Find an Outlaw

We are rough men and used to

 rough ways.

– Bob Younger to a newspaper reporter following the 1876 Northfield, Minnesota raid.

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Though the six men who hanged the pair were charged with murder, key witnesses began to mysteriously die or disappear and all of them were acquitted. Both Averell and "Cattle Kate" were "tried" in the press, which was owned or influenced by the cattle barons, and branded as "outlaws."

The main instigator behind the hanging of James Averell and Cattle Kate was a man named Albert J. Bothwell, who would later acquire the homesteads of both murdered victims. More ...

John Joshua (J.J.) Webb (1847–1882) - Both an lawman and an outlaw, Webb served as a Dodge City, Kansas Deputy Marshal before moving on to Las Vegas, New Mexico. There, he served as a "crooked lawman" when the Dodge City Gang was in control. More ...

Richard “Little Dick” West (18??-1898) – Though to have been born in Texas, West was working as a cowboy on the Halsell ranch in Oklahoma when he met Bill Doolin and joined up with the Oklahombres in 1892. He was with the gang when they robbed the bank in Southwest City, Missouri and was wounded in a gunfight that ensued. He continued to ride with Doolin until he was killed in 1896. The next year, West helped to form the Jennings Gang, who made a number of bungled train robbery attempts. After failing miserably, the gang broke up and though the other four member were caught and sentenced to jail in 1897, West remained on the lamb until the next year.  Pursued by the “Three Guardsmen” – Bill Tilghman, Heck Thomas and Chris Madsen, the lawmen finally tracked him down near Guthrie, Oklahoma. On April 8, 1898, when he was approached by Thomas and Tilgman, he refused to surrender and in the ultimate gunfight that took place, as killed. He is buried in the Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, Oklahoma near Bill Doolin.

Ben Wheeler - See Ben Robertson

William Henry Whitley, aka: Bill, Will (1864-1888) - The co-leader of a gang sometimes referred to as the Bill Whitley Gang, and at other times, the Brack Cornett Gang, Whitley was a bank and train robber in Texas during the late 1880's. Born on September 7, 1864, in Itawamba County, Missisippi, the youngest child of William Taylor Whitley and Elizabeth Henry Whitley. His older brothers served as Confederate soldiers in the Civil War and William grew up in the wild and violent lawlessness that swirled throughout the south when the war was over. When his older brother was killed by a lawman in 1884, "Bill" launched his own career of violence, during which he would allegedly kill eight men. Though history tells us that some of Whitley's descendants say that his exploits were greatly exaggerated and that he was a good man, most legends claim that he participated in some eight bank robberies and one train robbery. Somewhere along the line he married a woman named Lucinda "Cord" Cox Whitley of Lampasas, Texas. His marriage to Lucinda soon began to create problems for her relatives, when some were arrested for harboring a criminal and others charged with being his confederates. The couple had two children, Minnie Margaret Whitley, born in November, 1884 and Temperance Alice Whitley born in March, 1886. The "heat" was getting so bad that Whitley fled to England for a time, leaving his wife and children in the care of her brother, who moved them to Coryell County, Texas. When he returned, he took up with Brack Cornett, and a gang of outlaws who began to actively rob trains and banks.

In September, 1888, the Bill Whitley Gang planned to rob a a Southern Pacific train out of Harwood, Texas. However, their plans were foisted when U.S. Marshal John Rankin somehow found out about the scheme. On the day of the planned robbery, Rankin, along with Deputy U.S. Marshal, Duval West, and several Texas Rangers hid on board the train. Just three miles outside of Harwood, the gang predictably stopped the train but were effectively driven off by the lawmen. Though followed, the would-be robbers were able to escape. Pursued more than ever by numerous posses, the gang were finally run to ground by U.S. Deputy Marshals just a few days later on September 25, 1888 in Floresville, Texas. When the law caught up with them, the inevitable gunfight occurred, in which Bill Whitley was killed and another gang member taken prisoner. Bill Whitley was just 24 years-old. Brack Cornett was able to escape and fled to Arizona. However, one Texas Ranger, Alfred Allee, doggedly pursued Cornett to Frio, Arizona, where he caught up with him. Gunplay erupted once again and when the smoke cleared, Cornett was dead.

