In Search of William Clarke Quantrill By G.C. Stevens

 

Photo Library of Congress

William Quantrill of Co. C, Quantrill's Missouri Cavalry Company

Summary

Photograph shows identified Confederate soldier, guerrilla fighter, and leader of the Lawrence Massacre.

Created / Published

[between 1861 and 1865]

Headings

-  Quantrill, William Clarke,--1837-1865

-  Confederate States of America.--Army--People--1860-1870

-  Soldiers--Confederate--1860-1870

-  Guerrillas--1860-1870

-  United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military personnel--Confederate

*Editors note: This article is a story in progress. 

A MYSTERY ARISES ABOUT THE FAMED GUERRILLA LEADER       WILLIAM CLARKE QUANTRILL

               

A Kentucky States Historic marker at the location where the famed

Confederate leader was wounded

Photo by Dennie Anderson 

The weathered marker reads:

William Quantrill, alias Captain

Clarke, 4th Mo. Cav., taken here

May 10, 1865 ending four months

Central Kentucky guerrilla raids.

Surrounded in Wakefield’s barn by

Captain Terrill’s 30 Kentuckians.

Quantrill tried escape, mortally

wounded and moved to Louisville

Military Prison Hospital. He died

June 6th, ending career as outlaw,

then guerrilla for the Southern cause.

In Search of Quantrill

The official records of the American civil war is contained in a one hundred and twenty seven volume set of books, and has one whole book which is the index (making the grand total 128 books). The letters and documents contain most of the story about the conflict, though when it comes to the guerillas of southwest Missouri, the deeply personal aspects and secrecy behind the leaders of these operatives, and guerilla soldiers is not enumerated. But as time as passed, generations of descendants, and people asking questions for the sake of deeper research frequently stumble upon new, and sometimes surprising information from this segment of the civil war which has gotten little attention in the past. The name William Clarke Quantrill (Quantrell) conjures up thoughts of hard riding, violent confederate citizen soldiers, who struck fear into the hearts of their enemies by the use of lightning fast raids under the black flag of W.C. Quantrill and guerilla leader, Bloody Bill Anderson and the  raid and massacre of Lawrence Kansas, as the war between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions exploded in the west. But the truth is that there's a much deeper story and secrecy behind the guerillas and the whole the truth may never be known. But there are threads of information that are beginning to surface from scattered research. This information which was once isolated and compartmentalized in dusty libraries and is now finding its way onto the internet and providing leads to the libraries and archives that hold the story. My research into another area of the story of the Missouri guerillas, lead me to Augusta (Woodruff County) Arkansas, and another part of the story of William Quantrill. There are many questions in this area, but the deeper I dug, the more apparent it became that the Quantrill story was not complete and the question of his death and burial was at best, cryptic.

Who was William Clarke Quantrill?

"(A civil) War Confederate Renegade. He earned notoriety during the American Civil War as the Confederate leader first of the Missouri Partisan Rangers, then by August 15, 1862, the "Quantrill's Raiders" guerillas. As a soldier, he was known for possessing excellent leadership skills, unmatched horsemanship capabilities, and a knowledge of unique warfare tactics, yet he broke from the Confederate Army, becoming an renegade guerilla fighter with his own agenda."

-Linda Davis ref Find a Grave

William Clark Quantrill Find a Grave Listing

 How did Quantrill die, and where are his remains buried? 

   * Editors note: The following information was gathered from various sources, which               appeared in the record while in pursuit of another story that intersected with the                    Quantrill story and its connection to Augusta Arkansas in Woodruff County.

(1) "While attempting an escape on horseback, he was shot with the bullet hitting his spine and paralyzing him from the waist down. He was transferred to the Federal military hospital in Louisville, then to a Catholic Hospital. Lingering for a month, he died at age 27. Following a conversion to Catholicism and receiving last rites in the days prior to his death, he made arrangements with the hospital priest to purchase a plot with a marker for burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. The priest, fearing vandals, ordered the grave restored to a natural condition without a marker, yet this would not be his final resting place. Some twenty years later, the strange odyssey and the disbursement of his bones began. A request was made by his mother and his childhood friend to take his remains back to Ohio, but this was refused. However, the grave was opened upon his mother's agreement and the contents viewed. His friend removed the skull, and his mother identified the remains based on a chipped tooth in the skull. Under cover of darkness, the entire casket was stolen. Upon return to Dover, his remains were interred in the family plot in the Dover 4th St Cemetery, minus the skull and various bones the unscrupulous friend had removed and kept. Eventually, some of the bones were archived at the Kansas State Historical Society, and the skull at the Dover Museum until buried in a separate container in the family plot. Finally, the last of the stolen bones were repatriated by the Missouri Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and interred at the Old Confederate Veteran's Home Cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri."

