Central States Lawman and Outlaws Historic Assoc.
The Jesse James Gang: What Happen to Them, Old West Kansas
Authors note;
The following is from the Kansas Heritage site at Kansasheritage.org This article along with others from the Kansas Heritage Group website is republished here with their permission. The Kansas Heritage site was scheduled to be taken down earlier this year. The following information can be found at the top of the landing page for the KHG. Their website is still accessible for public viewing.
"The Kansas Heritage site will be going offline in early 2024. Please make copies of any materials or use archive.org for continued use. The Kansas Heritage Group history archives are devoted to digitally preserving Kansas' past, giving future generations the opportunity to learn from family and local Kansas history online. Browse through Kansas history sites and also receive information on how to contribute. The Kansas History Gateway, established by Lynn H. Nelson as HNSource on March 6, 1993, was the second WWW public web site; the first Kansas history online. Kansas history and art museums, libraries, genealogy and events are included. The KS Heritage Group is an unfunded group of volunteer maintainers."
The Kansas Heritage Server would like to thank Richard A. Ensminger
for contributing to this material. Rich passed away 29 May 1996 at
Kirkwood, Missouri. He was 58 years old and had been with ALMSA, SIMA, and
LSSC since 1969. Rich loved to read about the Old West, and this material
is archived in Rich's memory.
From "Richard A. Ensminger" 22-MAR-1996
>> Subject: Members of the Jesse James Gang
This is a list of the know members of the Jesse James gang, and, where
known, what happened to them.
Regards, Rich
NAME ALIAS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Anderson, James
Brother of "Bloody Bill" Anderson. Rode with Quantrill.
Surrendered in KY, but, for some reason, served time in the
prison in Alton, IL. Released at the end of 1865. Joined
Jesse James after Civil War ended. Killed by George W. Shepherd by
having his throat slit on the lawn of the state capitol building
in Austin, Texas. This was a revenge killing for Anderson's part
in the murder and robbery of Shepherd's nephew, Ike Flannery in MO.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bassham, Daniel Tucker
Related to the three Basshams who rode with Quantrill but was
probably too young to be a member himself. Testified against Bill
Ryan. Gave a confession 7 November 1880 that only Jesse James
and Ed Miller at the Glendale, MO, robbery. He had been sentenced
to 10 years in the Missouri State Penitentiary, but was released
when he turned state's evidence on Bill Ryan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bishop, John
Rode with Quantrill.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burns, Richard
Rode with Quantrill. Hanged 27 May 1867.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clements, Archibald "Arch"
Sadistic executioner for Bill Anderson, lieutenant of Quantrill.
Became lieutenant upon death of Anderson. Killed in Lexington,
MO, 13 Dec 1866, by Bacon Montgomery.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chadwell, Bill William Stiles
Jack Ladd
J. Ward
---------------
Probably born in Tennessee in 1840s. Referred to as "half-breed
Cherokee". Possibly with Quantrill, for he was with Jesse James
while he was recovering from wounds at Younger's Bend in Indian
Territory (Oklahoma). Participated in several robberies with the
James gang, but was not with him on Minnesota raid at Northfield.
Living in northern Oklahoma, near Ponca City, he was afraid he
would be arrested for the Northfield robbery, so he fled to Oregon
City, Oregon, changing his name to "Brown". Died there about
1930. "William Stiles" or "Bill Stiles" was his favorite alias.
There were several Stiles in southern Missouri and northern
Arkansas at this time. Others of James gang used this alias on
several occasions. The reference to his having lived in Rice
County, MN, had to apply to the actual William Stiles.
Chatman, John
--------------
Chiles, William
----------------
Rode with Quantrill.
Collins, Bradley
-----------------
Probably participated in the murder of the Pinkerton agent, John W.
Walker, 10 March 1874, at Independence, MO.
Cummins/Cummings, James Robert "Windy Jim"
--------------------------------------------
Lived near Kearney, MO. Known as a horsethief.
Died in the Confederate Soldiers' Home, Higgensville, MO, around
1929. The Soldier's home has been razed, but the cemetery is still
in use. His sister, Artella Cummins, married Bill Ford. Their son,
Albert, was his nephew. Known descendant in Canada.
