Robert Newton "Bob" Ford (January 31, 1862 – June 8, 1892) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
outlawIn 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 Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
best known for killing his gang leader
Jesse JamesJesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
in 1882. Ford was shot to death by
Edward O'KelleyEdward Capehart O'Kelley was notable as the man who murdered Robert Ford, who had killed Jesse James to receive a bounty. He was the subject of a book, Ed O'Kelley: The Man Who Killed Jesse James' Murderer, by Judith Ries, O'Kelley's great-great-niece...
in his tent saloon with a
shotgunA shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
blast to the front upper body. He was buried in Creede and later reburied at Richmond Cemetery in Ray County, with "The man who shot Jesse James" inscribed on his grave marker.
Early years
Robert Ford was born in Ray County,
MissouriMissouri 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 James Thomas Ford and his wife Mary Bruin. As a young man, he became an admirer of
Jesse JamesJesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
for his war record and his celebrated criminal exploits. In 1880, he finally met James. Ford's brother
CharlesCharles Wilson "Charley" Ford was an outlaw, and member of the James Gang. He was the lesser known brother of Robert Ford, the killer of Jesse James...
is believed to have taken part in the James gang's Blue Cut train robbery in Jackson County near
Glendale, MissouriGlendale is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,925 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Glendale is located at ....
(now part of
IndependenceIndependence 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...
), on September 7, 1881.
Joining the gang
In November 1881, James moved his family to St. Joseph, Missouri. He intended to give up crime but first wanted to stage one last robbery at Blue Cut, Missouri. The James gang had been greatly reduced in numbers by that time. Some had fled the gang in fear of prosecution, and many of the original members were either dead or in prison after a botched robbery in
Northfield, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
. After the train robbery,
Frank JamesAlexander Franklin "Frank" James was a famous American outlaw. He was the older brother of outlaw Jesse James.-Childhood:...
decided to retire from crime, settling in
Lynchburg, VirginiaLynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
.
By the spring of 1882, with his gang depleted by arrests, deaths, and defections, James thought that he could only trust the Ford brothers. Charles had been out on raids with James before, but Bob was an eager new recruit. The Fords resided in St. Joseph with the James family, where Jesse went by the alias of Thomas Howard. The Ford brothers passed themselves off as Bob and Charles Johnson, Howard's cousins.
Hoping to keep the gang alive, James invited the Fords to take part in the robbery of the
Platte CityPlatte City is a city in Platte County, Missouri, along the Little Platte River. The population was 3,866 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Geography:Platte City is located at...
Bank, but the brothers had already decided not to take part in the robbery in order to collect the $10,000 bounty placed on James by Missouri Governor
Thomas T. CrittendenThomas Theodore Crittenden was a United States colonel during the American Civil War, and served as the 24th Governor of Missouri from 1881 to 1885.-Early life and education:...
. Robert Ford had been brought into a meeting with Crittenden for being in the presence of Jesse James' cousin
Wood HiteRobert Woodson "Wood" Hite was an outlaw and cousin of Frank and Jesse James. He was born around 1850 in Logan, Kentucky to Major George Burns and Nancy Gardner Hite . His mother was the sister of Robert Sallee James, the father of Frank and Jesse James of the James-Younger Gang, making Wood a...
the day Hite was murdered. As a result, Crittenden promised Ford a full pardon if he would also kill Jesse James, who was by then the most wanted criminal in America. Crittenden had made capture of the James brothers his top priority; in his inaugural address he declared that no political motives could be allowed to keep them from justice. Barred by law from offering a sufficiently large reward, he had turned to the railroad and express corporations to put up a $5,000 bounty for each of them. President
Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
had also wanted James to be captured.
Killing Jesse James
On April 3, 1882, after eating breakfast, the Fords and James went into the living room in preparation for the trip to Platte City. James had just learned of gang member
Dick LiddilJames Andrew "Dick" Liddil was an American outlaw who was one of the last surviving members of the James-Younger Gang...
's confession for participating in Hite's murder while reading the daily newspaper, and grew increasingly suspicious of the Fords for never reporting this matter to him. According to Robert Ford, it became clear to him that James had realized they were there to betray him. However, instead of scolding the Fords, James walked across the living room to lay his revolvers on a sofa. He then turned around and noticed a dusty picture above the mantle, and stood on a chair in order to clean it. Robert Ford then drew his weapon, and shot the unarmed Jesse James in the back of the head.
James' wife
Zerelda MimmsZerelda Amanda Mimms James was the first cousin and wife of Jesse James.-Personal life:Zerelda Amanda Mimms was the daughter of Mary James and Pastor John Wilson Mimms. Her mother was a paternal aunt of Jesse James', the sister of his father, Robert S...
ran into the room and screamed, "You've killed him."
Robert Ford's immediate response was, "I swear to God I didn't."
