Robert Ford: The Man Who Shot Jesse James – Civil War Saga 3 Comments on Robert Ford: The Man Who Shot Jesse James Robert Newton Ford was an outlaw from Missouri born on January 31, 1862. Like many young Missouri men of his time, he grew up admiring the Civil War record and exploits of the famous bandit, Jesse James , a fellow Missouri native. Robert, who went by the nickname Bob, and his older brother Charles, finally got the chance to meet Jesse when they befriended him in 1880 while he was recruiting new members for his gang. The James-Younger gang had disbanded in 1876 after a botched robbery and James was in need of new recruits. Although he allowed Charles and Robert to join, neither brother played a large role in the gang. Charles did help Jesse rob a train in Glendale in September of 1881 but there are no records of Robert participating in any robberies.

Robert Ford posing with the gun that killed Jesse James, circa 1882-1892 Two of the gang members, Wood Hite, a cousin of Jesse James, and a friend of Ford’s named Dick Liddil, were on the run from the law in December of 1881 and taking refuge at the house of Robert Ford’s sister when an argument between Hite and Liddil got out of hand. The men took shots at each before Ford stepped in and shot Hite in the head, killing him instantly. Fearing James would kill him and Liddil for murdering his cousin, Ford buried him in a shallow grave in the woods. In January of 1882, Sheriff James Timberlake detained Ford and question him about Hite’s death. When authorities discovered he was a member of James’ gang, they offered to strike a deal. According to Ford, on January 12, Governor Crittenden offered Ford a pardon for the murder and a $10,000 reward for the capture of either Jesse James or his brother Frank, dead or alive. Greedy and desperate to avoid prison, Ford agreed.

On January 24, Liddil surrendered to Timberlake and confessed to his role in Hite’s murder. His confession was later reprinted in the book The Trial of Frank James for Murder: With Confessions from Dick Liddil and Clarence Hite: “…Next morning, I came down to breakfast, and Wood Hite, who had come from Kentucky three or four days before, was there, and Bob Ford came down a fw minutes afterward. When Wood Hite first came in he spoke to me, and I told him I did not want him to speak to me, as he had accused me of stealing $100 at the divide in the Blue Cut robbery. I told him he lied; he said he could prove it (his accusation) by Mrs. Bolton, and I wanted him to prove it. He then denied ever saying anything of the kind. I told him he did say it, and we both commenced drawing our pistols. We fired about the same time. He shot me through the right leg between the knee and the hip, and I shot him through the right arm. He fired four times at me and I five times at him, and then I snapped another barrel at him.

I drew my other pistol when he commenced falling. Bob Ford fired one shot at him. I did not know this until afterward, when he (Bob) exhibited the empty chamber. The wound that killed Hite was through the head. It struck him about two inches above the right eye and came out in front of and a little above the left ear. Bob claimed that his shot was the fatal one. Hite lived 15 or 20 minutes, but did not speak. We carried him upstairs, and that night of Dec. 4, Cap and Bob dug a grave in the woods about a half a mile from the house and buried him. My leg was too sore to help. We did not use a coffin…On the night of Thursday, the twenty-ninth of December, Jesse and Charlie Ford came down to Mrs. Bolton’s, where I had been since being wounded and tried to get me to go with them. They claimed to have come from Nebraska. I declined to go. I mistrusted Jesse wanted to kill me and so left. This was on Saturday night, December 31, 1881. Jesse and Charlie left the next night for the old lady’s I was told.

This was the last time I ever saw him, and I have never seen Charlie Ford since. After the raid on Mrs. Bolton’s house early in January, 1882, I concluded to surrender.” Due to fears that Jesse James would kill him if he discovered he had killed Hite, Ford kept his arrest, as well as Liddil’s, a secret from James to prevent arousing suspicion. Charles Ford Knowing what a quick draw James was, the Ford brothers knew they had to wait for a moment when James took his gun belt off in order to shoot him. This moment came when James sat down to read the paper the morning of April 3, 1882 at his home in St. Joseph’s and he noticed an article about Liddil’s arrest for Hite’s murder. Although James never said so, the Ford brothers worried that James was suspicious of them for not reporting the murder or arrest to him and decided it was time to act. James’s son, Jesse James Jr, later recounted the events of that day in his book “Jesse James, My Father, The First and Only True Story of His Adventures Ever Written”: “Father had not the slightest suspicion that the Fords meant to harm him.

This is proven by the fact that after breakfast that morning father took off his belt and revolvers and threw them upon the bed and threw his coat over them. He did this because it was a very warm morning, and the belt and revolvers were tiresome to carry. Another reason was that it was necessary to have the doors and windows open, and father thought that people passing the house might be suspicious if they saw him armed. After my father put the revolvers upon the bed he noticed that a picture on the wall was hanging awry. He placed a chair beneath the picture and stood upon it to straighten it and then he started to brush the dust from it. Standing thus, his back was turned to the Ford boys, who were in the room. This was the opportunity the Fords had been waiting for. It was the very first time they had seen him unarmed since they knew him. Bob Ford drew his revolver, aim’ed it at the back of my father’s head and cocked it. Father heard the click of the hammer and made a movement as if to turn around. But before he could do so Ford pulled the trigger and father fell backward dead.