-Ref -Linda Davis find a grave

(2) "In 1887, a newspaperman and Quantrill's boyhood friend, William W. Scott, dug up the grave at the prompting of Quantrill's mother, a Dover school teacher. He brought the bones back home. Or at least some bones. Experts believe more remain in Kentucky. And what guerilla leader worth his salt is buried in only two places? A Quantrill grave in a Confederate cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri holds still more fragments.

In Dover, Quantrill remains were buried in the Fourth Street Cemetery in 1889 -- maybe. No one knows what was in the box that went into the ground. Scott kept the bone fragments and the skull for himself, unsuccessfully attempting to sell it over the years -- in secret so he wouldn't hurt Mrs. Quantrill's feelings."

Ref Replica Head of Confederate Raider Quantrill, Dover, Ohio

(3) The following story appeared in the July-Sept issue of the William Clark Quantrill Society Newsletter:

 "August 25, 1921

​HOW QUANTRELL DIED. Rev. Thos. Cobb of Lexington and brother of Mrs. Mary Worley of this place is well acquainted with the facts of the case. Rev. Cobb was one of the first recruits to Captain Frank Cockrell's company of the second Missouri Infantry and afterwards transferred into Lyon's cavalry under General Forrest. Sometime ago he told a newspaper reporter the following story. "I knew Captain Horseley intimately. He was my warm friend. I do not believe he made the statement attributed to him in regard to the death of Quantrell. In December 1864, Captain Horseley and myself went into the Southern counties of Kentucky as cavalry recruiting officers under the authority of General Forest, and remained there until 1865, when we surrendered to General John M. Palmer at Louisville...."While in that country we met Quantrell's band and traveled and camped with it for two days and two nights. Quantrell was on his way to West Virginia and Maryland to join Mosby. Horseley and Quantrell had many long talks and Quantrell urged us to go with him. Quantrell did not interfere with the rights of private citizens in that country and had no trouble with Confederate troops. We left him and he continued his march through Kentucky..."When we reached the central counties of Kentucky, General Lee had evacuated Petersburg and was on the retreat and it looked as if the army would surrender. Quantrell therefore stopped his march to await developments. It was then that he had a skirmish with Federal troops, the Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry, and was seriously wounded. He was not known as Quantrell during that expedition but went under the name of Captain Clark...."He was taken to Louisville and placed in a hospital. He sent for a priest when he learned that he would probably not survive his wounds and asked to be sent to the Sister's hospital. There he died and the body was buried in the Catholic cemetery in Louisville as that of Captain Clark...."I was paroled in Louisville about that time by Colonel Folsom. One day Col. Folsom asked me if I knew Quantrell, and I told him i did. Then he asked if I would identify him if alive?" asked Col. Folsom. "No." I replied. I was taken to view a body, but it was not that of Quantrell. But a day or so after, several of Quantrell's men saw the body of their leader in the Sister's hospital and attended his funeral in the Catholic cemetery. This, I believe, is the true story of Quantrell's death and burial.

ODESSA DEMOCRAT."

Ref The William Clarke Quantrill  Society

Who Was L.J. Crocker, did William Clarke Quantrill Survive?

*Article by the Author / Editor G.C. Stevens, based on information obtained from the Woodruff County Branch Library, courtesy of Karen Golden Operations Manager, additional article "The Man Who Played Quantrell", By Anne Sanderson Smith.

(4) Coincidentally, In 1867, another enigmatic figure arrived in Woddruff County and that was a man identified as Captain L.J. Crocker. When he arrived in Augusta Arkansas, he was walking down the street, when a man by the name of Hutchinson saw Crocker, he became agitated and identified Crocker as the famed civil war guerrilla leader William Quantrill. According to this story, Captain Crocker downplayed the encounter and explained that yes, he had been involved with Quantrill and that Hutchison was the only man to make his escape from the "Gorilla Gang."

Another witness, by the name Mrs. Watt Keith of the town of Howell-Wiville tells a story of spending many days in the Crocker home and that Captain Crocker would talk for hours about his pioneer life, and it was said that he was never known to have a picture made of himself and that he died he died in 1905.