Thomas Willis (18??-1890) - An outlaw operating in Indian Territory, Willis robbed and murdered W.P. Williams with the help of John Billee in the Kiamichi Mountains of Oklahoma. Wanted for robbery and murder, he was captured by U.S. Deputy Marshals, Will Ayers, James Wilkerson, and Perry DuVall and taken to Fort Smith, Arkansas where he was hanged on January 16, 1890.

William “Billy” Wilson - See D. L. Anderson

Dick Woods - See Richard Barter

Code Young, aka: Bob Harris, Tom Harris, Cole Estes (1872-1896) - Hailing from Texas, Young was working as a cowboy near Roswell, New Mexico when he hooked up with the likes of George Musgrave. The pair then joined Will "Black Jack" Christian's High Fives Gang, and began to rustle cattle, and rob banks, trains, and post offices. However, on the night of October 2, 1896, the gang attempted a train robbery in Rio Puerco, New Mexico, luck would run out for Young. After the Atlantic and Pacific train made a brief stop, a shot was fired, striking the brakeman's lantern. By happenstance, U.S. Deputy Marshal Will Loomis, just happened to be on the train, and upon hearing the shot, went to investigate. As an engineer was trying to uncouple the Express Car at gunpoint, Loomis arrived and fired at the outlaws, leaving Young dead. The other bandits quickly fled

Younger Brothers

Thomas Coleman "Cole" Younger (1844-1916) – Cole was an outlaw and the leader of the James-Younger Gang. He was wounded and captured following the Northfield, Minnesota bank raid on September 7, 1876. After serving more than twenty years in prison, Cole was paroled in 1901 but was not allowed to leave the State of Minnesota. Cole, along with brother Jim sold tombstones and insurance in Minnesota. Cole received an official pardon in 1903 and returned home to Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Cole reunited with Frank James in a touring Wild West show for a time and also went on the lecture circuit preaching the evils of crime.  

Later, he was known as an elderly churchgoer in his hometown and died quietly in 1916. He is buried in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Cole Younger after having been injured in the Northfield, Minnesota raid.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

Jim Younger committed suicide while on parole in Minnesota after serving 25 years in prison for the Northfield raid.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

John Harrison Younger (1851-1874) – The younger brother of Cole and Jim Younger, John was the 11^th of 14 children born in the Younger clan. When brothers Cole and Jim joined Quantrill’s Guerillas during the Civil War, John and his brother, Bob, were too young, and stayed home to look after their mother and sisters.

Robert “Bob” Ewing Younger (1853-1889) – The youngest of the Younger brothers, Bob was the 13th of 14 children. When brothers Cole and Jim joined Quantrill’s Guerillas during the Civil War, Bob and his brother, John, were too young, and stayed home to look after their mother and sisters. During the war, he saw his father killed by Union soldiers and his home burned to the ground. When his brothers formed the James-Younger Gang, along with Frank and Jesse James in 1866, Bob joined them and for the next ten years robbed banks, trains, and stage coaches across Missouri, Kansas, and other nearby states.

On September 21, 1876, the James-Younger Gang robbed the bank in Northfield, Minnesota and when they killed a clerk, the townspeople began to fight back. In the ensuing shootout Bob was wounded in the chest and elbow. All three Younger brothers were captured and sent to prison. While there, Bob contracted tuberculosis and died on September 16, 1889. His body was returned to his home where is buried in the Lee Summit Historical Cemetery In Lees Summit, Missouri.

Bob Younger was the baby of the Younger brothers.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

Also See the Full Stories:

Bunco Men, Cardsharps, and Scoundrels

Explorers, Mountain Men, Trappers & Traders

Gunfighters & Lawmen of the American West

Native Americans - The First Owners of America

Old West Outlaws

Vigilantes

Women of the West