Frank James

Frank James married Annie Ralston and their only child Robert Franklin James was born in 1878 in Nashville.

Frank died at his family home in Kearney following a heart attack.

This outlaw was celebrated in many movies - the earliest being, Jesse James, in 1939 in which Henry Fonda portrayed Frank and also in the sequel, The Return of Frank James, the following year.

Born Alexander Franklin James on January 10, 1843 at Kearney, Missouri, to Baptist minister Reverend Robert Sallee James and his wife, Frank James was the oldest of three siblings including Jesse Woodson James and Susan Lavenia James.

Following the death of his father and stepfather Benjamin Simms, his mother married a third time to Dr. Reuben Samuel in 1855 when Frank was 13 years old

As a child, he showed interest in his late father's sizable library, especially the works of William Shakespeare. Census records show that James attended school regularly, and he reportedly wanted to become a teacher.

In 1861, he joined the Confederate Home Guard unit of Centerville, Missouri. He was captured by Union soldiers the following year and forced to take oath not to reenlist in the Confederate army.

In1863, he joined the Quantrill's guerrillas fighters who supported the Confederate army during the American Civil war. Other members of the gang included younger brother Jessie James, Cole Younger and James Younger.

In 1863, Union soldiers roughed up his mother, and almost hanged her husband to death, and beat up Jesse for not giving them the location of Quantrill's guerrillas.

In August, 1863, the Quantrill Raiders committed one of the worst atrocities of the Civil War when it attacked the town of Lawrence and killed 150 inhabitants and set fire to over 180 buildings.

With the end of Civil War, the James brothers became outlaws. They established a gang that included Bob Younger, Cole Younger, James Younger, Bill Chadwell, Clell Miller and Charlie Pitts.

In 1876, the gang attempted to rob the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota, and killed the cashier. Members of the town opened fire wounding Frank who escaped and went into hiding.

In1881, the brothers with Wood, Clarence Hite, and Dick Liddil, robbed a Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad owned train at Winston, Missouri, of $650 and passenger Frank McMillan was shot dead by Frank.