James H. Timberlake (March 22, 1846 – February 21, 1891) was an American law enforcement officer,

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

soldier, farmer and rancher who served as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Western District of Missouri. Timberlake is best known for being the chief enforcer and investigator against the James-Younger Gang, beginning in the 1870s, which culminated in the death of the outlaw

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

on April 3, 1882, at the hands of Robert Ford.

Life and career

James Timberlake was born on March 22, 1846, in Platte County, Missouri, to farmer John Timberlake and his wife Patsy Noland. Timberlake remained at home to help on his family farm until 1864, when he joined the cavalry division of the Army of Missouri, under the command of Colonel Alonzo W. Slayback in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Timberlake became a second lieutenant and participated in a number of engagements under the command of General Joseph O. Shelby.''History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri''. St. Louis: National Historical Company, 1885. ASIN B00679V9QM. p. 368-9. Following the surrender of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, Timberlake accompanied Shelby and his one thousand-plus men into

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to pledge allegiance to Emperor

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (; ; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian archduke who became Emperor of Mexico, emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Restored Republic (Mexico), Mexican Republ ...

. Maximilian declined this offer, but granted land to the troops.Arthur, Anthony: ''General Jo Shelby's March'', Stewart Printing and Publishing Co., Marble Hill, Missouri, 2010. . In December 1865, Timberlake abandoned his life in Mexico and returned to Missouri to continue farming and raising stock. On November 25, 1874, Timberlake was married to Katie Thomason, the daughter of Grafton Thomason, who was a founder of

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, Missouri. In 1876, Timberlake was appointed

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

of Liberty, but was discharged in 1878 so that he could be appointed as the new county sheriff. When the James-Younger Gang rose to prominence in the 1870s, Timberlake teamed up with Kansas City's

Police commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

Henry H. Craig to investigate and pursue the outlaws. Timberlake became the primary investigator of the gang and soon gained recognition from

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Thomas Theodore Crittenden, who claimed Timberlake was largely responsible for the dissolution of the gang in 1882. In January 1882, outlaws Robert Ford, Charles Ford and Dick Liddil surrendered to Timberlake at the Fords' sister, Martha Bolton's residence in Ray County, Missouri, on the condition that they would receive full pardons and $10,000 in reward money, in exchange for the death or imprisonment of the gang's ringleader,

. Robert Ford directed Timberlake to Adairville,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, where he arrested Jesse James' cousin, Clarence Hite on February 11, 1882.Gilmore, Donald: ''Riding Vengeance With the James Gang'', Pelican Publishing Company, 2009. . p. 355 On March 24, 1882, Timberlake detailed a plan he designed in collaboration with Crittenden, which entailed that the Fords would have ten days to apprehend James, or else the pardon and reward would not stand. When Robert Ford killed James on April 3, 1882, Crittenden resented that an apprehension was not made and paid the majority of the reward to Timberlake. Following the death of Jesse James, Timberlake, along with the other conspirators in the mission to assassinate James found their reputations ruined, due in large to the nature in which James was killed. Timberlake, having completed his second term as county sheriff, declined to run for re-election, in favor of running for county collector, but was soundly defeated, thanks to a smear campaign run by supporters of James' cause. Hansen, Ron: '' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'', Harper Perennial, 1997. . p. 345 He retreated to

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, where he and his brother maintained successful ranches. However, Timberlake returned to Missouri in 1883, when he was reappointed deputy U.S. marshal for the Western District of Missouri by Crittenden. He resigned soon after his wife died, however, and returned to farming and remained working at the stables until he died from an

opioid overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to respiratory depression, a lethal conditio ...

morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...

, prompted by his

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...

, on February 21, 1891.

Cultural depictions

* In the 1986 film '' The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James'', Timberlake is portrayed by William Newman. * In the 2007 film '' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'', based on the historical novel by Ron Hansen, Timberlake is portrayed by

Ted Levine Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Jame Gumb (Buffalo Bill) in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009 ...

. * In the 2009

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

documentary ''Jesse James' Hidden Treasure'', Timberlake is portrayed by Dwayne Dresser. * In the 1980 concept album '' The Legend of Jesse James'', the narrative vocals for Timberlake are performed by Paul Kennerley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timberlake, James 1846 births 1891 deaths Accidental deaths in Missouri American deputy sheriffs American town marshals Drug-related deaths in Missouri Lawmen of the American Old West People from Platte County, Missouri People of Missouri in the American Civil War