Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847–April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, the most famous member of the James-Younger gang. Since his death, Jesse James has become a figure of folklore.

Biography

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Pre-Civil War

Jesse James was born in Centerville, Missouri (later renamed Kearney). His father, Robert James, was a slave-owning hemp farmer and Baptist minister from Kentucky who helped found William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and later died in California. Robert's widow, Zerelda, married again, first to a wealthy man who soon died, then to a timid doctor named Reuben Samuel, who moved into the James home. In the tumultuous years leading up to the American Civil War, Zerelda and Reuben acquired a total of seven slaves and grew tobacco on their well-appointed farm.

Civil War

When the Civil War began, Union forces quickly drove organized Confederate units out of Missouri. But the state was badly divided between Unionists and Southern sympathizers (including the James-Samuel family), and local tensions were exacerbated by raids by abolitionist Union troops and simple bandits from Kansas. Jesse's older brother, Frank James, fought with the regular Confederate army until illness forced him to return home. In 1863, Frank joined the Confederate bushwhackers, guerrillas who were battling Union forces in western Missouri, in a savage war marked by atrocities by both sides; the warfare was probably more intense because it was largely waged by Missourians, with Unionist militia pitted against Confederate insurgents, which often pitted neighbors against neighbors. Frank and Jesse's own stepfather, Reuben Samuel, was tortured by local militiamen hunting for Frank's band. Frank eventually linked up with Quantrill's Raiders and took part in the bloody massacre of 200 men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas.

More on [ Jesse James ]

James, Jesse - Twitter Search

Dad keeps kid. Actress Sandra Bullock & husband Jesse James won custody battle against adult film star Janine Lindemulder. http://ow.ly/RmOJ
ParentDish (ParentDish) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:20:56 -0000
Dad keeps kid. Actress Sandra Bullock & husband Jesse James won custody battle against adult film star Janine Lindemulder. http://ow.ly/RmOJ
Assassination Jesse James; Lives of Others; Diving Bell + The Butterfly; Jindabyne; Pan's Labyrinth; United 93; Last Days #filmsofthedecade
kevincoaker (Kevin Coaker) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:17:17 -0000
Assassination Jesse James; Lives of Others; Diving Bell + The Butterfly; Jindabyne; Pan's Labyrinth; United 93; Last Days #filmsofthedecade
The Diary has No Tears, I Seen A Man Die, & Jesse James. Untouchable has Mary Jane, Smile, Money Makes the World Go Round... #classics
SherrieRenee (Lady Luck) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:02:26 -0000
The Diary has No Tears, I Seen A Man Die, & Jesse James. Untouchable has Mary Jane, Smile, Money Makes the World Go Round... #classics
Metal Church. Jesse James Teaches You Metal fabrication For Free. Amen! http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/?p=28383
cyrilhuze (Cyril Huze) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:53:37 -0000
Metal Church. Jesse James Teaches You Metal fabrication For Free. Amen! http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/?p=28383
Assassination of Jesse James, Up, Shaun of the Dead, Dead Man's Shoes, Good Night/Good Luck, Mou Gaan Dou, In Bruges #filmsofthedecade
BlinkeeBear (Ian Moreno-Melgar) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:56:08 -0000
Assassination of Jesse James, Up, Shaun of the Dead, Dead Man's Shoes, Good Night/Good Luck, Mou Gaan Dou, In Bruges #filmsofthedecade
#filmsofthedecade @CollingsA beat me to The Assassination of Jesse James there; Paris, je t'aime, Control, Amelie, Gomorrah...
AlGorham (Al Gorham) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:46:51 -0000
#filmsofthedecade @CollingsA beat me to The Assassination of Jesse James there; Paris, je t'aime, Control, Amelie, Gomorrah...

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