The Fords ran out and across the back yard fence, and went down town and surrendered to the authorities, telling that they had shot and killed Jesse James. Years afterward the Fords, who found themselves despised of all men because of this murder, denied that they shot my father for the reward, but that they learned that Jesse James suspected them of treachery and meant to kill them, and they shot him for self protection. That this story was absolutely false is proven by the fact that immediately after the murder Charlie Ford sent the following telegram to the Governor of Missouri: ‘I have got my man.’ Charlie Ford practically admitted in my presence and hearing that he killed my father for the reward. That conversation was held under the following circumstances: Nearly three years after the murder, when I was nine years old, I was in Kansas City with my grandmother. We were walking up Main street. I had hold of my grandmother’s hand. Suddenly I saw and recognized Charlie Ford coming down the street toward us. I knew him the instant I saw him, and I was very much excited.

I said to my grandmother: ‘Here comes the man who killed my father.’ It was the first time my grandmother had seen him since that day he was at her home with father, ten days before the murder. The sight of him made her weak and she sat down on a box in front of a shoe store. Ford saw her and went to walk past with his head turned the other way, but she called to him: ‘You don’t know me, Charlie?’ He stopped and said: ‘Yes, I know you. You are Mrs. Samuels.’ ‘Yes, and you killed my brave boy; you murdered him for money. I ought to kill you,’ she said to him. He threw up both his hands in front of his face and answered: ‘Mrs. Samuels, don’t say that. If you only knew what I am suffering, you wouldn’t talk to me that way.’ ‘And what have you made me and mine suffer?’ she said. ‘Mrs. Samuels, I have been in the blackest hell of remorse ever since it was done. But I didn’t kill him. It was Bob did it,’ Ford said. ‘Yes, and you knew Bob intended to do it when you brought him to my house.

You ate bread under my roof with blackest murder in your heart, and murder for money, too. There will come a day of terrible reckoning for you.’ I heard Charlie Ford tell my grandmother in that talk that he did not know that Bob intended to kill my father till they got to St. Joseph, and then Bob told him if he did not consent to it, he would kill him along with Jesse. Ford repeated over and over again, that he was suffering the worst agonies of remorse. The perspiration streamed down his face and there were tears in his eyes. He begged my grandmother to forgive him and she said: ‘If God can forgive you, I will.’ My grandmother asked him what he did with the $10,000 he got for murdering my father, and he replied: ‘Mrs. Samuels, before God, we never got but a few hundred dollars of that reward.’ I watched Charlie Ford closely while he was talking. I was only nine years old but I understood it all. I said nothing until he had gone on down the street.

Then I said to my grandmother: ‘If ever I grow to be a man I’m going to kill him.’ My grandmother said to me: ‘You’ll never live long enough my son; God will never let an onery man like that live until then.'” James was buried in the front yard of his parent’s farm in Kearney, where his mother could protect his grave from being desecrated, and marked it with a tombstone that read “Jesse W. James, Died April 3, 1882, Aged 34 years, 6 months, 28 days, Murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.” Years later, James’ body was moved and buried with his wife in nearby Mount Olivet Cemetery. Several newspapers applauded the Ford brothers for their actions while others criticized them for the manner in which they killed James. According to the book “Son of a Bandit: Jesse James and the Leeds Gang,” The Kansas City Times wrote: “The general sentiment of the inner heart of all manner of men is that nothing in the recorded life of Jesse James equaled the infamy of the manner and mode” in which he had been killed.

Yet other newspapers, such as Rolla New Era, dismissed the uproar about the way he was killed and celebrated his death with a headline that read: “Jesse James, the Notorious Bandit Who Has Disgraced Missouri By His Lawless Acts At Last Dead!” Jesse James post-mortem The public and press also attacked Crittenden for his alleged role in James’ death, spreading rumors that he had offered money to anyone who would kill James. Confederate veteran Major John Newman Edwards, who had written about James in his book “Noted Guerrillas,” accused Crittenden of hiring a “band of cutthroats and highwaymen to murder him [James] for money.” On April 17, 1882, the New York Times reported that the Ford brothers were charged with the murder of Jesse James, plead guilty, were sentenced to be hanged and then pardoned by Crittenden all on the same day. According to records for the Missouri General Assembly, Robert Ford was then indicted for the murder of Wood Hite on May 13, 1882. On October 26, he was tried and acquitted.

The brothers tried to continue on with their lives afterwards but their reputation as murderers combined with life on the run from Jesse’s brother Frank, who was trying to kill them, made life unbearable. Charles Ford committed suicide in 1884. Robert attempted to earn a living off of his notoriety by posing for photos with the gun he used to kill James and starred in a play titled the “Outlaws of Missouri” where he recounted the day of the murder. In 1889, a man attempted to kill Robert Ford at a casino in Kansas City. Ford described the event to the New York Times: “One man made himself particularly obnoxious to me. He referred in an insulting manner to the Jesse James affair, but I took no notice of him, preferring to escape a row if I could. He continued to abuse me all the evening and I continued to take no notice of him. Early this morning. After I had been sitting at the table all night, I felt cramped and uncomfortable and leaned back in my chair.

As I did so I threw my head back, and at that instant my abuser drew a knife from his pocket, held my head back by my hair, and was about to draw the knife across my throat when my friend warded off the blow. The knife cut through the collar my collar and grazed my neck, inflicting a slight wound. I was unarmed, or I would have shot him on the spot. As it was he took to his heels and escaped.” A few years later, Ford opened a tent saloon in Creede, Colorado in June of 1892. On June 8th, a man by the name of Edward O’Kelley, a possible member of a gang Ford had quarreled with, walked into the saloon with a sawed off shotgun, said “Hello Bob” and shot Ford in the chest, killing him instantly. Ford was buried in Colorado but his body was later moved to Richmond City Cemetery in Missouri. His headstone, which accidentally lists his birthday as 1841, reads: “Bob Ford, Dec.

