biography
| name: |
James, Jesse (Woodson)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1847–82)
|
| biography:
| Wild West outlaw, born in Centerville, Missouri, USA. After fighting with a guerrilla group in the Civil War, he and his brother Frank James (1843–1915) led numerous bank, train, and stagecoach robberies in and around Missouri, before Jesse was murdered for a reward by Robert Ford, a gang member. Frank gave himself up soon after, stood trial, was released, and lived the rest of his life on the family farm. Jesse's story has been the subject of numerous Hollywood Westerns. Jesse and Frank tried to justify their crimes on the grounds of persecution. They shared the family's sympathy with the Southern cause, for which they fought in the Civil War in 1861. |
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