John Younger
Encyclopedia
John Harrison Younger (1851 – March 17, 1874) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

, the brother of Cole
Cole Younger
Thomas Coleman "Cole" Younger was an American Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War and later an outlaw with the James-Younger gang...

, Jim
Jim Younger
James Hardin "Jim" Younger was a notable American outlaw and member of the James-Younger gang. He was the brother of Cole, John and Bob Younger-Life:...

 and Bob
Bob Younger
Robert Ewing "Bob" Younger was an American criminal and outlaw, the younger brother of Cole, Jim and John Younger , he was a member of the James-Younger gang.-Life:...

.

Biography

He was the 11th child of Henry Washington Younger
Henry Washington Younger
Henry Washington Younger was a businessman and father to the Younger outlaws Cole, Jim, John and Bob. He was the father of fourteen children...

 and Bersheba Leighton Fristoe
Bersheba Leighton Fristoe
Bersheba Fristoe Younger, born Bersheba Leighton Fristoe was an American woman who was the mother of the famed Younger Outlaws Cole, Jim, John and Bob. She was born in McMinnville, Tennessee the daughter of judge Richard Marshall Fristoe and Mary L. Fristoe...

's 14 children and their 5th son, the fourth to survive into adulthood.

In July, 1862, his father was shot and killed while on a business trip to Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

 by a detachment of Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 militiamen. As a result of this killing, several of John's brothers joined Quantrill's Raiders
Quantrill's Raiders
Quantrill's Raiders were a loosely organized force of pro-Confederate Partisan rangers, "bushwhackers", who fought in the American Civil War under the leadership of William Clarke Quantrill...

, but John and his younger brother Bob were too young to join so they stayed at home to look after their mother and sisters.

In January, 1866, Bob and John took their mother to Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...

 to purchase winter supplies. Recognizing the family from his military days an ex-soldier named Gillcreas came up to the wagon and made some comments about Cole. John told him to be quiet and the soldier slapped him around the face with a frozen fish. John got out his brother's pistol (Cole's that they had taken to be repaired) and shot him between the eyes.

After an examination of the dead body it was revealed the soldier was carrying a heavy slingshot
Slingshot
A slingshot, shanghai, flip, bean shooter or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held in the off hand, with two rubber strips attached to the uprights. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket which holds the projectile...

 which still was tied to his wrist, so the killing was ruled as self-defense.

The Youngers headed to Texas for a peaceful life until Bersheba became ill, so the boys (with the exception of Cole) took her back to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 to die.

As soon as they arrived they were harassed, Bob was knocked unconscious and John was hung four times, the fourth time they hauled him up the rope dug deep into his flesh. They finally cut him down and hacked at the body savagely with knives. He survived. Witnessing this was too much for Bersheba, and she died on June 6, 1870, her 54th birthday.

After Bersheba's funeral John and Bob met up with Jim and, because it was not safe to stay in one place, they often moved between Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

On Jan 20, 1871 he shot and killed 2 Texas Deputy Sherriffs.

In 1873 Jim, John and Bob Younger joined the James-Younger gang
James-Younger gang
The James-Younger Gang was a notable 19th-century gang of American outlaws that included Jesse James.The gang was centered in the state of Missouri. Membership fluctuated from robbery to robbery, as the outlaws' raids were usually separated by many months...

.

On 17 March 1874 Jim and John were headed to some friends in Roscoe, Missouri. Three men, a local Deputy Sheriff Edward Daniels and two Pinkerton Detectives
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...

 came up to them and asked them for directions. Suspecting that they were detectives Jim and John ambushed them. One of the agents fled instantly. While interviewing the remaining two, the detective, Louis Lull, drew a hidden pistol and shot John through the neck. Jim killed Deputy Daniels, while John pursued Lull on horseback to a nearby wood, fatally wounding him in the chest. Emerging from the woods still on horseback, as Jim ran towards him, John swayed and fell dead. Jim buried him by the roadside to avoid the law digging him up. Later he removed his body to bury him in an unmarked grave in the cemetery. Louis Lull died three days later. John Younger is buried in the Yeater-Cleveland Cemetery in St. Clair County, Missouri, about 4-5 miles NE of Oceola, MO.

External links

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