8 1841 – June 8, 1892, The Man Who Shot Jesse James.” Robert Ford’s grave PBS.Org: The Death of Jesse James: New York Times; Bob Ford’s Narrow Escape; December 1889: New York Times; The Ford Brother’s Indicted, Plead Guilty, Sentenced to Be Hanged, And Pardoned All In One Day; April 17 1882: New York Times; Jesse James Murderers; April 18 1882: “Journal of the House of Representatives of the Thirty Second General Assembly of the State of Missouri “; Missouri General Assembly; 1883 “Son of a Bandit: Jesse James and the Leeds Gang”; Ralph A. Monaco; 2012 “The Trial of Frank James for Murder: With The Confessions of Dick Liddil and Clarence Hite”; Frank James, James Andrew Liddil, Clarence B. Hite; 1898 “Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend”; Ted P.

Yeatman; 2003 The State Historical Society of Missouri; Famous Missourians; Robert Ford (1860-1892): “Jesse James, My Father, The First and Only True Story of His Adventures Ever Written”; Jesse James Jr; 1906 “Jesse James Was His Name”; William A. Settle Share this: Robert Ford - Jesse James Killer Robert Ford - Jesse James' Killer Best known as the "dirty little cowardï¿½ that killed Jesse James , Robert Newton Ford, was born January 31, 1862 in Ray County, Missouri , one of seven children of James Thomas Ford and Mary Ann Bruin. The wiry young boy became enamored of the daring exploits of Jesse James and finally got a chance to meet him in 1880. He and his older brother, Charles , began to hang on to the outer fringes of the James Gang . By this time, the ranks of the outlaw gang members had been diminished due to deaths, captures, and men simply moving on to other endeavors. So, when the two brothers wanted to join the gang, Jesse let them; however, neither played a very large role.

Charles allegedly participated in the Blue Cut robbery near Glendale, Missouri on September 7, 1881. It was to be the last train robbery of the James Gang , netting the six members some $3,000 in cash and jewelry taken from the passengers. Also participating in the robbery were Frank and Jesse James , Dick Liddel , and brothers, Clarence and Wood Hite . Of Robert Fordï¿½s participation in any of the James Gang robberies, there is no record and he was thought to be mostly a "hanger-on," doing odd jobs and maybe holding the horses while the others perpetrated the crime. A few months later, in November, 1881, Jesse moved his wife and family to St. Joseph , Missouri , renting a house in the name of J.D. Howard. Acting as a member of the respected community, Jesse had plans of taking up a straight and narrow life. However, he wanted to pull off one last bank robbery of a bank in Platte County, Missouri , in hopes of making enough money to retire and become a gentleman farmer.

But, the State of Missouri had had enough and about this same time, Missouri Governor Thomas Crittendon put up a reward of $10,000 for any information leading to the capture of Frank or Jesse James . In January 1882, two James Gang members -- Wood Hite and Dick Liddel , on the run from the law, took refuge in the home of Martha Bolton, Bob Ford's widowed sister. One day at breakfast, Hite and Liddel began to argue while Ford sat by watching. The dispute soon accelerated with the feuding pair drawing their guns. The sound of four rapid shots from Hite's gun soon echoed through the room, one of which struck Liddel in the leg. Falling to the floor, Dick returned the fire, hitting Hite in the arm. In the meantime, Bob Ford drew his own gun and, being Liddel's close friend, fired one shot, hitting Hite in the head. Collapsing to the floor, Wood Hite died just a few minutes later.

Ford then wrapped the corpse in a blanket, carried it outside and placing it on a mule, took it into the woods, where he buried Hite in a shallow, unmarked grave. This killing, coupled with Ford's greed and desire for notoriety, would be a death sentence for Jesse James . When word of the shooting reached authorities, Ford was arrested, but when he informed detectives that he had access to the much-wanted Jesse James , he was released. Next, Ford secretly met with Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden, who told him that if he killed the notorious outlaw , he would receive a full pardon for the Hite murder as well as the killing of James , and also receive the reward money. Ford agreed to perform the deed and next met with the Sheriff of Clay County, where the two formulated a plan to get Jesse James . By March of 1882, a number of the James Gang members began to turn themselves in, leaving Jesse with little left to plan a bank robbery with other than Charlie and Bob Ford. Though he instinctively distrusted Robert Ford, he followed through and on the morning of April 3, 1882, he was having breakfast with the Ford brothers in his home.

Afterwards, the men went to the parlor, where Jesse outlined his plans for the robbery of the Platte City, Missouri Bank. When Jesse noticed that a framed needlepoint picture, done by his mother, was hanging crookedly on the wall, he stood on a chair to adjust the picture. Suddenly he heard the sound of Bob Ford cocked pistol and turned just slightly. Bob then shot Jesse just below the right ear and Jesse toppled to the floor dead. Jesse was 34 years old. Robert Ford - Historic Missourians - The State Historical Society of Missouri Category Robert Ford (1860 – 1892) Robert Ford was an outlaw who shot Jesse James in the back of the head on April 3, 1882. He was born in Ray County, Missouri. His older brother, Charles, had joined the James gang around 1881 with Bob Ford joining later. Ford had already conducted secret talks with Governor Thomas T. Crittenden about capturing or killing Jesse James. He and his brother wanted to collect the $10,000 bounty that Crittenden had offered in his proclamation.

