Jesse and Frank James

For other uses, see Jesse and Frank James (disambiguation).

Jesse James
Jesse James
Born
September 5 1847(1847-09-05) Clay County, Missouri, USA
Died
April 3 1882 (aged 34) St. Joseph, Missouri, USA

Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw and the most famous member of the James-Younger gang. He became a figure of folklore after his death. He is sometimes labeled a gunfighter, mostly inaccurately.

Early life

Jesse Woodson James was born in Clay County, Missouri, near the site of present day Kearney. His father, Robert James, was a farmer and Baptist minister from Kentucky who helped found William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. Robert James traveled to California to prospect for gold and died there when Jesse was three years old. After his father's death, his mother Zerelda (nicknamed Zee) remarried, first to Benjamin Simms, and then to a doctor named Reuben Samuel. After their marriage in 1855, Samuel moved into the James home.

In the tumultuous years leading up to the American Civil War, Zerelda and Reuben acquired a total of seven slaves and had them grow tobacco on their well-appointed farm. In addition to Jesse's older brother, Alexander Franklin "Frank" James and younger sister Susan Lavenia James, Jesse gained four half-siblings: Sarah Louisa Samuel (sometimes Sarah Ellen), John Thomas Samuel, Fannie Quantrill Samuel, and Archie Peyton Samuel. Sarah later married a man named John C. Harmon.

The James farm was visited in 1863 by Federal troops looking for information regarding Confederate guerrilla groups. The soldiers beat young Jesse and hanged his stepfather (who survived). Shortly after that, in 1864, Jesse joined a guerrilla unit led by Bloody Bill Anderson, who led the Centralia Massacre. Jesse joined at about the same time Anderson's group split from Quantrill's Raiders, so there is some uncertainty regarding whether Jesse James ever served under Quantrill.

After the Civil War

Jesse and Frank James, 1872

File:Clay-savings.png

Clay County Savings in Liberty

The end of the Civil War left Missouri in shambles. The pro-Union Republicans took control of the state government keeping the Democrats from voting or holding public office. Jesse James was shot by Union cavalrymen when he attempted to surrender a month after the war's end, leaving him badly wounded. During his recovery, his first cousin, Zerelda "Zee" Mimms (named after his mother), nursed him back to health, and he started a nine-year courtship with her. She eventually became his wife. Meanwhile, some of his old war comrades, led by Archie Clement, refused to return to a peaceful life.

In 1866, this group (possibly including James, though he may still have been recovering from his wound) conducted the first armed robbery of a US bank in post-Civil War times, holding up the Clay County Savings Association in the town of Liberty, in which a bystanding student of William Jewell College was killed. They staged several more robberies over the next few years, though state authorities (and local lynch mobs) decimated the ranks of the older bushwhackers.

By 1868, Frank and Jesse James joined Cole Younger in robbing a bank at Russellville, Kentucky. But Jesse did not become famous until December 1869, when he and Frank (most likely) robbed the Daviess County Savings Association in Gallatin, Missouri. The robbery netted little, but James (it appears) shot and killed the cashier, mistakenly believing the man to be Samuel P. Cox, the militia officer who killed "Bloody Bill" Anderson during the Civil War. James's self-proclaimed attempt at revenge, and the daring escape he and Frank made through the middle of a posse shortly afterward, put his name in the newspapers for the first time.

The robbery marked James's emergence as the most famous of the former guerrillas turned outlaw, and it started an alliance with John Newman Edwards, a Kansas City Times editor who was campaigning to return the old Confederates to power in Missouri. Edwards published Jesse's letters and made him into a symbol of Rebel defiance of Reconstruction through his elaborate editorials and praiseful reporting. Jesse James's own role in creating his rising public profile is debated by historians and biographers, though politics certainly surrounded his outlaw career and enhanced his notoriety.