After the assassination, the Fords wired Crittenden to claim their reward. They turned themselves in to the law, but they were dismayed to find that they were charged with first degree murder. In one day, the Ford brothers were indicted, pleaded guilty, and
sentenced to deathCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
by
hangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
, but two hours later, Crittenden granted them a full pardon. Despite the deal that was made with Crittenden, the Ford brothers received only a fraction of the money they were originally promised.
Later years
Bob Ford earned his living by posing for photographs as "the man who killed Jesse James" in
dime museumDime museums were institutions that were briefly popular at the end of the 19th century in the United States. Designed as centers for entertainment and moral education for the working class , the museums were distinctly different from upper-middle class' cultural events...
s. He also appeared on stage with his brother Charles, reenacting the murder in a touring stage show, but his performance was not well received. Charles, terminally ill with
tuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and addicted to
morphineMorphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
, committed
suicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
on May 4, 1884. Soon afterward, Bob Ford and
Dick LiddilJames Andrew "Dick" Liddil was an American outlaw who was one of the last surviving members of the James-Younger Gang...
relocated to
Las Vegas, New MexicoLas Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas , divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000...
where they opened a saloon. By early 1885, Bob Ford had become a Las Vegas city policeman. According to legend, Ford, unpopular with his constituents, was eventually goaded into a shooting contest with
Jose Chavez y ChavezJose Chavez y Chavez was an outlaw from the U.S. state of New Mexico. He was said to be of Mexican-American and Native American ancestry...
, a comrade-in-arms of
Billy the KidWilliam H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
during the
Lincoln County WarThe Lincoln County War was a 19th-century range war between two factions during the Old West period. Numerous notable figures of the American West were involved, including Billy the Kid, aka William Henry McCarty; sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett; cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and...
. Ford shot at and missed a coin on a signpost, while Chavez hit his target. Ford claimed the match had been unfair, and Chavez promptly challenged him to a duel. Ford declined and immediately left town.
On December 26, 1889, Ford survived an assassination attempt in
Kansas City, KansasKansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
when an assailant tried to slit his throat.
Within a few years, Robert Ford had settled in
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, where he opened a saloon-gambling house in
WalsenbergThe City of Walsenburg or Los Leones is a Statutory City that is the county seat and the most populous city of Huerfano County, Colorado, United States...
. When
silverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
was found in
CreedeThe historic town of Creede is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Mineral County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 377 at the U.S. Census 2000.-History:...
, Ford closed his saloon and opened one there.
On the eve of
EasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
1892, Ford and gunman Joe Palmer, a member of the
Soapy SmithJefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado; Creede, Colorado; and Skagway, Alaska, from 1879 to 1898. He was killed in the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf...
gang, were drinking in the local saloons and proceeded to shoot out windows and street lamps along Creede's Main Street. With the help of friends and business partners of Smith, they were soon allowed to return. Ford purchased a lot and on May 29, 1892, opened Ford's Exchange, said to have been a dance hall. Six days later, the entire business district, including Ford's Exchange, burned to the ground in a major fire. Ford opened a tent saloon until he could rebuild.
Death
Three days after the fire, on June 8, 1892,
Edward O'KelleyEdward Capehart O'Kelley was notable as the man who murdered Robert Ford, who had killed Jesse James to receive a bounty. He was the subject of a book, Ed O'Kelley: The Man Who Killed Jesse James' Murderer, by Judith Ries, O'Kelley's great-great-niece...
entered Ford's tent
saloonA bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
with a
shotgunA shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
. According to witnesses, Ford's back was turned. O'Kelley said, "Hello, Bob." As Ford turned to see who it was, O'Kelley fired both barrels, killing Ford instantly. O'Kelley became "the man who killed the man who killed Jesse James." O'Kelley's sentence was commuted because of a medical condition, and he was released on October 3, 1902. O'Kelley was killed on January 13, 1904 while trying to shoot a policeman.
Ford was buried in Creede, but later was exhumed and reburied in Richmond,
Ray County, Missouri, at Richmond Cemetery.
Films
- In the 1939 film Jesse James, Ford is played by John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
.
- In the 1940 film The Return of Frank James
The Return of Frank James is a 1940 western film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney. It is a sequel to Henry King's 1939 film Jesse James. Written by Sam Hellman, the film loosely follows the life of Frank James following the death of his outlaw brother, Jesse James at...
, a highly fictionalized film about Frank JamesAlexander Franklin "Frank" James was a famous American outlaw. He was the older brother of outlaw Jesse James.-Childhood:...
hunting down Bob and Charley Ford, John CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
reprised his role. The film, directed by Fritz LangFriedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
, is a sequel to Jesse JamesJesse James is a western movie directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, and Randolph Scott. Written by Nunnally Johnson, the film is loosely based on the life of the notorious outlaw for which the film derives its name...
, which also features the Fords.