At the time of Jesse James’s death, Bob and Charley Ford were staying with the Jameses in their house in St. Joseph, Missouri. They were planning to rob the bank in Platte City. After Bob Ford shot James, he and his brother surrendered to authorities. They were charged with murder but were quickly pardoned by Governor Crittenden and given a portion of the reward. The suggestion that the governor had conspired to kill a private citizen upset many people and fed the image of James being a heroic victim. The Ford brothers soon left Missouri. In May of 1884, Charles Ford committed suicide. Bob Ford posed for pictures, trying to earn a living off of his reputation of being “the man who killed Jesse James.” In 1892 he was killed in a tent saloon in Creede, Colorado.

Text by Carlynn Trout with research assistance by Elizabeth Engel References and Resources Robert Newton "Bob" Ford (1862 - 1892) - Genealogy Robert Newton "Bob" Ford Hume, Fauquier, Virginia, United States Death: in Creede, Mineral, Colorado, United States Cause of death: shot by Edward O'Kelley ("the man who killed the man who killed Jesse James") Immediate Family: Circa 1862 - Virginia, United States Residence: James T Ford, Mary A Ford Siblings (implied): Jan 31 1862 - Hume Fauquier CO Va Parents: James Thomas Ford, Mary Ann Ford (born Bruin) Siblings: ... Sutphin (born Ford), John Thomas Ford, Martha Elizabeth Ford, Harold Washington Ford, Amanda F Ford, Wilber Pottock Ford, Charles Wilson... Dec 8 1861 - RAY CO.

MISSOURI Death: June 8 1892 - CREEDE COLORADO Parents: James Thomas Ford, Mary Ann Ford (born Bruin) Son: Jan 31 1862 - Hume, Fauquier, Virginia, USA Death: June 8 1892 - Creede, Colorado, USA Parents: James T Ford, Mary Ann Ford (born Bruin) Children: James Thomas Ford, Mary Ann Ford (born Bruin) Siblings: ...homas Sutphin (born Ford), John Thomas Ford, Martha Elizabeth Ford, Harriel Washington Ford, Elias Ford, Amanda Ford, Charles Wilson Ford... Jan 31 1862 - hume, Fauquier Co va Parents: James Thomas Ford, Mary Ann Ford (o.s. Bruin) Siblings: ...Thomas Sutphin (o.s. Ford), John Thomas Ford, Martha Elizabeth Ford, Harriold Washuington Ford, Amanda F Ford, Charles Wilson Ford, Wilbe...

1881 - 8 Palatinate, Deacon St, Newington, London, England Parents: Thomas Ford, Mary A Ford Siblings: June 8 1892 - MO - Clay Parents: James Thomas Ford, Mary Ford (born Bruin) Brother: June 8 1892 - MO - Clay Parents: James Thomas Ford, Mary Ford (born Bruin) Brother: Jan 31 1862 - Hume, Fauquier, Virginia, USA Death: June 8 1892 - Creede, Colorado, USA Parents: James T Ford, Mary Ann Ford (born Bruin) Children: Jan 31 1862 - Hume Fauquier CO Va Parents: James Thomas Ford, Mary Ann Ford (born Bruin) Siblings: ... Sutphin (born Ford), John Thomas Ford, Martha Elizabeth Ford, Harold Washington Ford, Amanda F Ford, Wilber Pottock Ford, Charles Wilson...

Jan 31 1862 - Hume, Fauquier, Virginia, United States Death: June 8 1892 - Creede, Mineral, Colorado, United States Parents: James Thomas Ford, Mary Ann Ford (born Bruin) Siblings: ...beth Ford, George Ann Ford, Georgia Ford, Horatio Ford, Mary Thomas Ford, Sarah F Ford, John F. Ford, Martha Elizabeth Bolton (born 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 1882. Ford was shot to death by Edward Capehart O'Kelley in Ford's temporary tent saloon with a shotgun blast to the front upper body. He was first interred in Creede, Colorado, where the saloon was located and where he was killed, but he was later reburied at Richmond Cemetery in Richmond in Ray County, Missouri, with "The man who shot Jesse James" inscribed on his grave marker.

Early years Robert Ford was born in Ray County, Missouri, to James Thomas Ford and his wife, the former Mary Bruin. As a young man, he became an admirer of Jesse James for his American Civil War record and James's criminal exploits. In 1880, 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 near Glendale, Missouri (now part of Independence), 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, Minnesota. After the train robbery, Frank James decided to retire from crime, settling in Lynchburg, Virginia. 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.[citation needed] Hoping to keep the gang alive, James invited the Fords to take part in the robbery of the Platte City 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 Governor Thomas T. Crittenden. In January 1882, Robert Ford and Dick Liddil surrendered to Sheriff James Timberlake at their sister Martha Bolton's residence in Ray County. They were brought into a meeting with Crittenden for being in the presence of the James's cousin, Wood Hite the day Hite was murdered. Crittenden promised Ford a full pardon if he would also kill Jesse James, who was by then the most wanted criminal in the USA. 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. 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 Liddil'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 Mimms 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 surrendered themselves to legal authorities, but they were dismayed to find that they were charged with first degree murder. In one day, the Ford brothers were indicted, pled guilty, and were sentenced to death by hanging, but two hours later, Crittenden granted them a full pardon. Despite the deal that was made with Crittenden, the Ford brothers received only $500, a fraction of the money they were originally promised. Later years For a time, Bob Ford earned money by posing for photographs as "the man who killed Jesse James" in dime museums. He also appeared on stage with his brother Charles, reenacting the murder in a touring stage show, but his performance was not well received.

