Robert Ford (outlaw)
| Robert Newton Ford | |
|---|---|
Robert Ford, undated.
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| Born |
January 31, 1862 Ray County, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | June 8, 1892 (aged 30) Creede, Colorado |
| Cause of death | Murdered by Edward Capehart O'Kelley |
| Resting place | Richmond Cemetery in Richmond, Missouri |
| Occupation | Outlaw; Saloon owner |
| Known for | The assassination of Jesse James |
| Parent(s) | James Thomas and Mary Bruin Ford |
Robert Newton "Bob" Ford (January 31, 1862 – June 8, 1892) was an American outlaw best known for killing his gang leader Jesse James in April 1882, to collect a reward. For about a year, Ford and his older brother Charles performed paid re-enactments of the killing at publicity events. Later he drifted around the West, operating saloons and dance halls.
Ford was shot to death at the age of 30 in Creede, Colorado, by Edward Capehart O'Kelley, who attacked him in Ford's temporary tent saloon. Ford was first buried in Creede. His remains were later moved and reinterred at Richmond Cemetery in Richmond in Ray County, Missouri; "The man who shot Jesse James" was inscribed on his grave marker.
Robert Ford was born in 1862, in Ray County, Missouri. He was the youngest child of James Thomas Ford and his wife, the former Mary Bruin. As a young man, Robert became an admirer of Jesse James for his Civil War record and criminal exploits. In 1880, at the age of 19, he finally met James.
Ford's brother Charles is believed to have taken part in the James gang's Blue Cut train robbery in Jackson County, west of Glendale, Missouri (renamed Selsa and now part of Independence), on September 7, 1881.
In November 1881, after the train robbery, James moved his family to St. Joseph, Missouri and intended to give up crime. 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 bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota. After the train robbery, James' brother Frank James had also decided to retire from crime and moved East, settling in Lynchburg, Virginia.
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