James Hardin Younger (January 15, 1848 – October 19, 1902) was an American

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

and member of the James–Younger Gang. He was the brother of Cole,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Bob Younger.

Life

Born in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

on January 15, 1848. Jim Younger was the ninth of fourteen children born to Henry Washington Younger and Bersheba Leighton Fristoe. With his brother Cole, he joined the Confederate Army during 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 ...

, eventually becoming a member of Quantrill's Raiders in 1864. Jim was later captured by Union troops, in the same ambush that resulted in

William Quantrill William Clarke Quantrill (July 31, 1837 – June 6, 1865) was a Confederate States of America, Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. Quantrill experienced a turbulent childhood, became a schoolteacher, and joined a group ...

's death, and was imprisoned at Alton prison as

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

until the war's end, when he was paroled. After the war Jim tried his hand at various activities, including starting a horse ranch or

deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...

Dallas County, Texas Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,613,539, and was estimated to be 2,656,028 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, second-most populo ...

between 1870 and 1871. In 1873 he joined the James–Younger Gang, which was founded by Cole, along with Frank and

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 ...

. It's uncertain how much time he spent with the gang, but he was present when his brother John was killed by

Pinkertons Pinkerton is an American private investigation and security company established around 1850 in the United States by Scottish-born American cooper Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward Rucker as the North-Western Police Agency, which l ...

in Roscoe, Missouri in 1874. He left the gang and spent the next two years working a ranch in San Luis Obispo, California.

Return to James–Younger Gang and death

Jim returned to the gang in time to join the ill-fated 1876 bank job in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

. Part of his jaw was shot off and he was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment. While in custody, Jim and Cole donated money for the creation of the ''Prison Mirror'', one of the first prison newspapers in the US. Along with Cole, he was paroled in 1901. After his release he became engaged to Alix Mueller, who had met him in prison 20 years after the Northfield robbery. Due to the terms of his parole, however, Jim could not marry. In 1900 he was listed as

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

in the census, and killed himself on October 19, 1902 in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. His body was returned to

Lee's Summit, Missouri Lee's Summit is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri and a suburb of the Kansas City metropolitan area. It resides in Jackson County (predominantly) as well as Cass County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 101,108, making it the 6th ...

for burial.

Film and television depiction

In 1941, Younger was portrayed by actor Arthur Kennedy in the film '' Bad Men of Missouri''. In 1950, Dewey Martin played Younger in the film '' Kansas Raiders'', about his time spent with Quantrill's Raiders. In 1954,

Sheb Wooley Shelby Fredrick Wooley (April 10, 1921 – September 16, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He recorded a series of novelty songs, including the 1958 hit rock-and-roll comedy single "The Purple People Eater", and under the name ...

played Younger in an episode of Jim Davis's syndicated

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, '' Stories of the Century''. In the 1972 film '' The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid'' he was portrayed by Luke Askew''. In the 1980 film '' The Long Riders'' he was portrayed by Keith Carradine. In the TV show '' Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'', he was portrayed in the episode "Baby Outlaws" by Donnie Jeffcoat. In the 2001 film '' American Outlaws'' he was portrayed by Gregory Smith.

References

External links

Younger family genealogy on the official website for the family of Jesse James: Stray Leaves, A James Family in America Since 1650
{{DEFAULTSORT:Younger, Jim 1848 births 1902 suicides 1902 deaths People from Lee's Summit, Missouri Outlaws of the American Old West Quantrill's Raiders James–Younger Gang American bank robbers American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People convicted of murder by Minnesota Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Minnesota People paroled from life sentence Suicides by firearm in Minnesota People of Missouri in the American Civil War Confederate States Army personnel Prisoners and detainees of the United States military