The way he had killed James—while his back was turned and he was unarmed—earned Ford much enmity from the residents of the various towns where they performed.[citation needed] Charles, terminally ill with tuberculosis and addicted to morphine, committed suicide on May 4, 1884. Soon afterward, Bob Ford and Dick Liddil relocated to Las Vegas, New Mexico, where they opened a saloon. By early 1885, Bob Ford had become a Las Vegas city policeman.[citation needed] According to legend, Ford, the owner of a saloon, had a shooting contest with Jose Chavez y Chavez, a comrade-in-arms of Billy the Kid during the Lincoln County War. Ford lost the contest and left town. On December 26, 1889, Ford survived an assassination attempt in Kansas City, Kansas when an assailant tried to slit his throat. Within a few years, Robert Ford had settled in Colorado, where he opened a saloon-gambling house in Walsenberg. When silver was found in Creede, Ford closed his saloon and opened one there.

On the eve of Easter 1892, Ford and gunman Joe Palmer, a member of the Soapy Smith 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'Kelley entered Ford's tent saloon with a shotgun. 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 hence 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 subsequently killed on January 13, 1904 while trying to shoot a policeman. Ford was buried in Creede, but later was exhumed and reburied in Richmond in his native Ray County at Richmond Cemetery. Cultural depictions Films In the 1939 film Jesse James, Ford is played by John Carradine. In the 1940 film The Return of Frank James, a highly fictionalized film about Frank James hunting down Bob and Charley Ford, John Carradine reprised his role. The film, directed by Fritz Lang, is a sequel to Jesse James, which also features the Fords. In the 1949 film I Shot Jesse James, directed by Samuel Fuller, Ford is portrayed by John Ireland. 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 plays Bob Ford. In the 1980 film The Long Riders, Nicholas and Christopher Guest 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), Ford is portrayed by James Horton. In the 2007 film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, based on the historical novel by Ron Hansen, Ford is played by Casey Affleck, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film is considered one of the most historically accurate portrayals of Jesse James and Robert Ford. Television series In 1954, Tyler MacDuff played Bob Ford in the episode "Jesse and Frank James" of Jim Davis's syndicated Stories of the Century. Lee Van Cleef played Jesse James in the episode. In 1957, Bobby Jordan played Ford in an episode of Dale Robertson's NBC series Tales of Wells Fargo.

In 1958, Martin Landau portrayed Robert Ford in the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Lawman in the episode "The Outcast". In 1960, Charles Aidman guest starred in the episode "Bob Ford" in the first season of the syndicated series, Shotgun Slade, starring Scott Brady. In 1977, an episode of NBC's Little House on the Prairie depicts Ford as a student at Walnut Grove School. Literature In Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's 1976 novel Inferno, Ford is depicted as being in Hell as a traitor. Music Further information: Jesse James in music Recorded in 1924, a well-known folk song calls Ford "...that dirty little coward / That shot Mr. Howard". In the Bob Dylan 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 song "I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)" from the Rock of the Westies album refers to a betrayal in a romantic relationship that is metaphorically likened to Jesse James' assassin. In the Warren Zevon 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". Robert Ford ("The man who shot Jesse James")'s Timeline 1862 Robert Ford: The Man Who Shot Jesse James a Coward or Opportunist? - Guns.com Guns.com Tweet It’s a hard thing killing a man, but what about killing a famous man who is idolized even for his misdeeds? That was the fate that awaited Bob Ford after his dispatching of Jesse James. The name Jesse James is synonymous with the term outlaw, considered an American Robin Hood who robbed banks, stagecoaches and really anything else he could think of, in reality Jesse gave the money only to himself and his gang.

Jesse’s gang had several ups and downs, but the worst was when it was nearly wiped out after a failed robbery in Northfield, Minnesota. Even Jesse’s brother Frank decided to give up his life of crime and settled in Virginia. Jesse was left to try and find some new compatriots to renew his life of crime. Enter Charles and Robert Ford. Charles Ford supposedly took part in the very last train robbery staged by Jesse and his gang at the Blue Cut in Missouri. Robert really took no part in that robbery, or any other crime for that matter, his job was to be Jesse’s errand boy and horse holder. His menial tasks were a tough pill to swallow for someone who idolized Jesse James and who ended up basically playing second fiddle. Jesse was thinking about giving up his life of crime and settling down, but the Governor of Missouri posted a $10,000 reward for the capture of the famous outlaw. Events that would set Jesse’s fate in motion started when in January of 1882 Robert “Wood” Hite , who was Jesse’s first cousin and another gang member Dick Lidell took up residence in Bob Ford’s sisters home.

A widower, Lidell and Hite soon began to argue over the affections of Ford’s sister. Guns were soon drawn and shots exchanged with Lidell being struck in the leg and Hite in the arm. Bob Ford got involved and shot “Wood” Hite in the head, killing him. Hite’s body was taken out in the woods and buried. Bob Ford had just killed the cousin of the man he idolized, what would Jesse do when he found out? Bob Ford, now in fear for his life over the killing of “Wood” Hite in addition to the huge reward, decided to kill Jesse James. On April 3, 1882 after having breakfast with Charles and Robert Ford, Jesse noticed a needlepoint picture on the wall that was hanging askew. Jesse stood up on a chair when a shot from Robert Ford’s revolver rang out and struck Jesse under the right ear; he was dead before he hit the floor. No attempt was made to cover up the shooting and Robert was pardoned for the death of “Wood” Hite and Jesse James, but only saw a very small part of the reward money.

