James, Jesse
Born September 5, 1847
Clay County, Missouri
Died April 3, 1882
St. Joseph, Missouri
Robber, murderer
"When these guys wanted money, they went in daylight to [take] their money. No one would dare shoot when they robbed a bank.... The James boys were liked by the poor and God knows there was plenty of us and the law made no serious effort to get them."
L. A. Sherman, as quoted in Jesse James by Theodore Miller
To some, Jesse James was a hero, a brave defender of the South who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. To others, he was a worthless criminal, a cold-blooded murderer interested only in himself. The facts seem to show that Jesse James was a criminal, but as with many western figures the facts don't tell the whole story. For Jesse James was more than a person, he was a legend, a modern day Robin Hood, and his exploits were popularized in fiction and song, and later in movies.
A Preacher's Son
Had he followed in his parents' footsteps, Jesse James would have been a religious man and an upright citizen. His mother, Zerelda Cole, left a Catholic convent when she was just sixteen to marry a well-educated Baptist minister named Robert James.
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