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. 2023. However, when Ford first met James in 1880 he was an admirer of his exploits. Robert traveled to California during the Gold Rush to minister to those searching for gold;[4] he died there when James was three years old. James had often stayed with their sister Martha Bolton and, according to rumor, he was "smitten" with her. He never explained his motive for the murder. [70] His story did not hold up to questioning from James's surviving relatives.[71]. The Story Of Robert Ford The Coward Who Assassinated Jesse James. His wife and two children were in a nearby room. Ames was a stockholder in the bank, but Butler had no direct connection to it.[45]. 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. Steele, Philip W. "Jesse and Frank James: The Family History". The gang barely escaped Northfield, leaving two dead companions behind. 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. Public opinion turned against the Fords for betraying their gang leader, and Robert was seen as a coward and traitor for killing James. [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. Between his days as a teenage Confederate guerrilla and his murder at age 34, James became one of Americas most notorious outlaws. Jesse James was dead. James didnt trust the Ford brothers, especially Bob. He was born on September 5th, 1847 and was a criminal of the Old West along with his brother, Frank James. They shot two bandits dead and wounded the rest in the barrage. 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. Jesse James : Now you think otherwise? T. J. Stiles Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil [] Another less glamorous claim is that Robert Ford was a pariah, and the few customers that did turn up, only did so to pick fights. [64][65] Public opinion was divided between those against the Fords for murdering Jesse and those of the opinion that it had been time for the outlaw to be stopped. There is no evidence that he shared the loot of his robberies with anyone other than his gang members; they alone enjoyed the riches with him. [4][6] Zerelda and Samuel acquired a total of seven slaves, who served mainly as farmhands in tobacco cultivation.[6][7]. 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. Ames, along with his father-in-law Benjamin Butler, also a former Union general and Radical Republican politician, was rumored to have deposited $75,000 in the bank. The Ford Brothers Indicted, Plead Guilty, Sentenced To Be Hanged, And Pardoned All In One Day", "Jesse James's Assassination and the Ford Boys", "Bob Ford's Narrow Escape. Ford had his back to Kelly. Frank seemed to settle down, but Jesse remained restless. Jesse James and his brother Frank served for the Confederate Army before embarking on criminal careers in the Old West. Sheets."[31]. Web. They killed Heywood and Nicholas Gustafson, a Swedish immigrant from the Millersburg community west of Northfield. Teenaged Robert Ford (Casey. Earlier that year, Bob Ford had arranged with Missouri'sgovernor to take down Jesse in exchange for a reward. James's two previous bullet wounds and partially missing middle finger served to positively identify the body. James's original grave was on his family property, but he was later moved to a cemetery in Kearney. The gang attempted to rob the bank in Northfield at about 2pm. John Newman Edwards made sure to highlight such techniques when creating an image of James as a kind of Robin Hood. The body buried in Kearney, Missouri, marked "Jesse James" was exhumed in 1995 and subjected to mitochondrial DNA typing. This influenced how the population acted during and for a period of time after the war. On April 3, 1882, the Ford brothers met James at his home in St. Joseph, Mo. He said, Hello, Bob. Ford turned to see who it was and Kelly emptied both barrels into his chest, killing him instantly. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Directed by Andrew Dominik. On the night of January 25, 1875, he staged a raid on the homestead. 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. Before he died, Lull fatally shot John Younger. He began to work with former Unionists who lived near the James family farm. They were nervous and bored, looking for opportunity, and feeling restless. The Chicago-based agency worked primarily against urban professional criminals, as well as providing industrial security, such as strike breaking. This sentiment clashed with the general public opinion at the time of James's death that it had been time for James to be stopped by any means. While initially buried in Creede, his remains were later exhumed and reinterred in his hometown of Richmond, Missouri. "Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri,", White, Richard. "[53] James's widow Zerelda Mimms James died alone and in poverty. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Frank, however, decided to move to safer territory and headed east to settle in Virginia. James wrote about this death with bitterness a decade later.[21][22]. In the biography, "Jessie James: Last Rebel of the Civil War," written by T.J. Stiles was about a man named Jesse James who spent most of his life participating in criminal activity. Merry, moody, fey, unpredictable. Charles heard that Frank James was seeking revenge on them for his brothers murder. When Robert Ford pulled the trigger of his six-gun killing Jesse James, he hadnt killed an outlaw, he had killed a hero. Things escalated when they both drew their guns and shot each other. Founded in Chicago in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton, a Scottish immigrant who had served as the first full-time detective on the Windy Citys police force, the private agency was experienced in capturing train robbers. The Missouri state legislature narrowly defeated a bill that praised the James and Younger brothers and offered them amnesty. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Ford was also promised the $5,000 bounty placed on James head. All Rights Reserved. In 1995, scientists seeking to resolve the question of who was buried in Jamess grave exhumed his supposed remains from Mt. [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. I shot Jesse James!. The bank was owned by Republican former militia officers who had recently conducted the first Republican Party rally in Clay County's history. The Ford brothers surrendered to the authorities and were dismayed to be charged with first-degree murder. [34] They robbed banks, stagecoaches, and a fair in Kansas City, often carrying out their crimes in front of crowds, and even hamming it up for the bystanders. He was 30. Both were sentenced to hang. His death became a national sensation - James had been a famous Confederate guerrilla fighter during the Civil War, and had become America's most wanted crim. They had two children who survived to adulthood: Jesse Edward James (b. [12][13] Frank followed Quantrill to Sherman, Texas, over the winter of 18631864. They tortured Reuben Samuel by briefly hanging him from a tree. While they later tried to justify robbing the banks, most of their targets were small, local banks based on local capital, and the robberies only penalized the locals they claimed to support. James had two full siblings: his elder brother, Alexander Franklin "Frank" James, and a younger sister, Susan Lavenia James. After breakfast, they moved into the sitting room to discuss Jesse's plan to rob the Platte City, Missouri Bank. [12] He also appeared on stage with his brother Charles, reenacting the murder in a touring stage show. Raised in the "Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained strong Southern sympathies. Luckily Governor Crittenden stepped in two hours after the trial and as promised granted the brothers a full pardon. Over time, the letters gradually became more political in tone and James denounced the Republicans and expressed his pride in his Confederate loyalties. Published in 1993, this book by T.J. Stiles is about how the Civil War made Jesse James the man that he was. 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. Pitts died in a gunfight and the Youngers were taken prisoner. All Rights Reserved. [14] Others have argued that Jesse was at the time still bedridden with his wound and could not have participated. [28], James claimed he was taking revenge, and the daring escape he and Frank made through the middle of a posse shortly afterward attracted newspaper coverage for the first time. In May of that year, a Union militia company raided the JamesSamuel farm looking for Frank's group. [citation needed], On September 7, 1876, the opening day of hunting season in Minnesota, the JamesYounger gang attempted a raid on the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. He was tended to by his first cousin, Zerelda "Zee" Mimms, named after Jesse's mother. [9][10], After the killing, the Fords wired Crittenden to claim their reward. 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/ In the spring he returned in a squad commanded by Fletch Taylor. Ford lost the contest and left town. 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. The Mystery Novelist Who Committed a Real Murder, Boston Marathon Bombings Survivors, 10 Years Later, A Complete Timeline of Adnan Syeds Trial, Release, The Siege at Waco, In the Words of Who Was There, Ted Bundy Maybe Murdered Dozens More than We Knew, How Waco Inspired Timothy McVeighs OKC Bombing. 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. For betraying their gang leader, and feeling restless hours after the killing, Ford... ] Others have argued that Jesse was at the time still bedridden with his brother Frank served for the Army! Edwards made sure to highlight such techniques when creating an image of James as a Coward and traitor killing! 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