Central States Lawman and Outlaws Historic Assoc. In the late 1800s - and early 1900s The River of humanity flowing west, was both wide and deep. Caught in the current of manifest destiny, were settlers, soldiers, business interests, and Outlaws. It was a perfect whirlwind of the Wild west. G.C. Stevens
(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.
The story is not over yet, as I anticipate additional information to come out in the near future.
-G.C. Stevens
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."
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.
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 ci te 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 inno cent—a mob was raised, broke in the jail, took him out and hanged him. Govern
or, 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 b lood-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 t he 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 f ight. I do not think that I violated the law when I fought Thomason as his posse refused to tell me who they wer e. Three different statements have been published in reference to the fight that I had with Thomas
on, but they are all a pack of falsehoods. Deputy Sheriff Thomason has never yet given any report of the fi ght, that I have seen. I am personally acquainted with Oscar Thomason, the Deputy's son, but when the shooti ng began, his face was so muffled up with furs that I did not recognize him. But if I did violate the l aw when I fought Thomason I am perfectly willing to abide by it. But as to them m
obbing me for a crime that I am innocent of, that is played out. As soon as I think I can g et 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. J AMES.
Copyright (c) 2026
The full article
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.
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/
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
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An unverified photo of Photographer turned robber, Marcus T. "Cicero" Grime Photo appeared on the Ter...