Meanwhile, the James brothers, along with Cole Younger and his brothers, Clell Miller and other former Confederates—now constituting the James-Younger Gang—continued a remarkable string of robberies from Iowa to Texas, and from Kansas to West Virginia. They robbed banks, stagecoaches and a fair in Kansas City, often in front of large crowds, even hamming it up for the audience. In 1873, they turned to train robbery, derailing the Rock Island train in Adair, Iowa. Their later train robberies had a lighter touch—in fact only twice in all of Jesse James's train hold-ups did he rob passengers, because he typically limited himself to the express safe in the baggage car. Such techniques fostered the Robin Hood image that Edwards was creating in his newspapers. Jesse James is thought to have shot 15 people during his bandit career.

Pinkertons engaged

Express companies turned to the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1874 to stop the James-Younger Gang. The Chicago-based agency worked primarily against urban professional criminals such as counterfeiters, safe crackers, con men, and sneak-thiefs. The former guerrillas, supported by many old Confederates in Missouri, proved to be too much for them. One agent (Joseph Whicher) was dispatched to infiltrate Zerelda Samuel's farm and turned up dead shortly afterward. Two others (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, though he killed John Younger before he died.

Allan Pinkerton, the agency's founder and leader, took on the case as a personal vendetta. Working with old Unionists around Jesse James's family's farm, he staged a raid on the homestead on the night of January 25, 1875. An incendiary device thrown inside by the detectives exploded, killing James's young half-brother and blowing off one of James's mother's arms. Afterward, Pinkerton denied that the raid's intent was to burn the house down.

However, a 1994 book written by Robert Dyer entitled Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri (ISBN-13: 978-0826209597) contains the following: "In early 1991, a Jesse James researcher named Ted Yeatman found an interesting letter among the papers of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The letter was written by Allan Pinkerton to a lawyer working for him in Liberty, Missouri, named Samuel Hardwicke. In the letter Pinkerton tells Hardwicke that when the men go to the James home to look for Jesse they should find some way to 'burn the house down.' He suggests they use some type of firebomb."

The bloody fiasco did more than all of Edwards's columns to turn Jesse James into a sympathetic figure for much of the public. A bill that lavishly praised the James and Younger brothers and offered them amnesty was only narrowly defeated in the state legislature. Former Confederates, allowed to vote and hold office again, voted a limit on reward offers the governor could make for fugitives (when the only reward offers higher than the new limit previously made had been for the James brothers). But Frank and Jesse married (Jesse to his cousin Zee Mimms) and moved to the Nashville, Tennessee, area, probably to save their mother from further assaults.

Downfall of the gang

On September 7, 1876, the James-Younger gang attempted their most daring raid to date, on the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota. Cole and Bob Younger later stated that they selected the bank because of its connection to two Union generals and Radical Republican politicians: Adelbert Ames, the governor of Mississippi during Reconstruction, and Benjamin Butler, Ames's father-in-law and the stern Union commander in occupied New Orleans.

However, the robbery was thwarted when 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. The citizens of Northfield had taken notice and were arriving with guns. Before leaving the bank, Frank James shot the unarmed Heywood in the head. When the bandits exited the bank, they found the rest of their gang dead or wounded amid a hail of gunfire. Suspicious townsmen had confronted the bandits, ran to get their arms, and opened up from under the cover of windows and the corners of buildings. The gang barely escaped, leaving two of their number and two unarmed townspeople (including Heywood) dead in Northfield. A massive manhunt ensued. The James brothers eventually split from the others and escaped to Missouri. The Youngers and one other bandit, Charlie Pitts, were soon discovered. A brisk gunfight left Pitts dead and the Youngers all prisoners. Except for Frank and Jesse James, the James-Younger Gang was destroyed.

