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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