Davis, Benjamin H.
-------------------
Not a member of the James gang. He was present at the robbery in
Huntington, West Virginia, 6 September 1875 as a by-stander.
Edmondton / Edmundson, J. F.
-----------------------------
Rode with Quantrill.
Ford, Charles Wilson
---------------------
Committed suicide 6 March 1884, at the home of his father J. T.
Ford, located about a mile east of Richmond, MO.
Ford, Robert Newton
--------------------
Member of gang who killed Jesse at St. Joseph, MO. Tried to cash
in on notoriety by buying a bar in Las Vegas, NM. Business
failed. Ed O'Kelly used a shotgun to kill Ford in his bar 8 June
1892, in Creede, CO. Ford was first buried in Colorado, but was
exhumed and taken to the family plot at Richmond, MO. O'Kelly was
sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder in Canon City, CO.
Freed in 1902. Killed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 13 June 1904.
Flannery, Isaac "Ike"
----------------------
Killed near Glasgow, MO, by Jesse James for his inheritance of
several thousand dollars. Nephew of George W. Shepherd (see
below). Former member of Quantrill's guerrillas.
Hines/Hinds, James/John
------------------------
Rode with Quantrill.
Hite, Clarence Bowler
----------------------
Hite, Robert Woodson "Wood" Robert Grimes
----------------------------
Son of Major George Hite of Adairville, Kentucky. Was a cousin
of Jesse and Frank James. Argued with other gang members over
the spoils of the Blue Cut, MO, robbery, 7 September 1881.
Killed at the home of Marilyn Bolton in Richmond, MO. There were
ten shots fired among Hite, Dick Liddle, and Bob Ford, but no-one
saw who actually killed Hite, although it is generally believed
to have been Bob Ford. Hite was buried in a shallow grave in a
woods nearby.
Hulse, William
---------------
Went to Kentucky with Quantrill in 1865. Surrendered by Capt.
Henry Porter to Capt. Young, US Army at Samuel's Depot, Nelson
County, KY, 26 July 1865; paroled.
James, Jesse Woodson Mr. Howard
J. D. Howard
Thomas Howard
Alias used was for Dr. John Black
Howard, a Kentuckian and close
friend, who visited often.
William Campbell
A wealthy Kansas City cattleman
Charles Lawson
"of Nottingham, England" Mr. Howard from the Cantey-Meyer Collection
----------------------
Killed 3 April 1882 in St. Joseph, MO, by Robert Ford (see above).
James, Alexander Franklin "Frank" Mr. Woods
B. J. Woodson
Alias used was for Silas Woodson,
a Governor of MO, and kinsman.
----------------------------------
Died in Kearny, MO, in 18 February 1915.
------------------------------------------------------
NOTE:
Collectively Frank and Jesse called themselves the
Williams Brothers.
------------------------------------------------------
Jarrette, John John Dawson
---------------
Rode with Quantrill until 1863. By fall of 1863, Jarrette was a
company commander under General Joseph Shelby's cavalry. After the
war, became wealthy sheep rancher in Arizona.
Jones, Payne
-------------
Rode with Quantrill. Surrendered by Capt. Henry Porter to Capt.
Young, US Army, 26 July 1865, at Samuel's Depot, Nelson County
KY. Killed by Jim Chiles after the war ended.
Keane/Keene, Jack Tom Webb
------------------
Not clear which is the name and which is the alias. Tom Webb is
probably the real name. Caught after the Huntington, West Virginia
robbery, and sent to prison, 8 December 1875, at the Moundsville,
West Virginia, penitentiary. Pardoned 8 February 1885. Returned
home to Pike County, Illinois.
Keoughman, William
-------------------
Kerry, Hobbs
-------------
Recruited in 1875. After the Rocky Cut, MO, robbery, Kerry caught
a KATY train to Ft. Scott, KS, then to Parsons, KS, Vinita,
Oklahoma and Granby, MO. 18 July he was in Joplin bragging, then
went to Eufala, OK, and back to Joplin where he was arrested. He
was taken back to Booneville, Cooper County, MO, where he did two
years in jail.