Jesse and Frank returned to the Nashville area, where they went by the names of Thomas Howard and B.J. Woodson, respectively. Frank seemed to settle down, but Jesse remained restless. He recruited a new gang in 1879 and returned to crime, holding up a train at Glendale, Missouri, on October 8, 1879. The robbery began a spree of crimes, including the hold-up of the federal paymaster of a canal project in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and two more train robberies. But the new gang did not consist of old, battle-hardened guerrillas; they soon turned against each other or were captured, while James grew paranoid, killing one gang member and frightening away another. The authorities grew suspicious, and by 1881 the brothers were forced to return to Missouri. In December, Jesse rented a house in Saint Joseph, Missouri, not far from where he had been born and raised. Frank, however, decided to move to safer territory, heading east to Virginia.

Murder

Jesse James's home in St. Joseph where he was shot

With his gang depleted by arrests, deaths, and defections, Jesse thought he had only two men left whom he could trust: brothers Bob and Charley Ford. Charley had been out on raids with Jesse before, but Bob was an eager new recruit. To better protect himself, Jesse asked the Ford brothers to move in with him and his family. Little did he know that Bob Ford had been conducting secret negotiations with Thomas T. Crittenden, the Missouri governor, to bring in Jesse James. Crittenden had made the capture of the James brothers his top priority; in his inaugural address he declared that no political motives could be allowed to keep them from justice. Barred by law from offering a sufficiently large reward, he had turned to the railroad and express corporations to put up a $10,000 bounty for each of them.

On April 3, 1882, as James prepared for another robbery, he climbed a chair to dust a picture. It was a rare moment. He had his guns off, having removed them earlier when the unusual heat forced him to remove his coat. As he moved in and out of the house, he feared the pistols would attract attention from the passers-by. Seizing the opportunity, the Ford brothers drew their pistols. Bob was the fastest, firing a shot into the back of Jesse's head, killing him instantly.

The assassination proved a national sensation. The Fords made no attempt to hide their role. As crowds pressed into the little house in St. Joseph to see the dead bandit, they surrendered to the authorities, pleaded guilty, were sentenced to hang. However, they were promptly pardoned by the governor. Indeed, the governor's quick pardon suggested that he was well aware that the brothers intended to kill, rather than capture, Jesse James. (The Ford brothers, like many who knew James, never believed it was practical to try to capture such a dangerous man.) The implication that the chief executive of Missouri conspired to kill a private citizen startled the public and helped create a new legend in James.

The Fords received a portion of the reward (some of it also went to law enforcement officials active in the plan) and fled Missouri. Zerelda, Jesse’s mother, appeared at the coroner’s inquest, deeply anguished, and loudly denounced Dick Liddil, a former gang member who was cooperating with state authorities. Charles Ford committed suicide in May 1884. Bob Ford was later killed by a shotgun blast to the throat in his tent saloon in Creede, Colorado, on June 8, 1892. His killer, Edward Capehart O'Kelley, was sentenced to life in prison. Because of health problems, his sentence was commuted, and O'Kelley was released on October 3, 1902.

Jesse James’s epitaph, selected by his mother, reads: In Loving Memory of my Beloved Son, Murdered by a Traitor and Coward Whose Name is not Worthy to Appear Here.

Family

Jesse married his cousin Zerelda Mimms. They had four children: Jesse James, Jr. (b. 1875), Gould James (b. 1878), Montgomery James (b. 1878), and Mary Susan James (b. 1879). Twins Gould and Montgomery died in infancy.

Rumors of survival

Rumors of Jesse James's survival proliferated almost as soon as the newspapers announced his death. Some said that Ford did not kill James but someone else, in an elaborate plot to allow him to escape justice. Some stories say he lived in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as late as 1948, and a man named J. Frank Dalton, who claimed to be Jesse James, died in Granbury, Texas, in 1951 at age 103. Some stories claim the real recipient of Ford's bullet was a man named Charles Bigelow, reported to have been living with James's wife at the time. Generally speaking, however, these tales received little credence, then or now; Jesse's wife, Zee, died alone and in poverty. The body buried in Missouri as Jesse James was exhumed in 1995 and, according to a report by Anne C. Stone, Ph.D.; James E. Starrs, L.L.M.; and Mark Stoneking, Ph.D. titled Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of the Presumptive Remains of Jesse James, does appear to be the remains of Jesse James. A court order was granted in 2000 to exhume and test Dalton's body, but the wrong body was exhumed. ^{[citation needed]} Some people belived that Jesse James hid in the attic of a two story house in Dublin,Texas while he was hiding from the law.