Both he and his brother were hated for killing Jesse James, a scourge on their reputations that would plague both men until the end of their days. The Ford brothers took their fame on the road, reenacting the shooting of Jesse James, but neither was warmly received. Both were heckled mercilessly on stage at every performance. Charles suffered from tuberculosis and a morphine addiction, not to mention the rumor that Frank James was coming to hunt the Ford brothers down. On May 6, 1884 Charles Ford shot himself. Ironically Frank had no intentions of pursuing his brother’s killers. Robert Ford had no intention of going out as quietly, he drifted on to Las Vegas, New Mexico and then on to Creede, Colorado where he opened a dance hall which burned to the ground six days later along with the rest of Creede’s business district. A few days later Robert Ford opened up a bar in a makeshift tent. On June 8, 1892 while Robert Ford was in his canvas saloon a man named Edward O’Kelley walked in with a sawed off side by side shotgun.

Ford had his back turned and heard “Hello Bob.” O’Kelley gave Ford the chance that was never afforded Jesse James, he allowed Ford to turn around. O’Kelley emptied both barrels into Robert Ford, killing him instantly. There was always speculation over why O’Kelley killed Robert Ford, some say for Jesse’s death, some because O’Kelley was just bad tempered and there’s even a theory that notorious Colorado conman, Soapy Smith , planted the seed in O’Kelley’s head that killing Ford would afford him a certain amount of celebrity. No one will ever know for sure. Edward O’Kelley was tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was later pardoned after ten years, but could not stay out of trouble and was shot and killed by a police officer in Oklahoma City in 1904. Robert Ford to this day is looked upon as the coward who killed Jesse James, but was he really any different than so many others trying to survive in the murky morality of the old west? John Wesley Hardin was shot from behind and there have been many who have questioned how Pat Garrett killed Billy the Kid .

Was Robert Ford so much different, or was it because he killed someone who despite his crimes was beloved especially on his own turf? One thing for sure is that the death of Jesse James hung around the neck of Robert Ford until his unfortunate run in with a double load of buckshot in Creede, Colorado. Lost photo of Jesse James, assassin Robert Ford is found, authenticated - Houston Chronicle Lost photo of Jesse James, assassin Robert Ford is found, authenticated By Dylan Baddour , Houston Chronicle Updated 3:49 pm, Wednesday, September 30, 2015 Image 1of/23 A photo of the purported newly-discovered photo of James besides a rare known photo. A photo of the purported newly-discovered photo of James besides a rare known photo. Image 3 of 23 This is a known photo of Jesse James. This is a known photo of Jesse James. Photo: UPI Image 4 of 23 Portrait of American assassin Robert 'Bob' Ford (1861 - 1892) showing off the revolver he used to kill outlaw Jesse James in 1882, mid 1880s.

Portrait of American assassin Robert 'Bob' Ford (1861 - 1892) showing off the revolver he used to kill outlaw Jesse James in 1882, mid 1880s. Photo: Authenticated News, Getty Images Image 5 of 23 Jesse James, American outlaw, c1869-1882 (1954). A leading member of the James-Younger gang, Jesse James was one of the most notorious outlaws of the American West, robbing banks, stagecoaches and trains. He was shot and killed in 1882 by Robert Ford, a member of the gang intent on claiming the bounty on James's head. A print from the Pictorial History of the Wild West, by James D Horan and Paul Sann, Spring Books, London, 1954. less Jesse James, American outlaw, c1869-1882 (1954). A leading member of the James-Younger gang, Jesse James was one of the most notorious outlaws of the American West, robbing banks, stagecoaches and trains. He ...

more Photo: Print Collector, Getty Images Image 6 of 23 Jesse James in death, 1882 (1954). Picture taken just before he was placed in his $500 coffin. A leading member of the James-Younger gang, Jesse James was one of the most notorious outlaws of the American West, robbing banks, stagecoaches and trains. He was shot and killed in 1882 by Robert Ford, a member of the gang intent on claiming the bounty on James's head. A print from the Pictorial History of the Wild West, by James D Horan and Paul Sann, Spring Books, London, 1954. less Jesse James in death, 1882 (1954). Picture taken just before he was placed in his $500 coffin. A leading member of the James-Younger gang, Jesse James was one of the most notorious outlaws of the American West, ... more Photo: Print Collector, Getty Images Image 7 of 23 Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James.

After her work, she said she concluded that it was him. Experts called the find, if verified, a very big deal. less Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After ... more Photo: Lois Gibson Image 8 of 23 Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After her work, she said she concluded that it was him. Experts called the find, if verified, a very big deal. less Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After her ... more Photo: Lois Gibson Image 9 of 23 Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After her work, she said she concluded that it was him. Experts called the find, if verified, a very big deal.

less Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After her ... more Photo: Lois Gibson Image 10 of 23 Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After her work, she said she concluded that it was him. Experts called the find, if verified, a very big deal. less Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After ... more Photo: Lois Gibson Image 11 of 23 Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After her work, she said she concluded that it was him. Experts called the find, if verified, a very big deal.

less Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After ... more Photo: Lois Gibson This is a known 1978 photo of Jesse James. This is a known 1978 photo of Jesse James. Photo: UPI Image 13 of 23 American outlaw Frank James (second from left) and others pose over the dead body of his brother, Jesse James at Sidenfaden Funeral Parlor, St. Joseph, Missouri, April 4, 1882. Jesse was shot by Bob Ford, a member of his own gang, after Missouri Governer Thomas T. Crittenden offered a reward for the capture of the James brothers, dead or alive. less American outlaw Frank James (second from left) and others pose over the dead body of his brother, Jesse James at Sidenfaden Funeral Parlor, St. Joseph, Missouri, April 4, 1882. Jesse was shot by Bob Ford, a ... more Photo: Authenticated News, Getty Images Image 14 of 23 Outlaw Jesse James home at St.