Land, John
-----------
Killed in 1909 on the Lexington Road where it crosses the Little
Blue River, Lafeyette County, MO. Shot by a neighbor whose dog
John had killed.
Latche, Jack
-------------
Probably not a member of the gang, he saw the Pinkerton agent,
J. W. Whicher disguising himself as a farmer, and warned Jesse
James, who murdered him.
Liddil, James Andrew "Dick"
----------------------------
Rode with Quantrill. Went to Las Vegas, NM, with Bob Ford, and
opened a saloon. It was a miserable failure. Then worked for J.
W. Lynch, a famous horse-racing magnate. He died a natural death
in 1893 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had surrendered and turned state's
evidence on Jesse in 1882.
McCoy, Arthur
--------------
Rode with Quantrill
McDaniel, Thompson/Tomlinson
-----------------------------
Participated in Huntington, West Virginia robbery. While trying to
escape, shot near Pine Hill, Rockcastle County, KY, by W. R.
Dillon and his brother, 14 September 1875. Died at the Dillon home,
18 September 1875.
McDaniel, William
------------------
McGuire, Andrew "Andy"
-----------------------
Rode with Quantrill. Surrendered by Capt. Henry Porter to Capt.
Young, US Army at Samuel's Depot, Nelson county, KY, 26 July 1865,
and paroled there. Hanged 22 May 1867 by a lynch mob at
Warrensburg, MO, after being captured trying to rob Huges and
Wasson Bank at Richmond, MO.
Miles, William
---------------
Miller, Edward
---------------
Rode with Quantrill. Killed by Jesse James for talking too much
after the Kansas City Fair robbery in 1872.
Miller, McCllelan "Clell"
--------------------------
Rode with Quantrill. Participated in several robberies with the
James gang. Killed during the attempt on the Northfield, MN bank,
in 1876. Body unclaimed, and buried in Potters Field there. It
later made it back to Missouri, where it was claimed by his
father, and reburied in the Muddy Fork Cemetery, north of the
James' farm.
Parmer, Allen H.
-----------------
Rode with Quantrill. Surrendered by Capt. Henry Porter to Capt.
Young, US Army at Samuel's Depot, Nelson county, KY, 26 July
1865. Married Susan James, sister of Jesse. Died in Wichita Falls,
Texas in 1927.
Pence, Bud
-----------
Rode with Quantrill. Surrendered by Capt. Henry Porter to Capt.
Young, US Army, at Samuel's Depot, Nelson County, KY, 26 July
1865, paroled.
Pipes, Samuel
--------------
Pitts, Charlie Sam Wells
---------------
Killed by posse in 1875 after pursuit from Northfield, MN, at Blue
Earth River, near Maddes, MN. Body was shipped to Rush Medical
School in Chicago, where Dr. Henry Hoyt of St. Paul wanted the
skeleton for his office but the school refused to accept it due to
its damaged condition. In order to whiten the bones, he had it put
in a box and submerged in Lake Como. Later, the skeleton was found
and claimed by the Doctor. It disappeared later, and never
found, although a skeleton at a museum at Savage, MN, that some
claim is his.
Reed, James
------------
Married Belle Starr. Shortly after 7 Apr 1874 robbery, near Bois
D'Arc, Greene County, MO, tricked into disarming himself by John
Morris, who had ridden there from Texas. Morris shot Reed twice in
the chest. Morris, himself, was killed a little later on his ranch
near Ft. Worth, Texas.
Ryan, William "Whiskey Head" Tom Hall
-----------------------------
A fearless braggart, heavy drinker. Convicted 15 October 1881.
Sentenced to 25 years. Began sentence 16 October 1881 at Jefferson
City (MO) Prison. Sentence commuted to 10 years. Released 15 April
1889. Returned to area of Independence, MO, and stayed with an
uncle, John McCloskey. After some heavy drinking, he borrowed a
friend's horse and rode off along the road to Blue Springs, which
runs through some woods. The horse returned home without the
rider. Ryan found later with his head smashed. It is not known if
it was an accident.
