|
Jesse Woodson James
in Platte City,
Missouri
in 1864
This image available for
photographic prints and downloads
HERE!
Jesse Woodson James
(1847-1882)
– Born in
Clay County,
Missouri
on September 5, 1847, he and his brother Frank were brought up by
their mother after their father left for the
California
gold fields and never returned. Slave owners, the family
supported the Confederate cause during the
Civil War and when
William Quantrill
established a band of guerilla fighters, both
Frank and
Jesse
joined him. After the war,
Jesse
became the
famous
outlaw and leader of the
James-Younger Gang, robbed banks, stagecoaches and trains for the
next sixteen years.
On April 3, 1882,
Robert (Bob) Ford and his brother
Charles called upon
Jesse
at his home in
St. Joseph,
Missouri. The brothers had joined the
James Gang and while
Jesse
was laying out his plans for the next holdup, he turned to adjust a
picture on the wall. While his back was turned,
Bob Ford shot him from behind.
James
was 34 years-old.
Ford was forever after known as "that dirty little coward.” His brother
Charles, so feared for his life by retribution by Frank
James,
that he committed suicide just two years later.
Bob Ford, was himself, shot in 1892.
More ...
Return to
Outlaws
Return to the
Old
West
Return to
Vintage Photographs
|
|
