Photos of Jesse W. James, Page 1
This is section of my site has photos of Jesse James, the leader, and most famous member, of the James-Younger Gang. Born on September 5, 1847, he was four years younger than his brother Frank. Jesse spent the first half of the Civil War working on his farm, since he was too young to be a combatant. However, after he was severely beaten by Union soldiers for not revealing where his brother Frank and his fellow guerrillas were (his mother, Zerelda, was also harmed by the soldiers and step-father Rueben was hung four times from a tree before released), hr rushed to join the guerrillas under the command of Bloody Bill Anderson. In the guerrilla ranks, Jesse made quite a name for himself as a loyal and deadly soldier. He also began thinking of Anderson as a type of hero. After the war's end, with Jesse bitter over the result, he attempted to surrender, only to be shot in the chest and nearly killed. He survived, however, almost miraculously, and vowed revenge. It was from this that the James-Younger Gang was created. Although Jesse was too weak to actually participate in the gang's first robbery in Liberty, Missouri on February 13, 1866, he did participate in almost every escaped afterwards. Egotistical, intelligent, young, daring, hotheaded, cold-blooded, brash, and fearless, he was respected by some members of the gang, disliked by others, and thought of as a hero by others. It was during the gang's prime that he married his sweet-heart, Zee Mimms, on April 24, 1874. They couple ended up having four children, two of which died shortly after birth. After the disasterous bank robbery attempt in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1876 only Jesse and brother Frank managed to get back to Missouri. In 1879, Jesse and Frank formed a new James Gang which robbed three trains, a stagecoach, and a paymaster. Towards the end of his life, Jesse became very depressed and demoralized. His second gang fell apart at the seems, he was moving with his family all the time, living under assumed names, and trusting no one. In the spring of 1882, he moved with Zee, and children Jesse Jr. and Mary to St. Joseph, Missouri. There, on April 3, Jesse was shot in the back of the head and instantly killed by fellow gang member Bob Ford, who did the deed for the large reward. Jesse had for some odd reason took his guns off (something he never did) and stood on a chair to adjust a tilted painting on the wall in his bedroom. He had turned his back to Bob and Charlie Ford, people he had been warned not to trust, and it ended up costing him his life. Some say Jesse grew tired of running and hiding, and simply wanted to die, so he let the Ford brothers kill him. Judging by the way he died, it is possible, but why he would leave his family nearly desitute is equally odd. Either way, the life of Jesse ended on April 3, 1882, but the legend still lives on to this day.
Jesse's first known photograph
This photo is of Jesse, around age seven, with his five year old sister, Susan. This photo was taken around 1854.
Jesse's second photograph
This photo was taken when Jesse was either fourteen or fifteen. It was taken at a photo studio in Kansas City.
Jesse James, the Civil War guerrilla
Jesse had this photo taken on July 10, 1864. It was taken at Platte City, Missouri, at the time that Bloody Bill's guerrillas raided that town.