But out of these early stories, rumors and legend began to grow around Captain L.J. Crocker it was said that Crocker was none other that the infamous Guerrilla leader, William Clarke Quantrill, The story however, in this community goes much deeper than mere legend and it appears that Crocker and Quantrill were connected in many unexpected ways. The story takes a very strange twist when a man by the name of Mr. Fakes was in St. Louis in 1904 during the World's Fair and went to a theater where Frank James was a door man. He tried to talk to him, but Frank James refused to talk until Mr. Fakes told him he knew Captain Crocker. Upon hearing Crockers name, Frank James attitude changed and he opened up to Fake and he admitted his connection to the story and told of his visit when he was wounded at the Edmonds home. Though it was suspected for many years, It was not known for certain until then that the wounded gentleman was Frank James. Then in 1910, in an open confession to a good friend, W.E. Ferguson of Woodruff County.

Adding to this story is an article found on find a grave By author Gary Telford titled: The Great Quantrill-Crocker Mystery in Augusta, Arkansas. The author provides a fair summary of the mystery surrounding L.J. Crocker:

“On Friday August 21, 1863, in one of the more tragic and senseless acts of the Civil War, William Clarke Quantrill, an outlaw and self-appointed Southern officer, and a number of his men raided Lawrence, Kansas, burning the town, looting the stores and people's purses, and murdering about 150 men in a wanton slaughter that served no useful purpose.

They destroyed about $1,500,000 worth of property. After which the mention of his name brought terror to Northern sympathizers in Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky.

Quantrill led the largest and best-known band of guerrillas in Missouri. Anyone who wanted to join his band was asked only one question: "Will you follow orders, be true to your comrades, and kill those who serve and support the Union?" Frank James and Cole Younger were two of the people who answered "yes" to this question and joined Quantrill's Raiders. Whole battalions of Federal troops were sent out to track Quantrill down and bring him in dead or alive.

Finally on Wednesday May 10, 1865, in a farm house near Spencer, Kentucky, Quantrill and a small number of his band were surrounded by Federal troops. He and his men fought desperately from the windows and doorways of the house until their ammunition was exhausted.

Quantrill was badly wounded in the shoulder by a bullet that raged down through his body, and his left hand was mangled. After the surrender he and one of his men, who was even more severely wounded, were placed under guard and taken to a military hospital at Louisville, Kentucky for treatment, where according to one legend, William Clarke Quantrill died. The death of Quantrill would effectively close a long and bloody chapter of guerrilla warfare motivated more by criminal than patriotic instincts. The legacy of Quantrill's Raiders would long haunt the hills of Missouri.

"Did he really die?" Not so, according to another legend; Here is what really happened.

Quantrill, who was so badly injured that he lay quietly in his bed, pleaded with the authorities to let his wife visit him. Finally they agreed. Then one of the most bizarre escapes in all of American history took place.

When Mrs. Quantrill arrived in the hospital room, Quantrill's companion in the next bed had just died. She and Quantrill stripped the dead man and dressed the body in Quantrill's uniform and placed it in Quantrill's bed. Then Quantrill himself put on his wife's clothes. She in turn put on the dead man's clothes, was gagged and tied, and lay down in the dead man's bed. Quantrill, dressed as a woman, walked out a free man. Mrs. Quantrill was later discovered bound and gagged, gasping she had found her husband dead in his bed and had been attacked by the other man in the room who made her exchange clothes with him and then gagged and tied her up. The Authorities believed her story and as a result of this dramatic escape plot no further search was ever conducted for Quantrill. Instead, the Louisville hospital records reflect William Clarke Quantrill died of his wounds and that an unknown member of his gang managed to escape.

Quantrill and his wife stayed in Kentucky for the next two years while Quantrill was fully recovering back to his normal health. Then one day in 1867 a stranger rode into the little town of Gregory, Woodruff Co., AR south of Augusta, on a very beautiful horse. He introduced himself as Captain L. J. Crocker. He wanted to buy some land, and he had the cash in his saddle bags to pay for it. He bought a tract of land about 12 miles south of Augusta, and he and his wife began clearing some acreage and building a log cabin.

At first Captain and Mrs. Crocker kept very much to themselves. Mrs Crocker seldom ever leaving the house. Captain Crocker rode his horse frequently into Gregory and Augusta making new friends wherever he went.

But there persisted an air of mystery about the Crocker's. Someone said that Mrs. Crocker was the daughter of Colonel Younger, the father of Cole, Bob and Jim Younger, the notorious bandits in Missouri. And it was rumored that the famous Jesse James and his brother Frank made several visits to the Crocker farm.