Legacy

During his lifetime, Jesse James was largely celebrated by former Confederates, to whom he appealed directly in his letters to the press. Indeed, some historians credit him with contributing to the rise of Confederates to dominance in Missouri politics (by the 1880s, for example, both U.S. Senators from the state had been identified with the Confederate cause). His return to crime after the fall of Reconstruction, however, was devoid of political overtones, but it helped cement his place in American memory as a simple but remarkably effective bandit. During the Populist and Progressive eras, he emerged as America's Robin Hood, standing up against corporations in defense of the small farmer (a role he never played during his lifetime^{[citation needed]}). This image is still seen in films, as well as songs and folklore. Although he remains a controversial symbol in the cultural battles over the place of the Civil War in American history, he is regarded as a hero by the neo-Confederate movement.

Irish-American Lucchese Family associate Jimmy Burke named his two sons, Frank James Burke and Jesse James Burke, after the James brothers.

Popular culture

A dime novel featuring Jesse James.

Festivals

The Defeat of Jesse James Days are celebrated every year in Northfield, Minnesota during the first weekend of September to honor its victory over the Jesse James Gang. The festival is among the largest outdoor celebrations in Minnesota. Thousands of visitors witness reenactments of the robbery, watch championship rodeo, enjoy a carnival, watch the parade, explore arts and crafts expositions, and attend musical performances.

Music and literature

Jesse James has been the subject of many songs, books, articles and movies throughout the years. Jesse is often used as a fictional character in many Western novels, starting with some of the original dime novels, including some that were published while he was still alive. For instance, in Willa Cather's My Antonia, the narrator is said to be reading a book entitled 'Life of Jesse James' - probably a dime novel. He also found his place in John Lee Hooker's famous song I'm bad like Jesse James.

Movies and television

• Jesse James Under the Black Flag, 1921, Jesse James, Jr.
• Jesse James, 1939, Tyrone Power
• I Shot Jesse James, 1949, Reed Hadley
• True Story of Jesse James, 1957, Robert Wagner
• Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, 1966, John Lupton
• The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid, 1972, Robert Duvall
• The Long Riders, 1980, James Keach
• The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James, 1986 Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson
• Frank and Jesse, 1994, Rob Lowe
• Purgatory (film), 1999, J.D. Souther
• American Outlaws, 2001, Colin Farrell
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007, Brad Pitt
• Jesse James: Legend, Outlaw, Terrorist, 2007, Discovery HD

• In an episode of The Twilight Zone, "Showdown with Rance McGrew"
• In an episode of The Brady Bunch, Bobby upsets his parents and teachers when he decides to idolize Jesse James as a hero. His father teaches him "the truth" about Jesse to put an end to it.

• In an episode of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? Frank and Jesse James are out in a storm one night when they are taken in by a kind old woman who gives them soup and a bed for the night. She explains that she is getting evicted the next day as she can't afford to pay her rent. The next morning, Frank and Jesse leave the old woman $900 to cover her house, and a note telling her to make sure she gets a cash receipt. They are then seen robbing the bank manager of the money. The bank manager threatens to put a price on their heads and they respond, "We already got a price on our heads, you tell your friends, you just got robbed by Frank and Jesse James."

• In an episode of Lois and Clark, Superman (Clark Kent) goes back in time and meets Jesse James.

