![]() ![]() The Younger brothers were born in Jackson County, Missouri. Jesse and Frank James were born in Kearney, Clay County, Missouri. But we should always be just as grateful for a well-armed, vigilant, and responsible citizenry.Swedish Settler Shot by the Jesse James Gang in 1876 The James-Younger Gang was a notorious gang of American outlaws who robbed banks, trains and stagecoaches and was centered in the State of Missouri. When the cops do their job and do it well, I’m the first to offer thanks. Jesse’s brother Frank surrendered shortly thereafter.Ī fifteen-year theft and murder saga had come to an abrupt end, underscoring the wisdom of the adage, “A gun in hand is better than a cop on the phone.” The story is dramatized in the 2007 Brad Pitt/Casey Affleck film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. On April 3, 1882, an aspiring Gang member named Bob Ford fired the fatal shot that killed Jesse James in St. When the James Brothers resumed their crime spree (mostly train robberies) a few years later, Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden privatized their apprehension by offering a huge reward. Two citizens of Northfield were killed in a shocking crime that set in motion one of the greatest and most exciting manhunts in American history. ![]() When the shooting stopped, two outlaws lay dead in the street, and the rest were shot up and sent riding for their lives. And when the shooting started at Northfield, Minnesota, the townspeople offered stiff and brave resistance, exchanging gunfire with gunfire. It was extremely arrogant of the Missouri outlaws to think that the hard-working farm and businesspeople of the northern prairie would simply run away once the shooting started. ![]() T was a huge mistake for the James–Younger gang to venture forth into Minnesota, looking for fat bank to rob. In his riveting book, Chasing Frank and Jesse James: The Bungled Northfield Bank Robbery and the Long Manhunt, Wayne Fanebust assesses this colorful episode: To this very day, Northfield hosts an annual “Defeat of Jesse James Days” celebration in September to commemorate the town’s break-up of the James-Younger Gang. All but brothers Frank and Jesse James were either killed or caught and sentenced to long prison terms. ![]() Well-armed and public-spirited Northfield citizens formed a posse and pursued the crooks. In the end, the James-Younger Gang were definitely in the latter category. What’s the difference, asks an old joke, between a successful bank robber and one who ends up in prison? One’s a pro, and one’s a con. Two of the thugs were killed, and every one of the remaining six (including Jesse James himself) was wounded. As townspeople opened fire, the Gang attempted to escape with a few bags of nickels. Inside the bank, teller James Heywood refused to cooperate by forking over the cash and was shot dead on the spot. Gunshots rang out and a Swedish immigrant selling vegetables fell dead. Having noticed the outlaws (alert residents later testified that the thugs reeked of alcohol), the stage was set for a violent confrontation. Tanked up and ready to go shortly before 2:00 pm, they headed over to the bank. Not wanting to hold up the First National Bank of Northfield on empty stomachs, the Gang sat down for fried eggs and whisky at a restaurant at about noon. Most hailed from Missouri but over an entire decade, they robbed and killed in multiple states from Texas to Kentucky to Iowa and finally, Minnesota. Members included Jesse James and his brother Frank, the Younger brothers (Cole, John, Bob, and Jim), plus occasional cohorts such as Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts and Bill Chadwell. The bank robbers on that day were among the most feared and famous outlaws of the day, the James-Younger Gang. “Get your guns, boys, they’re robbing the bank!” shouted Northfield resident J. Nonetheless, local townspeople by word of mouth put an effective end to a notorious crime spree. Six months later, on today’s very date-September 7 in 1876-telephonic communication in remote Northfield, Minnesota was still years in the future. Twenty-two-year-old Thomas Augustus Watson thereby became history’s first recipient of a phone call, though he was no further away than an adjacent room. I want to see you.” Thus spoke Alexander Graham Bell on March 10, 1876, in the world’s first successful telephone message. ![]()
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