Then one day when Captain Crocker was chatting with friends in the livery stable at Augusta, a newcomer by the name of Hutchinson approached him and said, "You, Captain Crocker, are the man I knew as Quantrill, I was in the Federal Army and was captured by your men. It was you who finally let me escape."

Captain Crocker looked at the man and smiled slowly. "You are mistaken, Sir. My name is L. J. Crocker, and furthermore I think Quantrill would have shot any Yankee soldier that he captured." There were many other times when Crocker was recognized as Quantrill but each time he denied it.

Captain L. J. Crocker established a store south of what is now the town of Gregory by 1870, and his wife, Gabriella, was postmaster of the Crockersville post office, which was located in the store, from 1870 to 1873. In 1880, L. J. Crocker was granted a license to sell wine, beer and other liquors in quantities less than a quart in the town of Crockersville. In 1881, the firm of Crocker and Smith obtained a license to sell liquor in the town of Augusta. It is belived that Captain and Mrs. Crocker were separated at this time.

Captain and Mrs. Crocker had a daughter named Laura Lee, born September 26, 1864 and died August 1, 1868 and is buried in the Augusta Memorial Park Cemetery. They also adopted a son whose name was Joseph "Joe" Crocker, born in May of 1882 in Missouri. He was adopted when he was eight years of age. While still a young man Joe was brutally murdered. The man who committed the murder was sent to prison for several years. However Crocker always felt that another man in the community was responsible for the death of Joe. Joe is also buried in the Augusta Cemetery.

Captain Crocker had told a friend or two and his wife, who really knew who he was, not to reveal his true idenity until after his death.

Captain L. J. Crocker --or William Clarke Quantrill-- lived on his farm near Gregory for 50 years, from 1867 until his death in 1917.

Captain Leonard Josiah "L. J." Crocker was born October 18, 1839 in Kentucky and died June 23, 1917 in Woodruff Co., AR and is buried in the Augusta Memorial Park Cemetery.

After the death of Captain Crocker his wife, Gabriella "Gabie" Younger Crocker, who was born in 1841 in Kentucky, left Woodruff County and moved back to her relatives ( the Younger's) in Missouri.

Shortly after the death of Captain and Mrs. Crocker a news article appeared in the Arkansas Gazette under this title, "Man Who Lived and Died Near Augusta Said to Have Been Quantrill, Notorius Guerrilla and Foe of Federals in 60's."

Could Captain L. J. Crocker have been William Clarke Quantrill?. His true identity may always remain a mystery to all of us and probably went to his grave with him at his death.

    L.J. Crocker on Find a Grave

The story is not over yet, as I anticipate additional information to come out in the near future.

-G.C. Stevens

Obituary for Capt. L.J. Crocker from 23 Jun 1917 Woodruff, Arkansas, 24 Jun 1917 Memphis, Tennessee, The Commercial Appeal.

Photo Investigation: Not Frank and Jesse James: By G.C. Stevens

 

   Not Frank & Jesse; An RPPC (Real Place Post Card) published by AZUSA Post Card Co. Original Photo in the collection of the Denver Public  Library.

 Card from the authors collection.

Correct Photos of Frank and Jesse James from the authors collection

    While writing my first book on Jesse James, "A Fiendish Crime" I went in search some verifiable photos and artwork for my book. I searched Ebay and found a grouping of several post cards published by AZUSA postcard company. The grouping of cards memorialized the James gang infamous great Northfield Minnesota bank robbery which occurred on September 7, 1876. The grouping was comprised of eight post cards (see photos below) that covered members of the gang and the posse who captured some of the outlaws, with the exception of Frank and Jesse James. The James brothers escaped and blazed a trail through Minnesota and Iowa during their flight back into Missouri. During my research, I ran into a photo, (which is posted at the top this article.) It was on the website of the Denver Public Library and was said to be in their collection. I immediately inquired about the photo of Frank & Jesse James on their website and its provenance. A photo of two men sitting together with pistols drawn, which appeared to be a tintype. 

I received a prompt email response from Kellen Cutsforth, who is currently the executive director of the Western Writers Association, he told me:

 "So we do not have any provenance for this particular photo. It was acquired long before any of our current staff came on board. When it was acquired, the staff did not sign any agreements nor retain any receipts detailing whether it was purchased or a donation."  

Photo was noted as a false photo in the book "The Many Faces of Jesse James" By Phillip W. Steele and Artist George Warfel Published in 1995 by Pelican Publishing Co . 

