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Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Jesse James and the James-Younger gang were some of the most feared outlaws of antebellum America. Cast as heroes by some and villains by others, the former Confederate guerillas robbed banks and trains across America for over a decade. A failed robbery in Northfield, MN, however, proved a harbinger of the gang’s demise. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
| September 7, 1876 | Eight members of the James-Younger gang try to rob the First National Bank in Northfield, MN. Two die on the scene, while the James and Younger brothers escape with Charlie Pitts. |
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| September 21, 1876 | A search party catches up with Pitts and the Younger brothers. Pitts is killed in the ensuing gunfight and the Younger brothers are captured. Although the James brothers successful evade the search party, the James-Younger gang ceases to exist. |
| April 3, 1882 | Jesse James is shot and killed in St. Joseph, Missouri by Robert Ford, who was cooperating with authorities. |
| October 5, 1882 | Frank James surrenders to Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden. |
| June 8, 1892 | Robert Ford, who had settled out West in Colorado, is killed in his own saloon. |
| July 10, 1901 | Cole and Jim Younger are paroled after twenty-five years in prison |
| February 18, 1915 | Frank James dies at the age of 72 |