Shepherd, George W. G. W. Smith
--------------------
Enlisted in the army at age 15, under Gerneral Albert Sidney
Johnston, to fight the Mormons in what was then Utah Territory.
Fought at Wilson's Creek (Springfield, MO) and at Pea Ridge, AR.
Rode with Quantrill, and went with him to KY, where he was
surrendered by Capt. Henry Porter to Capt. Young, US Army, at
Samuel's Depot, Nelson County, KY, on 26 July 1865. Participated
in the Russellville, KY, bank robbery, 20 Mar 1868. Caught and did two
years in prison. Attempted to help law officers catch Jesse James
after the Glendale, MO, robbery. Was shot at Short Creek (Galena),
Kansas by Jim Cummins because of it. Fell out with Jesse when
Jesse, along with James Anderson for killing his nephew, Ike
Flannery over Ike's inheritance. Tracked James Anderson to Austin,
Texas, where he slit his throat on the lawn of the State capitol
building. With the support of the population, he escaped back to
MO.
In 1865, married Martha Sanders Maddox, the famous Confederate
spy. Martha first married Richard Maddox. She disguised herself as
a man, called herself "Matt Sanders", and rode with her husband.
Richard Maddox was killed shortly after the war ended. Martha married
George Shepherd and tried to help him escape from prison. Gave up
on Shepherd, and married McMakin, a wealthy neighbor of her
father. When Shepherd got out of prison, she chose to stay with
McMakin. Shpeherd charged her with bigamy, but she gained a pardon
from the governor, and the charges were dropped.
Shepherd, Oliver Robert Boggs
-----------------
Was with Quantrill. Participated in Russellville, KY, robbery,
and was identified. He was traced back to MO. When ordered to
surrender, he was killed by officers. Law officers report stated
that he tried to shoot his way out, and was shot 7 times. Eye
witness, grand-daughter Margaret Shephard said he was unarmed
when he tried to surrender. The body had 20 bullet wounds in it.
Stiles, William Bill Chadwell
----------------
Born in Nova Scotia into a family with one daughter. Family shows
in Minneapolis 1870 census. Known by local sheriff as a two-bit
horsethief. How he became involved with Jesse James is unknown,
but it was probably him who suggested the Minnesota robbery. He
was killed at Northfield in 1876, and his body put on display
there. The body was claimed by his sister, who came from
Minneapolis with her husband, and took him away. The family does
not show in the 1880 census. Probably did not use Bill Chadwell as
an alias, since most historians are confused about the identity of
these two men.
White, James
-------------
White, Joe
-----------
Wells, Samuel Charlie Pitts
--------------
Younger, James Henry
---------------------
Rode with Quantrill, and went to KY with him on his last raid.
He was surrendered there by Capt. Henry Porter to Capt. Young, US
Army, at Samuel's Depot, Nelson County, KY, on 26 July 1865. Was
wounded on the Northfield, MN, robbery attempt,and captured. Sent
to prison in MN. Requested a parole 13 October 1902. It was
refused. He committted suicide at the Reardon Hotel in St. Paul,
MN, 19 October 1902.
Younger, Robert Ewing
----------------------
Captured at Northfield, MN. Died in prison 16 September 1889 of
consumption. Remains taken to Lee's Summit by sister Henrietta
Rawlins, and buried in the Younger Cemetery.
Younger, Thomas Coleman "Cole", "Bud" J. C. King
Thomas Coleman
Thomas Coburn
Charles Coburn
---------------------------------------
An early member of the Quantrill guerrillas. Survived the war, to
go to KY with Quantrill. He was surrendered there by Capt. Henry
Porter to Capt. Young, US Army, at Samuel's Depot, Nelson County,
KY, on 26 July 1865. Suffered multiple wounds in Northfield, MN,
robbery. Captured and sent to prison. Released in 1903. Died at
Lee's Summit, MO, in 1916.
Its been fifty years since the Country song artist Bobbie Gentry wrote the song “Ode to Billy Joe” .. Many of us can still hear the southern music and lyrics playing in our head, and last June 3rd marked the anniversary of the songs release, the first verse of the song brings back many haunting images ;
It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin’ cotton, and my brother was balin’ hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the back door, y’all, remember to wipe your feet
And then she said, I got some news this mornin’ from Choctaw Ridge
Today, Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge..