*Note

This photo is but one of many photos that have surfaced over the years that have purported to be Jesse James. But what was unique about this photo was that it was part of a published set, alongside other photos which were confirmed to be members of the James - Younger gang who were involved in the Great Northfield Minnesota Raid in 1876. There were however, also some inconsistencies with the descriptions of other parties involved.  

Top card labeled (more likely mislabeled) Oscar Suborn, probably Asle (Axle) Sorbel.

Bottom Photo: Posse who captured the Youngers (unverified).

"Two weeks after the James–Younger Gang raided Northfield, the gang appeared at the farm of Ole Sorbel on Lake Linden near Hanska. Ole spoke to the men briefly and his wife, Guri, provided the men with bread and butter for breakfast. The gang told the family that they were hunting in the area, but 17-year-old Asle Sorbel didn’t believe them. He had a hunch they were the Northfield robbers that authorities had been chasing around the area for weeks."

-Forgotten Minnesota

Well known photos of the Younger gang, Bill Chadwell and Clell Miller (Top Left)

Cole Younger (Top right), Bob Younger (Right Center), Jim Younger (Bottom Left) 

Charlie Pitz (Bottom left).All photos from the authors collection.

Photographic Evidence

Every photograph and caption must be assessed and evaluated just as you would textual documents in your genealogical research. These tips will help to classify and date the images you locate to determine if the pictured subject is appropriate to the date, place, and context observed in the photograph. As researchers, we must always do our own evaluation, seek out original records, weigh the evidence, and come to our own conclusions.

-Library of Congress

Note: Article updated 08/17/2026

  

Signed "Jesse James" By G.C. Stevens

   

The Nebraska photo: Signed "Jesse James" From the author collection

On December 7, 1869, Frank and Jesse James robbed the bank in Gallatin, Missouri. The target was the Daviess County Savings Association, a modest one‑story bank on the southwest corner of the town’s business square. The robbery began shortly after twelve noon in dense winter fog, which enveloped the small town of about 1,000 people Inside the bank were the cashier, Capt. John W. Sheets, and a lawyer, William McDowell. One of the robbers, possibly Jesse—asked to have a $100 bill changed. As the cashier wrote a receipt, the robber drew his revolver and fired two shots: one into the cashier’s chest and another into his forehead, McDowell, fleeing through the doorway, was shot. Jesse James grabbed a portfolio of bank paper and escaped outside. He and Frank rode away, pursued by a posse, but they escaped. Taken the transcripts the Liberty Tribune newspaper dated: June 24th, 1870, tells the harrowing tale of what occurred that day and about a letter written by Jesse James. 

G.C. Stevens 

Monument in front of the Court house that tells the story of the Trial of Frank James on the charges stemming from both the Gallatin bank robbery ang the train robbery in Winston Missoui on July 15th 1881 Photo by the author

The Gallatin courthouse photo by the author

The train depot at Winston Missouri photo by the author 

   

From the Kansas City Times.

More of the Shooting at Gallatin.

A LETTER FROM JESSE W. JAMES.

It will be remembered that on the 7th of December, 1869, the cashier of a bank at Gallatin, Missouri, was shot and instantly killed by some unknown parties. This cashier was named J. W. Sheets, and he was well known throughout that portion of Missouri. A horse belonging to the men who did the shooting, was captured in the town, and this horse was identified as one that had belonged to the two James' brothers, of Clay county—Jesse and Frank. Straightway it was declared that these two young men done the killing, and a great hue and cry were raised against them. The citizens of Gallatin offered a large reward for their apprehension; the Governor of Missouri added an additional sum to this one, and militia were ordered to be made ready to hunt down the brothers.

They were come upon at their home in Clay county, by a squad of men headed by the Sheriff and his deputy. A fight ensued, the Sheriff's horse was killed, the two James brothers escaped untouched, and from that day to this they have not been heard from.

Yesterday, however, we received the following letter from Jesse W. James, the eldest brother. It had neither postoffice mark nor was it dated upon any day, but had evidently been enclosed to us by some one else. It is addressed to Governor McClurg, and is as follows:

June, 1870. Governor McClurg: DEAR SIR: I and my brother Frank are charged with the crime of killing the cashier and robbing the bank at Gallatin, Mo., Dec. 7th, 1869. I can prove, by some of the best men in Missouri, where I was the day of the robbery and the day previous to it, but I well know if I was to submit to an arrest, that I would be mobbed and hanged without a trial. The past is sufficient to show that bushwhackers have been arrested in Missouri since the war, charged with bank robbery, and they most all have been mobbed without trials. I will cite you to the case of Thomas Little, of Lafayette county, Mo. A few days after the bank was robbed at Richmond, in 1867, Mr. Little was arrested in St. Louis, charged with being one of the party who perpetrated the deed. He was sent from St. Louis to Warrensburg under a heavy guard. As soon as the parties arrived there, they found out that he (Mr. Little) could prove, by the citizens of Dover, that he was innocent of the charge—as soon as these scoundrels found out that he was innocent—a mob was raised, broke in the jail, took him out and hanged him.