- In the 1949 film I Shot Jesse James
I Shot Jesse James is a film directed by Samuel Fuller about the murder of Jesse James by Robert Ford and Robert Ford's life afterwards...
, directed by Samuel FullerSamuel Michael Fuller was an American screenwriter, novelist, and film director known for low-budget genre movies with controversial themes.-Personal life:...
, Ford is portrayed by John IrelandJohn Benjamin Ireland was an actor and film director.-Biography:Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was raised in New York City from the age of 18. He started out in minor stage roles on Broadway...
.
- In the 1957 film The True Story of Jesse James, Ford is portrayed by Carl Thayler.
- In the 1957 film Hell's Crossroads, Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
plays Bob Ford.
- In the 1980 film The Long Riders
The Long Riders is a 1980 western film directed by Walter Hill. It was produced by James Keach, Stacy Keach and Tim Zinnemann and featured an original soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Cooder won the Best Music award in 1980 from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for this soundtrack...
, NicholasNicholas Haden-Guest is an American actor. He primarily works as a voice actor, but is best known for a TV role, as the principal in the NBC teen sitcom, USA High.-Personal life:...
and Christopher GuestChristopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
play Bob and Charley Ford.
- In the 1986 Made for TV Movie The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James Bob Ford was played by Darrell Wilks.
- In the 1995 film Frank & Jesse, Jim Flowers plays Bob Ford.
- In the 2006 TV movie The Plot to Kill: Jesse James, and the 2007 TV movie Jesse James: American Outlaw (both produced by The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
), Ford is portrayed by James Horton.
- In the 2007 film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a 2007 American Western drama film. The film is directed by Andrew Dominik, with Brad Pitt portraying Jesse James and Casey Affleck as his killer, Robert Ford.Filming took place in rural Alberta and Winnipeg, Manitoba...
, based on the historical-fiction novel by Ron HansenRon Hansen is an American novelist, essayist, and professor.-Biography:Hansen was born in Omaha, Nebraska, attended a Jesuit high school, Creighton Preparatory School and earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Creighton University in Omaha in 1970. Following military service, he earned an M.F.A...
, Ford is played by Casey AffleckCaleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt , better known as Casey Affleck, is an American actor and film director. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he played supporting roles in mainstream hits like Good Will Hunting and Ocean's Eleven as well as in critically acclaimed independent films such as...
, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. The film is considered as one of the most historically accurate portrayals of Jesse James and Robert Ford, even by James' descendants, who found both performances more realistic and true to history than the dozens that came before them.
Television series
- In 1960, Charles Aidman
Charles Aidman was an American film scenarist and television actor.-Career:Among his many television credits include appearances on NBC's western series The Road West in the 1966 episode "The Lean Years"...
guest starred in the episode "Bob Ford" during the first season of the TV series Shotgun SladeShotgun Slade is an American western television series starring Scott Brady that aired in syndication from October 24, 1959, until 1961. Created by Frank Gruber, the stories were written by John Berardino, Charissa Hughes, and Martin Berkeley...
.
- In an episode of Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
, Ford is portrayed as a student at Walnut Grove School.
- In 1958, Martin Landau
Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
portrayed Robert Ford in the LawmanLawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
episode "The Outcast".
Literature
- In Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
and Jerry PournelleJerry Eugene Pournelle is an American science fiction writer, essayist and journalist who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte and has since 1998 been maintaining his own website/blog....
's 1976 novel InfernoInferno is a science fiction novel written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, published in 1976. It was nominated for the 1976 Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel.-Background:...
, Ford is depicted as being in HellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
as a traitorIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
.
Music
- Recorded in 1924, a well-known folk song calls Ford "...that dirty little coward / That shot Mr. Howard".
- In the Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
song "Outlaw Blues", Dylan alludes to Ford with the lines, "I ain't gonna hang no picture/Ain't gonna hang no picture frame/Well I might look like a Robert Ford/But I feel just like a Jesse James".
- The 1975 Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
song "I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)"I Feel Like a Bullet " is a song on British pop singer Elton John's 1975 album Rock of the Westies.The song's lyrics compare the shooting of Jesse James by James' outlaw-partner Robert Ford to a failed romance....
" from the Rock of the WestiesRock of the Westies is the tenth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1975 .Like Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Rock of the Westies also debuted on the United States Billboard charts at # 1, the only two albums at that time to have done so...
album refers to a betrayal in a romantic relationship that is metaphorically likened to Jesse James' assassin.
- In the Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
song "Frank and Jesse James", Ford is mentioned in the lyrics "Robert Ford, a gunman/In exchange for his parole/Took the life of James the outlaw/Which he snuck up on and stole".
Further reading
- Ries, Judith. Ed O'Kelley: The Man Who Murdered Jesse James' Murderer. St. Louis, Mo.: Patches Publication. 1994
- Yeatman, Ted. Frank and Jesse James Nashville: Cumberland House, 2001.
External links