train robbery, James moved his family to St. Joseph, Missouri, and intended to give up crime. Jesse suffered a serious wound to the chest that summer. [11] Allowed to vote and hold office again, former Confederates in the legislature voted to limit the size of rewards the governor could offer for fugitives. Assistant cashier Alonzo Enos Bunker was wounded in the shoulder as he fled through the back door of the bank. By now, James legend had reached its zenith, while Robert Ford was viewed as a loathsome creature. [50], By 1881, with local Tennessee authorities growing suspicious, the brothers returned to Missouri, where they felt safer. [14][26] It remains uncertain whether either of the James brothers took part, although an eyewitness who knew the brothers told a newspaper seven years later "positively and emphatically that he recognized Jesse and Frank James among the robbers. In June 1892, a man named Edward O'Kelley walked into his saloon, offered him a quick greeting ("Hello, Bob") and then shot him dead with a sawed-off shotgun. Ford proved a worthy disciple, staying by Jesse's side as his paranoia worsened. O'Kelley was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence was subsequently commuted because of a 7,000-signature petition in favor of his release, as well as a medical condition. The Clay County provost marshal reported that both Frank and Jesse James took part in the Centralia Massacre in September, in which guerrillas stopped a train carrying unarmed Union soldiers returning home from duty and killed or wounded some 22 of them; the guerrillas scalped and dismembered some of the dead. He was 30. Anxious at being so close to the man they intended to kill, they nevertheless managed to keep cool as they waited for the right moment to strike. 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