Governor, when I think I can get a fair trial, I will surrender myself to the civil authorities of Missouri. But I never will surrender to be mobbed by a set of blood-thirsty poltroons. It is true that during the war I was a Confederate soldier, and fought under the black flag, but since then I have lived a peaceable citizen, and obeyed the laws of the United States to the best of my knowledge. The authorities of Gallatin say the reason that led them to suspect me, was that the mare left at Gallatin, by the robbers, was identified as belonging to me. That is false. I can prove that I sold the mare previous to the robbery. It is true that I fought Deputy Sheriff Thomason, of Clay county, but was not my brother with me when we had the fight. I do not think that I violated the law when I fought Thomason as his posse refused to tell me who they were.

Three different statements have been published in reference to the fight that I had with Thomason, but they are all a pack of falsehoods. Deputy Sheriff Thomason has never yet given any report of the fight, that I have seen. I am personally acquainted with Oscar Thomason, the Deputy's son, but when the shooting began, his face was so muffled up with furs that I did not recognize him. But if I did violate the law when I fought Thomason I am perfectly willing to abide by it.

But as to them mobbing me for a crime that I am innocent of, that is played out. As soon as I think I can get a Just trial I will surrender myself to the civil authorities of Missouri, and prove to the world that I am innocent of the crime charged against me.

Respectfully, JESSE W. JAMES.

Copyright (c) 2026 

The full article

refs

daviesscountyhistoricalsociety.com+1.

PBS

Photo Investigation; Cantey Collection, The James Gang in Tipton Missouri; By G.C.Stevens

 

                                             

           Photo from the Gunfighters by Lea F. McCarty

The following is information was compiled by the author and gives some information about a photo from the Cantey Meyers Collection, (photos permission of Emory Cantey) though not exact, the investigation points to evidence to suggest that Jesse James and company might have been in the area of Tipton Missouri when the photo was taken.

Rocky Cut Robbery

On the evening of July 7, 1876, eight members of the gang captured the night guard at Rocky Cut and used his lantern to flag down a train. Once stopped, the gang boarded the train, robbed both safes, then disappeared into the night. Not far from there, the gang stopped to split up the money before riding off in separate directions. Today, that location is marked by a stone in a roadside park just east of Otterville Missouri James Gang Railroad Robbery - Otterville, MO - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Ref TRAIN ROBBERIES | Cooper County Historical Society

                              

Tipton Missouri is 14 miles from Otterville Missouri. Could the photo below have been taken before or after the Rocky Cut Robbery? It's worth noting that the men in the mystery photo, are clothed only in their vests and shirts. A good Indication that the temperature was quite warm on the day that this photo was taken.                                                                                                                                                    

This "controversial image" is from the Cantey Meyers collection and is purported to be of Frank James, Tom Sparks, Bob Younger, Cole Younger and Jesse W. James at the Tipton Train Depot during the 1870's. A basic search of the internet revealed some possible photos of the depot. But further investigation is needed.                                                                                                                                                          

                       Said to be (Left to right) Frank James, Tom Sparks, Bob Younger, 

                            Cole Younger and Jesse James Photo said to be from 

                                     the Grand Daughter of Tom Sparks

THE ROCKY CUT TRAIN ROBBERY.

"Seven months elapsed after the Muncie robbery before the desperate brigands, under the leadership of Jesse James, made another attempt to increase

[Pg 88]

 their ill-gotten gains. But in the meantime the band of highwaymen was increasing and organizing for another bold stroke. Many outlaws who had found safety in the Indian Nation were anxious to attach themselves to the James and Younger brothers, but very few were received. The noted bandits were excellent judges of human nature, and they were exceedingly careful not to repose confidence in any one who did not possess indisputable evidence of cunning and bravery; men who, in the event of capture, would not betray their comrades at any sacrifice. In July, 1876, arrangements were completed for rifling another treasure-laden train and the Missouri Pacific Railroad was chosen as the line for their operations.