• In the episode of Little House on the Prairie titled The Aftermmath, Jesse and Frank James take refuge in Walnut Grove after a failed robbery attempt. The arrival of pursuing bounty hunters precipitates a civic crisis in the town, whose leaders are reluctant to turn the James brothers over to a group bent on summarily executing them. The crisis escalates radically when the James brothers take Mary Ingalls hostage. (This episode also suggests, contrary to history, that Bob Ford was a law-abiding citizen who harbored a desire for revenge for Jesse and Frank's murder of his brother during Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas.)

• In the U.S. version of the Pokémon anime series, the characters Jessie and James are named after him.

• In The Young Riders (1989-1992), Jesse James appears in the last season (91-92) as one of the Pony Express riders. In the show, this occurs before he becomes an outlaw.

• Jesse G. James of the TV Series Monster Garage is a distant cousin of the outlaw.

• PBS released a documentary in 2006 in its American Experience series dedicated to James.

• Jesse James appeared in Springfield's graveyard in the "Treehouse of Horror XIII" episode of The Simpsons.

• Jesse James is mentioned in the opening song in Smokey and the Bandit ("You've heard about the legend of Jesse James…")

• Just like Jesse James is the title of a movie that appears in Wim Wenders' Don't Come Knocking (2005), in which Sam Shepard plays an aging western movie star whose first success was with that movie.

Museums

Museums devoted to Jesse James are scattered throughout the Midwest at many of the places where he robbed.

• James Farm in Kearney, Missouri: The James farm in Kearney, Missouri, remained in private hands until 1974 when Clay County bought it and turned it into a museum.[1]
• Jesse James Home Museum: the house where Jesse James was killed in south St. Joseph was moved in 1939 to the Belt Highway on St. Joseph's east side to attract tourists. In 1977 it was moved to its current location, near Patee House, which was the headquarters of the Pony Express. At its current location the house is two blocks from the home's original location and is owned and operated by the Pony Express Historical Association.[2]
• First National Bank of Northfield: The Northfield Historical Society in Northfield, Minnesota, has restored the building that housed the First National Bank, the scene of the disastrous 1876 raid.[3]
• Heaton Bowman Funeral Home, 36th and Frederick Avenue, St. Joseph, MO. The funeral home's predesessor conducted the original autopsy and funeral for Jesse James. If you ask politely at the front desk the staff will escort you to a small room in the back that holds the log book and other documentation.
• In Asdee, North Kerry, Eire - the home of his ancestors, there was a small museum and the parish priest, Canon William Ferris, said a solemn requiem mass for Jesse's soul every year on 3rd April. See Fintan O'Toole's book, "A Mass for Jesse James"

See also

• American Old West
• Frank James
• Belle Starr

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

These are various biographies, articles and books that address Jesse James:

• Hobsbawm, Eric J.: Bandits, Pantheon, 1981
• Koblas, John J., Faithful Unto Death, Northfield Historical Society Press, 2001
• Ries, Judith, Ed O'Kelley: The Man Who Murdered Jesse James' Murderer, Stewart Printing & Publishing Co., 1994.
• Settle, William A., Jr.: Jesse James Was His Name
• Settle, William A., Jr.: Fact and Fiction Concerning the Careers of the Notorious James Brothers of Missouri 1977
• Slotkin, Richard: Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century America, Atheneum, 1985
• Stiles, T.J.: Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002
• Stone, A.C., Starrs, J.E., Stoneking, M.: Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the presumptive remains of Jesse James, Journal of Forensic Sciences 46, (2001)
• Thelen, David, Paths of Resistance: Tradition and Dignity in Industrializing Missouri, Oxford University Press, 1986
• White, Richard, "Outlaw Gangs of the Middle Border: American Social Bandits, Western Historical Quarterly 12, no. 4 (October 1981)
• Dyer, Robert, "Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri", University of Missouri Press, 1994
• Yeatman, Ted P.: Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend, Cumberland House, 2001

