What was jesse james known for

Though the James family were slave owners, they were said to have been kind to their slaves, often allowing the children to sleep in the main house. When the war was over, the former slaves remained at the farm long after they were set free.

Jesse was living in Kansas City, Missouri with his aunt in , when he fell in love with his cousin, Zerelda Mimms. This; however, did not stop the pair from beginning to court. He was known as a very reliable young man, always dressing well, reading his bible and regularly attending church. With the bloody war finally over, Frank and Jesse turned to outlawry. Claiming to have been forced into a life of crime because the family had been persecuted during the war, Frank and Jesse became the leaders of a band of outlaws which included the Younger Brothers , Jim Reed, and other ex- Confederates.

Jesse justified much of his actions by his hatred of the Industrial North, feeling as if he were continuing the fight through his outlaw activities. Beginning in , the gang robbed their way across the western frontier for the next fifteen years.

As they made their escape, gunfire erupted and an innocent year-old boy, by the name of George Wymore, was killed. For the next several years, the gang continued in their crime spree robbing 8 more banks and a Kansas City Ticket office before robbing their first train. See the list of banks on the James Gang Timeline. Not limiting who they robbed or killed, sometimes innocent bystanders were wounded or lost their lives while witnessing one of their crimes.

During these years, the gang was constantly trailed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Despite their criminal and often violent acts, James and his partners were much adored. While James did harass railroad executives who unjustly seized private land for the railways, modern biographers note that he did so for personal gain.

Any humanitarian acts were more fiction than fact. In fact, they could be ruthless. Jesse hated him and shot the man in the back of the head. When clerk William McDowell ran for the door, he too was shot but survived the whole affair.

By the early s, robbing banks was getting riskier as banks increased their security with time lock vaults. Louis Dispatch, did what the Pinkertons had failed to do, track down Jesse. Though the brothers settled down for a time with their new brides, the gang was blamed for almost every bank, stagecoach, or train robbery that occurred almost anywhere in the west.

Zerelda, the ever protective mother, began her own public relations campaign, spreading the folksy tales of the James gang and their roles as Robin Hood figures, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

The agency had been hired in by several bankers and railroad owners to track down the deadly James-Younger Gang. In January a Pinkerton agent Jack Ladd was posing as a field hand at work on the farm across the road from the James Farm. The farm, belonging to neighbor Dan Askew, served as a hideout for the Pinkerton spy.

One afternoon, the agent thought he spotted Jesse and Frank at the farmhouse, though actually the brothers were miles away.

On January 26, six Pinkerton reinforcements surrounded the farmhouse and tossed a smoke bomb into the house, in an attempt to lure them out. On April 12, , Dan Askew, the neighbor who had sheltered Jack Ladd, the Pinkerton Spy, was found with a bullet in his brain at his home.

Later in the same month, Jack Ladd was also found shot and killed. After moving around for a while, Jesse and Zee welcomed their first child — Jesse Edward on August 31, , on a leased farm near Waverly, Missouri. Jesse and Zee used the aliases, Thomas and Mary Howard.

Jesse dyed his light-colored hair dark and grew a beard to conceal his real identity while laying low for many months, and took to farming with his wife. But, not for long. It was at this farm where the plans for the Northfield Minnesota Raid were devised. Planning on making Mankato their first target, Jesse was recognized and they quickly left town. Riding in pairs, they headed for Northfield, 50 miles to the northeast.

Meeting on the outskirts of town on September 6, , they cased the First National Bank, making plans to rob it first thing in the morning. The attempted robbery was to be the demise of the infamous James-Younger Gang. When ordered to open the safe, bank cashier, Heyman, refused to do so and ducked down. Angered, Jesse put a pistol to his head and shot him. The shot was heard beyond the bank and when the bank alarm began to go off the Northfield citizens opened fire upon the gang.

Charley Pitts and Bill Chadwell were killed. Cole, Jim and Bob Younger were badly wounded but managed to escape. However, they were captured just one week later, just east of Mankato. The Younger Brothers were sentenced to life terms in prison. Frank and Jesse escaped back to Missouri, unharmed. With new gang members, the robberies continued over the next several years including a stage hold-up near Mammoth Cave, Kentucky and a bank robbery in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and a train robbery in Winston, Missouri.

Joseph , Missouri. And Jesse agreed, right after one last great bank robbery in Platte County, Missouri. Jesse had finally decided to retire, hopefully with enough money to become a gentleman farmer. Planning the robbery with Bob and Charles Ford , whom Jesse had worked with in the past, the Ford brothers visited the James home in St. Joseph on the morning of April 3, Outlining his plans for the robbery with Bob and Charles in the parlor of his home, Jesse noticed that a framed needlepoint picture, done by his mother, was hanging crookedly on the wall.

Bob shot Jesse just below the right ear and Jesse toppled to the floor dead. Jesse was 34 years old.

At the sound of the gunshot, the children ran into the room, being the first to reach him. Zee followed, trying desperately to stop the blood. Or do you think Jesse James was one of a kind?

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Still curious about Jesse James? Check out this timeline of his life. Describe of them to a friend or family member. Why do you think makes these events important? Do you consider Jesse James a modern-day Robin Hood? Do some more research before you make up your mind.

Then, write a letter or email to a friend or family member to persuade them to agree with you. Be sure to include strong reasons and evidence! Read about Billy the Kid or Belle Starr. What does Jesse James have in common with the outlaw you read about? What makes them different? Make a list of similarities and differences. Did you get it? Test your knowledge. What are you wondering? Wonder Words band brutal historians despite outlaw modern guerilla terrorized covert Take the Wonder Word Challenge.

From that robbery to the end of their careers, members of the James Gang had a price on their heads, dead or alive. In , Jesse married his longtime sweetheart and first cousin, Zerelda, and had two children.

Both James brothers were known as good family men who loved their wives and spent time with their children, but they still continued their life of crime. Though protected by their community, they were always on the move.

Even after other members of the gang had been killed, and their friends the Youngers had been sent to prison for 25 years, in , the James brothers planned one more robbery with Charlie and Bob Ford. Little did they know that Governor Crittenden of Missouri had put together a reward fund so large that the Fords had turned traitor to earn it. After breakfast on April 3, , Jesse turned to straighten a picture on a wall of his home, and Bob shot Jesse in the back of the head.

Jesse died instantly at age People in Missouri were outraged at the method used to capture him and considered it a cowardly assassination. Within three months, Frank surrendered to Crittenden.

The juries would not convict on the meager evidence, so Frank resumed a quiet life. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.