About one mile east of Otterville, a small station in Pittis county, is a place called Rocky Cut, which is a deep stone cleft, from which the train emerges only to strike the bridge across Otter creek. On the

[Pg 89]

 south side of the cut is a heavy wood, and in this the robbers concealed themselves to await the train which was not due there until nearly midnight. A watchman was stationed at the bridge, whom Charlie Pitts and Bob Younger arrested and, after taking his signal lantern and placing it in the track at the bridge approach, they securely tied the helpless fellow and then joined the main party. Hobbs Kerry and Bill Chadwell were detailed to watch the horses and keep them prepared for sudden flight.

As the train came dashing through the cut the engineer saw the danger signal and at once concluded something was wrong with the bridge, and he lost no time in having the brakes set and the engine reversed. The train came to a stop directly in the cut, and as it slowed up seven of the dare-devils leaped upon the cars and with one at each door, the robbers had no trouble in so intimidating the passengers as to prevent attack. Jesse James, the boldest of the bold, was the first to enter the express car, followed by Cole Younger. At the mouth of two heavy navy pistols the messenger was forced to open the safe, which contained fifteen thousand dollars in bank notes. This money was hastily thrown into a sack, and the shrill whistle was given by Jesse, which was the signal for the bandits to leave the train and mount. No effort was made to rob or harm any of the passengers, the single purpose of the bandits, agreed upon before the attack, was to secure only the valuables of the express.

[Pg 90]

When the train reached Tipton, report of the robbery was telegraphed to every station along the line, and also to St. Louis and Kansas City, and from these points all over the country."

-From The Border Bandits by J.W. Buel

Thursday, October 1, 1885

"The Clarksburg (Ohio) Sun has published a long statement to the effect that Jesse James had been seen in that city by parties who were personally acquainted with him during the war. They claim that the corpse buried on the Samuels’ farm was not Jesse James, but that the Fords were induced to kill a substitute. The whole affair reads like fiction, and the average Missourian will be loathe to believe that the outlaw, Jesse James, has not been in his grave the past three years. The fact that these old friends, who recognized him, did not have the courage to step up and speak to him, is evident proof that their reputed recognition was deceptive and that the job put up on the reporter was a signal success."

-Compiled by Becky Holloway "A Glance at The Past"

From the James Birthplace Museum

In late April 1884 Tipton, Missouri gave a “grand demonstration & rousing reception” to Frank James, his wife & son, who arrived by train accompanied by Sheriff Rogers of Cooper County, MO. A Tipton Times reporter noted that Frank, although “very weary from long travel was very kind & polite, answering questions with an obliging courtesy.” The family & sheriff then checked in at The Tipton House for an overnight stay.

-Jesse James Birthplace Museum

                            

                                               

                               

For a town which had been surveyed only a few months earlier, Tipton, Missouri, began life with a creditable little bang on October 9, 1858. That was the day the first Overland Mail stage arrived, twenty-three days and four hours out of San Francisco—a day that marked the beginning of regular mail service across the continent. Tipton was 160 miles west of St. Louis at the end of the Pacific Railroad, and from this tiny dot on the map, mail and passengers from the West were put aboard the trains to St. Louis, Cincinnati, and New York, completing a transcontinental journey in approximately four weeks. What had once been a fantastic dream was now a reality, and the occasion did not go unnoticed in the press -https://www.americanheritage.com/great-days-overland-stage

The first train arrived in Tipton on July 26, 1858. By September, Tipton was the western terminus of the Butterfield Overland Mail Stage to San Francisco. Population quickly grew and Tipton became the site for hotels, livery stables, grocery stores, dry goods stores, a restaurant and saloons. - https://tiptonmo.org/history/

An aerial photo of Tipton Missouri    

Railroad history fans celebrate this month about not only Missouri but the small town of Tipton and their role in our national intercontinental railroad system.

On this date, July 26th: “......1858 the Pacific Railroad was completed at Tipton, Missouri.” What does the Pacific Railroad have to do with Missouri? Everything, because these were the last 160 miles of the Pacific Railroad coming from St. Louis making Tipton the “end of the line" in western Missouri. Tipton had also emerged as the eastern terminus of the Overland U.S. mail by stagecoach from San Francisco. For a time, both mail and passengers transferred from stagecoach to the Pacific Railroad at Tipton for the run to St. Louis by rail. The Pacific Railroad was the former company that became the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Ground was broken in 1851 and the first section of track, the first five miles, completed in 1852. But St. Louis investors began completing their vision of not only the first railroad west of the Mississippi, but also one that would extend all the way to the Pacic Ocean. The company was reorganized by 1872 as the Missouri Pacific Railroad, also known as the MoPac.