External links

• Official website for the Family of Jesse James
• Northfield Historical Society
• Northfield Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Jesse James Home Museum
• St. Joseph Visitors Bureau
• Jesse James on Legends of America
• John Koblas, author of several Jesse James books
• T.J. Stiles's biography, Sources and Essays
• Documentary on Jesse James
• Jesse Woodson James on Find-A-Grave
• James James 2nd Site on Find-A-Grave
• Podcast audio reenactment of the first daylight bank robbery in the U.S.
• Friends of the James Farm, Historical preservation group
• Ancestors of the Outlaw Jesse James
• Descendants of Rev. Robert Sallee James
• Example of a Jesse James autograph
• Biography resource dedicated to Jesse James
• Historical Newspaper accounts of James visit to Deadwood
• The story you haven't heard
• Pedigree Chart of Jesse James
• Photographs of Jesse James

ca:Jesse James cy:Jesse James de:Jesse James es:Jesse James eo:Jesse James fr:Jesse James is:Jesse James it:Jesse James he:ג'סי ג'יימס nl:Jesse James ja:ジェシー・ジェイムズ pl:Jesse James (przestępca) pt:Jesse James fi:Jesse James sv:Jesse James

Frank James
Frank James
Born
January 10 1843(1843-01-10) Clay County, Missouri, USA
Died
February 18 1915 (aged 72) {{{place_of_death}}}

Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was an American outlaw and older brother of Jesse James.

Childhood

He was born in Kearney, Clay County, Missouri to Baptist minister Reverend Robert Sallee James (July 7, 1818 – August 18, 1850) and his wife Zerelda Cole (January 29, 1825 – February 10, 1911), who had moved there from Kentucky. Frank was the first of three children.

As a child, Frank developed an interest in his late father's sizeable library, particularly in the works of his favorite author William Shakespeare. Census records show that Frank attended school throughout his childhood, and he reportedly wanted to become a teacher.

Civil War

In 1861, when Frank James was eighteen years old, the American Civil War began. Missouri was soon caught up in the war. Though a majority of Missourians probably did not want the state to secede from the Union, a significant number nevertheless had pro-Confederate sympathies (including the outspoken Zerelda Cole). Missourians would serve in the armies of both sides and a pro-Union faction challenge the states elected pro-Confederate governor. Frank James joined the Missouri State Guard on May 4, 1861, opposing the Union troops who intended to gain control of the divided state.

The State Guard's first major engagement was the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861. The state troops fought under Major General Sterling Price and alongside with the Confederate troops of Brigadier General Ben McCulloch. They numbered in all about 12,000 men. Opposing them was the Army of the West under Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, totalling 5,400 men. Lyon was killed leading a charge, and his army, under Major General Samuel D. Sturgis, then retreated to Springfield, Missouri. The battle cost the Confederates 1,095 men and the Union 1,235 men, and allowed the victorious Confederates to advance farther north.

On September 13, 1861, Sterling Price's State Guard, including Frank James, besieged Lexington, Missouri, garrisoned by 3,500 men of the Union army, under Colonel James A. Mulligan. On September 20, Price's men finally attacked, and by the early afternoon Mulligan and his men had surrendered. The Confederates had lost 100 men, while the Union forces' losses were estimated at 1,774 men. The Battle of Lexington was the second major victory for the State Guard, and the Confederates gained control of southwestern Missouri by October.

Frank James fell ill and was left behind when the Confederate forces later retreated. He surrendered to Union forces, was paroled and was allowed to return home. However, he was arrested by the local pro-Union militia and not released until he signed an oath of allegiance to the Union.

A bitter guerrilla conflict was soon being waged across the state between bands of Confederate irregulars (commonly known as bushwhackers) and the Federal forces. By early 1863, Frank had joined a guerrilla band led by a former saddler named Fernando Scott. Before long he had switched to the infamous William Clarke Quantrill, attacking both the Union forces and their civilian Union supporters in western Missouri.