Joseph, next to the filling station. Outlaw Jesse James home at St. Joseph, next to the filling station. Photo: Walter Sanders, Getty Images Image 15 of 23 The room in which Jesse James was shot and killed in his own home. The room in which Jesse James was shot and killed in his own home. Photo: Walter Sanders, Getty Images Image 16 of 23 A view showing the safe that was once robbed by the outlaw Jesse James. A view showing the safe that was once robbed by the outlaw Jesse James. Photo: Walter Sanders, Getty Images Image 17 of 23 Circa 1754: The homestead near Kearney, Missouri, where Frank (1843-1915) and Jesse Woodson James (1847-1882) were born. American outlaws who were members of the James-Younger gang. Circa 1754: The homestead near Kearney, Missouri, where Frank (1843-1915) and Jesse Woodson James (1847-1882) were born. American outlaws who were members of the James-Younger gang.

Photo: UniversalImagesGroup, Getty Images Image 18 of 23 Circa 1880: A 500 dollar reward poster for the arrest and conviction of American outlaw Jesse James, placed by the St. Louis Midland Railroad. Circa 1880: A 500 dollar reward poster for the arrest and conviction of American outlaw Jesse James, placed by the St. Louis Midland Railroad. Photo: American Stock Archive, Getty Images Image 19 of 23 The blotter on the man who killed Robert Ford, c1892 (1954). Robert Ford was the man who killed the famous outlaw Jesse James in 1882. He was himself murdered in 1892, shot by Edward O'Kelley. A print from the Pictorial History of the Wild West, by James D Horan and Paul Sann, Spring Books, London, 1954. less The blotter on the man who killed Robert Ford, c1892 (1954). Robert Ford was the man who killed the famous outlaw Jesse James in 1882.

He was himself murdered in 1892, shot by Edward O'Kelley. A print from the ... more Photo: Print Collector, Getty Images Image 20 of 23 Portrait of American outlaw Jesse James (1847- 1882), late 1870s. He and his brother Frank led a gang of criminals who commited a string of murders and robberies across the Central States after the Civil War. Jesse was shot by Bob Ford, a member of his gang, shortly after Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden issued a warrant for his and his brother's capture, dead or alive. less Portrait of American outlaw Jesse James (1847- 1882), late 1870s. He and his brother Frank led a gang of criminals who commited a string of murders and robberies across the Central States after the Civil War. ... more Photo: Kean Collection, Getty Images Image 21 of 23 Image 22 of 23 Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James.

After her work, she said she concluded that it was him. Experts called the find, if verified, a very big deal. less Lois Gibson, a forensic analyst and the head forensic artist for the Houston Police Department , spent one month "exhaustively" verifying a purported photo of legendary American outlaw Jesse James. After her ... more Photo: Lois Gibson Robert Ford (Character) - Biography biography from Hell's Crossroads (1957) The content of this page was created by users. It has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff. Warning! This character biography may contain plot spoilers. Visit our Character Biography Help to learn more. Character Biography History Discuss Robert "Bob" Ford is a character based upon the real-life criminal who shot and killed the real-life outlaw and folk hero Jesse James. Ford has been portrayed most recently in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford . 7. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) History The real Robert Ford lived from 1860-1892. Born in Missouri he became part of the tattered band of outlaws led by Jesse James.

Originally composed of Jesse and Frank James and the three Younger brothers (Bob, Cole, and Jim), among others, the James-Younger gang made many successful, vicious bank and train robberies during the period of 1866 - 1876. After the bold and ultimately disastrous Northfield Minnesota raid, wherein the Younger brothers were all wounded and captured, Jesse and Frank James needed more men. They first enlisted Charley Ford, Robert's older brother, to join their ranks. They later allowed Robert Ford, who idolized Jesse James, to come aboard as well. But Charley and Robert had secretly made a bargain with the governor of Missouri, Thomas T. Crittenden, to kill Jesse James and secure the reward money on the criminal's head and their amnesty. On Palm Sunday on April 3rd, 1882 Charley and Robert were at the Jameses house. When Jesse doffed his coat and his gun holsters, something he never did, and climbed on a chair to dust a picture, Robert Ford shot him in the back of the head. Robert Ford found himself both a celebrity and a villain. Vilified as the "dirty little coward who shot Mr.

Howard" in a popular song he received amnesty from the governor but not the public. Ford re-eanacted the murder on the New York stage, with his brother Charley portraying Jesse, for many years. He was eventually shot by another man in Colarado, Ed O'Kelley, largely because the assassin wanted to be known as the man who shot the man who shot Jesse James. Jesse James (1939)In the 1939 film, with Tyrone Power as Jesse James, Robert Ford is played by John Carradine . Robert is a sweating, thin rail of man. He is portrayed as having been in the James gang much earlier than history would dictate, before the Northfield raid. Even before the aborted robbery Robert is seen as planning to kill Jesse, nearly doing so when he finds that the rest of the gang, disgusted at Jesse's increasingly erratic behavoir, have left him. He doesn't however, and does not reappear until the end of the film. Jesse is through with outlawry and planning to move to California with his wife, Zee, when he's visited by Robert and Charley Ford( Charles Tannen ). They claim that Jesse's brother Frank has sent them.

Frank wants him to pull one more job. Jesse turns them down flat but get tempted by the lure of easy money and the chance to go the coast with some liquidity. Jesse goes outside to help his son who is being bullied by the neighbor boys. They're playing Jesse James with the other boys, shooting his son with imaginary guns, and telling him he's dead. The stark tableau changes Jesse's heart. He goes back in to tell Bob that he's not going in for the last job and he sees them outside with his best wishes. He goes to remove a picture from the wall, "God Bless Our Home," when Robert Ford sneaks back into the room. He raises a quavering hand and shoots Jesse in the back, then the chest, killing him. The Return of Frank James (1940)In director Fritz Lang 's film Frank James ( Henry Fonda ) is working a farm and living under the alias of Ben Woodson when he hears that Robert Ford ( John Carradine ) and Charley Ford ( Charles Tannen ), found guilty of the murder of his brother, Jesse, are pardoned by the governor a half-hour later. Frank fishes his gun out of the granary bin to settle the score.