The legacies that the MoPac has left in national shipping is extensive. These include being rail for the Amtrak passenger route between Kansas City and St. Louis. Notable investors and engineers are important namesakes. John O’Fallon was an investor in the 1850 partnership, and is the namesake for both O’Fallon, Illinois and O’Fallon, Missouri. In addition, James P. Kirkwood, was a renowned engineer for the MoPac and is the namesake for Kirkwood, Missouri.

-Missouri State Museum

 Facebook link

Photo courtesy of HMdb.org 

THE HISTORICAL

MARKER DATABASE

In Search of Jesse James in Adair Iowa: G.C. Stevens

 

Photo permission of the Adair News

I now come down to the Iowa train robbery, which occurred the 21st of July, 1873, and which filled all western Missouri with spies, detectives and armed men in search of us. The newspapers made me out the leader of the band. With me, according to the papers, were Frank James, Arthur McCoy and the two Youngers. You remember the outlines of the robbery. A rail was removed from the track resulting in an engineer killed and a general rifling of an express car thought to contain money belonging to the United States. An Iowa sheriff named Bringolf came down to Kansas City with a pocket full of requisitions. He made some magnificent promises, not a few threats, hunted everywhere except in the right place, and, as far as I'm informed, is still in Kansas City waiting for something to turn up. 

- Jesse James

- A Terrible Quintet by John Newman Edwards from Jesse James: The Best Writings on the Notorious Outlaw and His Gang by Harold Dellinger.

  

11/23/2025,

 During my recent presentation at the James Farm, in Kearny Missouri, I met a member of the Friends of The James Farm, Dennie Anderson. He told me he was from Iowa and, I later learned that he was an avid genealogist and a descendant of Jesse James. He was very interested in Jesse James connection to Iowa. So, I gave him my information, and he reached out to me via email. We decided to meet at the site of the 1873 Adair Iowa Train Robbery. I also wanted to get back to Adair to take a look around to see if I could locate the old railroad section house that was mentioned in the history. As the story goes the James Gang went to the section house (see photos below) commandeered some tools from the house to use in the train robbery.

 I met Dennie and his wife Vonda at the location and we walked the site. We did a closer examination of the remnants of the train bridge, took photos, and did some minor metal detecting, though nothing of any value was located as a result of the metal detector scan. And due to conditions only a small area was examined.  The terrain there is rough and overgrown with vegetation. So, it's a fairly difficult site to detect at. Before I went out to the site. I went online and located some satellite photos of the train robbery site on Google earth (see photo below). 

The Train Bridge

It was observed that it appeared that several sections of rail were embedded in the large pile of debris that is now on top of part of a section the old railroad bridge. Several decent photos of the rails were taken of sections of track.  And I was able to snap clear photos of the ends of the rails, which is very important, because the configuration of train rails is well documented, and can give us a fairly good time frame on when the track was manufactured. I sent the photos to Mike Wendel who is the Director of the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad Museum in Boone Iowa. They examined those pictures and returned this response:

Our track person here said the track is old, probably 1870s. Phil said that you would need to measure the height of the rail and look on its sides for printing. Very interesting photos Gene if you find yourself out there again in the future and try to see more of the sides of the rail it may help. Really appreciate you sending these. 

-Mike Wendell Museum Director

 

A monument dedicated to the famed robbery located at 

Melvin Memorial Park Adair Iowa

Photo by the author

A photo of the section house that appeared on 

the facebook page "Abandoned Iowa" posted by Andrew Haus.

The information stated that this house which once housed a

 "Jesse James Museum" had been torn town

Photo google earth. A direct look at the old bridge site

noting an unusual gouge in the terrain adjacent to bridge area

An overview of the entire site

The old railroad bridge looking east down Turkey Creek. 

Photo by the Author

Track can be seen buried in the mound of dirt and debris 

photo by the author

Pilings from the bridge. Actual age unknown

A very old an pitted section of rail or track plate photos by the author

A very clear picture of the very end of a piece of track. The photo 

is very important, and the configuration of railroad tracks 

are very documented and can determine that age 

and manufacturer of the track.

Photos by the Author

Same as above. Though its worth noting that this particular track

is very different and has a flare in the bottom of it. 

Bottom picture courtesy of 

https://drrajivdesaimd.com/2017/10/28/derailment/

Copyright 2025