The warfare was savage, with atrocities committed by both sides. Militiamen searching for Frank and Fernando Scott's band, for example, raided the Samuel farm and briefly (but not fatally) hanged Dr. Reuben Samuel, Frank's stepfather, torturing him to reveal the location of the guerrillas. Shortly afterward, Frank joined Quantrill's band in the August 21, 1863, Lawrence Massacre.

Outlaw years and retirement

For the career of the James brothers after the Civil War, see Jesse James.

Jesse and Frank James, 1872

During his years as a bandit, Frank was involved in at least four shootouts between 1868 and 1876, resulting in the deaths of four bank employees or citizens. The most famous incident was the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota raid on September 7, 1876, that ended with the death or capture of most of the gang.

Aaron Mittenthal, the future grandparent of composer Aaron Copland, who would go on to romantisize the life of the contemporary outlaw Billy the Kid in his 1938 ballet, hired Frank James to work at Dallas wholesale and retail dry-goods store. It was James' running off with the store's profits that convinced the Mittenthals to leave Texas and return to New York City.

Five months after the murder of his brother Jesse in 1882, Frank boarded a train to Jefferson City, Missouri, where he had an appointment with the governor in the state capitol. Placing his holster in Governor Crittenden's hands, he explained,

"I have been hunted for twenty-one years, have literally lived in the saddle, have never known a day of perfect peace. It was one long, anxious, inexorable, eternal vigil." He then ended his statement by saying, "Governor, I haven't let another man touch my gun since 1861."

Accounts say that Frank surrendered with the understanding that he would not be extradited to Northfield, Minnesota

Frank was tried for only two of the robberies/murders – one in Gallatin, Missouri for the July 15, 1881 robbery of the Rock Island Line train at Winston, Missouri in which the train engineer and a passenger were killed and other trial was in Huntsville, Alabama for the March 11, 1881 robbery of a United States Army Corps of Engineers payroll at Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

James was found not guilty by juries in both cases. Missouri was to keep jurisdiction over him with other charges but they never came to trial and they kept him from being extradited to Minnesota.

In the last thirty years of his life, James worked a variety of jobs, including as a shoe salesman and then as a theater guard in St. Louis—one of the theater's spins to attract patrons was their use of the phrase "Come get your ticket punched by the legendary Frank James." In 1902, former Missourian Sam Hildreth, a leading thoroughbred horse trainer and owner, hired James as his betting commissioner at the Fair Grounds Race Track [4] in New Orleans.

In his final years, he returned to the James Farm, giving tours for the then-significant sum of 25 cents. He died there on February 18, 1915, aged 72 years.

References

• Copland, Aaron and Perlis, Vivian: Copland - 1900 Through 1942, St. Martin's/Marek, 1984.
• Settle, William A., Jr.: Jesse James Was His Name, or, Fact and Fiction Concerning the Careers of the Notorious James Brothers of Missouri, University of Nebraska Press, 1977
• Yeatman, Ted P.: Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend, Cumberland House, 2001
• Stiles, T.J.: Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002

External links

• Official website for the Family of Frank & Jesse James: Stray Leaves, A James Family in America Since 1650
• John Koblas, author of several Jesse James books
• A short profile of the James brothers
• Biographical information for the James Family
• The James brothers' familiar connection to other notorious outlaws
• An examination of the James Legend
• Summary of the Battle of Wilson's Creek where Frank fought
• Summary of the Battle of Lexington where Frank fought
• A history of Missouri during the Civil War
• A site devoted to the Missouri Partisan Rangers and their history
• A description of the raid at Lawrence, Kansas
• The website for T.J. Stiles's biography of Jesse James, with essays and primary sources
• Frank James on Find-A-Grave

ca:Frank James de:Frank James fr:Frank James nl:Frank James sv:Frank James

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Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Jesse and Frank James  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Jesse and Frank James"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.