Profile of the Day: Jesse James

Who are the black sheep in your family? On this day in 1847, American outlaw Jesse James was born in Kearny, Missouri.

Image: Jesse James / Library of Congress

Jesse Woodson James was the third of four children born to Robert James, a Baptist minister, and Zerelda Elizabeth Cole. When Jesse was 3 years old, his father abandoned his family and traveled to the gold fields of California. During the Civil War, Jesse and his older brother, Frank, fought as Confederate guerrilla soldiers. After the war, the brothers joined outlaw Cole Younger and his brothers to form the James-Younger Gang. The notorious gang committed a series of bank and train robberies which were romanticized in popular dime novels that portrayed the James brothers as Robin Hood-like figures.

On April 3, 1882, Jesse was killed by Robert Ford, member of his gang. He was shot in the back of the head while cleaning a dusty picture in his living room. He was 34 years old at the time of his death.

Explore Jesse James’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re related to the American outlaw.

View Jesse James’s Geni Profile