Gentry lived as a young girl in Chickasaw county Mississippi, between the Yazoo and Tallahatchie rivers. It was there they she learned of the death of a close friend Billy Joe McAllister. The death of the young Billy Joe sent shock waves through Chickasaw County. Young McAllister was the son of a local farmer who owned a large cotton plantation on the Yazoo river deep in delta country, and she was also the nephew of a Mississippi state Senator Isaiah Luther McAllister.
When the song “Ode to Billy” hit the charts in 1967, it took peoples imaginations by storm. And conversations erupted around water coolers throughout the nation. Everyone wanted to know what was thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge in Mississippi. Gentry’s song held bits and piece of a puzzle and everyone knew it. In the fourth verse of the song says;
And mama said to me, child, what’s happened to your appetite?
I’ve been cookin’ all morning, and you haven’t touched a single bite
That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today
Said he’d be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way
He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge
And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge
Many people have speculated over the last fifty years, who Billy Joe McAllister really was and why the enigmatic character the Gentry talks about, who accompanied Billy Joe out onto the Tallahatchie Bridge. The entire incident was completely forgotten to fifty years of history and nearly washed away and buried in the muddy slow moving Tallahatchie River. In 1976 a movie was released based on the song “Ode to Billy Joe”.. Then somewhere out on the internet, an anonymous writer tells us more of the story.. This clue was found on the IMDB website without a writers name.
At last, we’re given the answers to the questions raised by the haunting 1967 Bobbie Gentry song of the same title. Eighteen- year-old Billy Joe McAllister is in love with Bobbie Lee, but her father refuses to allow her to receive gentlemen callers before she’s sixteen. In the Mississippi Delta, in a time before the boondocks had seen television and indoor plumbing, a young man’s fancy turns constantly to thoughts of love. Billy Joe is no different in this regard and his persistence is making it difficult for Bobbie Lee to maintain her virtue (the dog-earred issues of “Torrid Romance” don’t help either). Perhaps an indictment of the artificial conventions of society, the film demonstrates the tragic consequences of a young couple’s first awkward grapplings with love and sex. As Bobbie Lee says shortly after Billy Joe’s lifeless body is dragged from the Tallahatchie River, “What do I know of love… I’m only a child.” Yet, there seems little doubt that what she feels for the dead boy..
On June 03rd 2018, early in the morning, over fifty eight years ago. A young man, probably about the same age as young Billy Joe prior to his death stepped upon the banks of the Tallahatchie river with his fishing pole in search of catfish. He casted his hook deep into the muddy river, and immediately hooked a heavy object. As he reeled it into shore, he realized that weight on the end of his line was not a cat fish, or any other fish for that matter. What he reeled in, was an old leather case. A case, which had probably been preserved under the mud of the Tallahatchie. Recent heavy rains may have uncovered the case. Suspecting that the leather case may have contained some unknown treasure, maybe gold, or old money, the young man took the case home with him. As he washed it off he could see the initials BJM etched in the side of the case deep into the leather. News got around quickly that the case probably once belong to Billy Joe McAllister. It was at this point that the Chickasaw County Sheriffs Department became involved, and the leather case was turned over to the Sheriff’s department for closer examination.
Certain unnamed members of the Sheriffs Department had parents and grand parents who recalled the haunting Tallahatchie incident, and many suspected that foul play was to blame for the death of Billy Joe. One senior member of the Chickasaw Sheriff’s department recalled talking to the one time Pastor of the Chickasaw Baptist Community church Joe Shelby, who Gentry described as the “young Preacher Brother Taylor” in her song Ode to Billy Joe, who said many years after; “I always knew that something deeply disturbing had occurred on the Tallahatchie Bridge, up on Choctaw Ridge in 67, but I could never prove it. Pastor Shelby then stated, ” I knew that Bobbie Lee Hartley had something to do with it”. The leather case is now in the hands of the Mississippi state crime lab. The Sheriffs department is keeping tight wraps on the case and Bobby Gentry could not be reached for comment.
The above story is fiction…
G.C. Stevens
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