Frank James Alexander Franklin " Frank " James ( January 10 , 1843 – February 18 , 1915 ) was an American soldier , guerrilla and outlaw . He was the older brother of outlaw Jesse James and was also part of the James - Younger gang . Childhood . James was born Alexander Franklin James in Kearney , Missouri , to Baptist minister Reverend Robert Sallee James and his wife Zerelda ( Cole ) James , who had moved from Kentucky . He was the oldest of three children . His father died in 1851 and his mother re - married Benjamin Simms in 1852 . After his death she married a third time to Dr . Reuben Samuel in 1855 when Frank was 13 years old . As a child , James showed interest in his late father ' s sizable library , especially the works of William Shakespeare . Census records show that James attended school regularly , and he reportedly wanted to become a teacher . Civil War . In 1861 , when James was eighteen years old , the American Civil War began . Missouri remained in the Union although a minority favored secession ( nearly three times more Missourians fought for the Union ) . The secessionists including Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson attempted to push the Union army out of the state but were eventually defeated . The James family was from the heavily Confederate western portion of the state . On September 13 , 1861 , the Missouri State Guard , including private Frank James , besieged Lexington , Missouri . James fell ill and was left behind when the Confederate forces later retreated . He surrendered to the Union troops , was paroled , and was allowed to return home . On his arrival , however , he was arrested by the local pro - Union militia and was forced to sign an oath of allegiance to the Union . After the withdrawal of regular Confederate troops in the fall of 1864 , a bitter guerrilla conflict soon began between bands of pro - Confederate irregulars ( commonly known as bushwhacker s ) and the Union homeguards . By early 1863 , Frank , ignoring his parole and oath of allegiance , had joined the guerrilla band of Fernando Scott , a former saddler . He soon switched to the more active command led by William Clarke Quantrill . Union militiamen searching for Fernando Scott raided the Samuel farm and briefly hanged Dr . Reuben Samuel ( though not fatally ) , Frank ' s stepfather , torturing him to reveal the location of the guerrillas . Shortly afterward , Frank took part with Quantrill ' s company in the August 21 , 1863 , Lawrence Massacre where approximately 200 mostly unarmed civilians were killed . Outlaw years and retirement . During his years as a bandit , James was involved in at least four robberies between 1868 and 1876 that resulted in the deaths of bank employees or citizens . The most famous incident was the disastrous Northfield , Minnesota , raid on September 7 , 1876 , that ended with the death or capture of most of the gang . Five months after the killing of his brother Jesse in 1882 , Frank James boarded a train to Jefferson City , Missouri , where he had an appointment with the governor in the state capitol . Placing his holster in Governor Crittenden ' s hands , he explained , Accounts say that James surrendered with the understanding that he would not be extradited to Northfield , Minnesota . He was tried for only two of the robberies / murders – one in Gallatin , Missouri for the July 15 , 1881 robbery of the Rock Island Line train at Winston , Missouri , in which the train engineer and a passenger were killed , and the other in Huntsville , Alabama for the March 11 , 1881 robbery of a United States Army Corps of Engineers payroll at Muscle Shoals , Alabama . Among others , former Confederate General Joseph Orville Shelby testified on James ' behalf in the Missouri trial . He was acquitted in both Missouri and Alabama . Missouri accepted legal jurisdiction over him for other charges , but they never came to trial . He was never extradited to Minnesota for his connection with the Northfield Raid . His New York Times obituary summarized his arrest and acquittal : In the last thirty years of his life , James worked a variety of jobs , including as a shoe salesman and then as a Burlesque theater ticket taker in St . Louis . One of the theater ' s spins to attract patrons was their use of the phrase " Come get your ticket punched by the legendary Frank James . " He also served as an AT & T telegraph operator in St . Joseph , Missouri . James took up the lecture circuit , while residing in Sherman , Texas . In 1902 , former Missourian Sam Hildreth , a leading thoroughbred horse trainer and owner , hired James as the betting commissioner at the Fair Grounds Race Track in New Orleans . He returned to the North Texas area where he was a shoe salesman at Sanger Brothers in Dallas . The " Tacoma Times " reported in July , 1914 that he was picking berries at a local ranch there in Washington state and planned to buy a farm nearby . He was also part of a Chicago investment group which purchased the Fletcher Terrell ' s Buckskin Bill ' s Wild West Show , third in size after the Buffalo Bill and Pecos Bill shows . In his final years , James returned to the James Farm , giving tours for the sum of 25 cents . He died there on February 18 , 1915 , aged 72 years . He left behind his wife Annie Ralston James and one son . Portrayals . In 1939 , Henry Fonda played Frank James and Tyrone Power played Jesse James in the film " Jesse James " . In 1940 , Fonda played Frank James in the sequel " The Return of Frank James " . In 1949 , Tom Tyler played Frank James in the film " I Shot Jesse James " , an account from Robert Ford ' s viewpoint , and the first western directed by Samuel Fuller . In 1954 , Richard Travis portrayed Frank James in an episode of Jim Davis ' s syndicated western television series , " Stories of the Century " . Lee Van Cleef played Jesse James in the same episode . In 1957 Jeffrey Hunter played Frank James in " The True Story of Jesse James " . In 1960 Robert Dix played Frank James in " Young Jesse James " . In 1972 John Pierce played Frank in " The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid " . In 1977 John Bennett Perry portrayed Frank James in an episode of " Little House on the Prairie " . In 1980 , Stacy Keach played Frank James in the film " The Long Riders " , which featured four sets of real brothers playing sets of brothers in the gang . In 1980 , country singer Johnny Cash portrayed Frank James in the concept album " The Legend of Jesse James " . In 1986 , country singer Johnny Cash played Frank James in the film " The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James " , directed by William A . Graham . In 1992 , Jamie Walters played Frank James in the American Western TV show " The Young Riders " . In 1994 , Bill Paxton played Frank in " Frank & Jesse " . In 1995 , Leonard Nimoy played Frank James in the made - for - TV movie " " . In 2001 , Gabriel Macht portrayed James in the film " American Outlaws " . In 2007 , Sam Shepard played Frank James in the film " The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford . In 2010 , James Brolin appears in an uncredited cameo as Frank James in the Coen brothers ' " True Grit " . The fictional character Rooster Cogburn is billed as appearing with James in The Cole Younger and Frank James Wild West Company in 1903 .