Jesse
James, alias J. Frank Dalton, was born on September 5, 1847,
at Kearney, Clay County, Missouri. He was shot in the back
by Bob Ford, a cousin, on April 3, 1882, in St. Joseph, Missouri
for the $10,000.00 reward. Jesse James, along with his brother
Frank James, formed a gang and in the early years were known
for the banks and trains they robbed. The Northfield, Minnesota
bank was the first bank robbery where they failed completely.
During the Civil War, Frank and Jesse both rode with Quantrell,
fighting for the South. In January 1932, a man appeared who
claimed to be Jesse James. He advised that he and Bob Ford
conspired in order to claim the reward. This man claimed to
have changed clothes with a dead man named Charles Bigelow,
escaped, and attended his own funeral the next day. He claimed
to have disappeared for the next 50 years only to reappear
at the age of 85.
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