I Knew Frank ... I Wish I Had Known Jesse; Family, Friends and Neighbors in the Life and Times of the James Boys

Independence, MO: Two Trails Publishing, 2007. Signed Limited Edition [stated], Number 145 of 200. Hardcover. Very good. Dennis Dhukill. Format is approximately 7.5 inches by 11 inches. xix, [3], 501, [7] pages. Illustrations. Endnotes. Index. Also inscribed by the editor on the dedication page. Inscription reads Dear Ginger, This book project really began with your typing my grandfather's manuscript into MS Word. Thank you for doing that task so professionally. Dan. The contents include: Part 1, Kentucky Roots; Part 2, Development of Clay County, Missouri; Part 3 Hold-Ups and Bad Boys; Part 4, Frank James; Part 5, Jesse James; Part 6, The Younger Boys, Part 7, Jesse's Family and Relatives, and Part 8 Kearney Revisited. Bud and Donny Pence, great uncles of author Samuel Anderson Pence and neighbors and contemporaries of Frank and Jesse James, were members of Quantrill's Guerrillas during the Civil War. They participated in many engagements against Union forces led by William Quantrill, including the ill-fated foray into Kentucky in 1865, and survived to tell about it. Samuel Anderson Pence worked on this manuscript primarily during the 1950's. It is based on what he knew or believed to be true at that time. During the intervening decades the availability of additional genealogical information brought to light some details about the subjects of this book which differed from what Sam Pence wrote. For the most part the editor has left the text as originally written. Some end notes have been provided where new information or discrepancies have been identified. Untangling the intricate web of James family relationships and 19th century Clay County history through the personal recollections of native son who, along with his parents, grandparents, and guerrilla great-uncles, lived through the era. The James-Younger Gang was a notable 19th-century gang of American outlaws that revolved around Jesse James and his brother Frank James. The gang was based in the state of Missouri, the home of most of the members. Membership fluctuated from robbery to robbery, as the outlaws' raids were usually separated by many months. As well as the notorious James brothers, at various times it included the Younger brothers (Cole, Jim, John, and Bob), John Jarrett (married to the Youngers' sister Josie), Arthur McCoy, George Shepherd, Oliver Shepherd, William McDaniel, Tom McDaniel, Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts (born Samuel A. Wells), and Bill Chadwell (alias Bill Stiles). The James-Younger Gang had its origins in a group of Confederates that participated in the bitter partisan fighting that wracked Missouri during the American Civil War. After the war, the men continued as outlaws, though the motive shifted to personal profit rather than for the glory of the Confederacy. The loose association of outlaws did not truly become the "James-Younger Gang" until 1868 at the earliest, when the authorities first named Cole Younger, John Jarrett, Arthur McCoy, George Shepherd and Oliver Shepherd as suspects in the robbery of the Nimrod Long bank in Russellville, Kentucky. The James-Younger Gang dissolved in 1876, following the capture of the Younger brothers in Minnesota during the ill-fated attempt to rob the Northfield First National Bank. Three years later, Jesse James organized a new gang, including Clell Miller's brother Ed and the Ford brothers (Robert and Charles), and renewed his criminal career. This career came to an end in 1882 when Robert Ford shot James from behind, killing him. For nearly a decade following the Civil War, the James-Younger Gang was among the most feared, most publicized, and most wanted group of outlaws on the American frontier. Though their crimes were reckless and brutal, many members of the gang commanded a notoriety in the public eye that earned the gang significant popular support and sympathy. The gang's activities spanned much of the central part of the country; they are suspected of having robbed banks, trains, and stagecoaches in at least eleven states: Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and West Virginia.