Meanwhile Bob and Charlie find that they're pariahs in town. They enter a saloon, decked out in fine new clothes, and Bob offers to buy drinks but he has no takers. Major Cobb ( Henry Hull ), the editor of the Liberty Weekly Gazette and former friend and defender of Jesse, sees the Fords in the bar. He upbraids them as rats and warns them that, though Frank is rumored to be dead, "Those James boys have a mighty peculiar way of showing up." This unnerves Bob who says to Runyon, the railroad detective who supposedly put the Fords up to the murder, that he's going out west immediately. Frank comes into town and Cobb tells him that the Fords are gone. Frank visits Jesse's grave which says, "Loving Remembrance, Jesse W. James, Died April 3, 1882, Aged 34 years, 6 months, 28 Days. Murdered by a traitor and coward whose name is not worthy to appear here." Frank is detrmined to catch the murderers but realizes he needs money.

He breaks into the local express office, followed by Tom Grayson, ( Jackie Cooper ), the son of one of his old gang members, tagging along behind him. Grayson's gun accidentally goes off alerting the locals to the robbery. The townsfolk begin to fire into the express office, killing a clerk who is lying on the floor. Frank and Tom escape through the roof. Frank and Tom head out west to Colorado. They meet a pretty cub reporter ( Gene Tierney ) and feed her a story about Frank meeting his demise in Mexico. Bob and Charlie Ford come to town, re-enacting the shooting of Jesse James. In the play Frank and Jesse are the villains and attack a pretty farm girl to get the family safebox. Bob and Charlie Ford enter and a shoot-out commences, with Jesse falling to the floor. Frank is watching from an opera box and can stand no more. He rises from his seat just as Bob Ford puts his arm around the pretty farm girl. Bob finally sees Frank and shrinks back in terror. He grabs an oil lamp and throws it into Frank's box. Flames fill the opera box as Bob makes his escape.

Frank leaps from the box in pursuit A cross-country chase ensues with Bob and Charlie just ahead of Frank and Tom. Bob whips his horse mercilessly. Charlie is thrown from his horse, as is Frank. Frank and Charlie shoot at one another until Charlie loses his footing and falls to his death in a canyon below. When Frank hears that an innocent farm-hand, Pinky, has been charged as an accomplice to the express robbery and is going to hang for the death of the clerk, Frank returns to Liberty to exhonerate him and go to trial in his stead. Cobb represents Frank in court and gets acquitted playing mostly on the southern sympathies of the jury. Bob Ford smugly waits at the back of the court for what he presumes will be a guilty verdict. When Frank is freed Bob realizes that the now-free man is coming after him. He runs outside only to exchange gunfire with Tom. Both men are mortally wounded but Bob hides out in a local livery, where Frank finds his brother's killer dead on the floor. The True Story of Jesse James (1957)In director Nicholas Ray's The True Story of Jesse James Robert Ford is a moody dandy who appears near the end of picture.

Robert ( Carl Thayler ) is laconic and shiftless while his brother Charlie ( Frank Gorshin ) says little. As Jesse reaches to remove a picture, "Hard Work Spells Success," from the wall, Robert shoots him in the back. Ford runs down the street boasting that he has shot Jesse James. After Jesse's death and Frank James admits he'll probably turn himself in to the authoritites, a minstrel sings the song that would help solidify Robert Ford's place in the pantheon of great traitors as "the dirty little coward, who shot Mr. Howard, that laid poor Jesse in his grave." The Long Riders (1980)In director Walter Hill 's The Long Riders Charlie Ford ( Christopher Guest ) and his little brother Bob ( Nicholas Guest ) are unshaven bumpkins who try to impress Jesse James ( James Keach ), Frank ( Stacy Keach ), and Cole Younger ( David Carradine ) at Jesse's wedding reception. After Charlie and Bob lie, poorly, about their exploits, they are dismissed by the gang. Later, we see Jesse, Zee, and the Fords at a peaceful Sunday dinner in James's house.

The Fords bring up another job, the Platte City bank, but Jesse tells them not to talk about business at the table. Bob and Charley see Jesse's guns still in the holsters that hang on the coat-rack and begin to work up their nerve. Jesse absent-mindedly notices a plaque that reads "God Bless Our Home" that is crooked on the wall. As he straightens it Bob shoots him in the back. Frank & Jesse (1994) Allan Pinkerton ( William Atherton ) plays a much more active role in Frank & Jesse . On-board a train that Jesse ( Rob Lowe ) and Frank James ( Bill Paxton ) rob Pinkerton, having confronted the entire gang shoots the last man departing the train, Charlie Ford ( Alexis Arquette ), and captures him. After years of unsuccessful attempts to aprehend Jesse Pinkerton releases Charlie Ford from prison and he rejoins the gang. Jesse wants to have a big score and proposes they hit the bank in Northfield, Minnesota. Because Charlie has alerted Pinkerton about their plans the raid is a disaster. The Youngers are shot numerous times, with Jim Younger dying in town. Cole, Bob, Jesse and Frank escape but Bob is mortally wounded.

Frank announces he's done and he's moving to Texas to start a new life. Jesse admits he can't stop in his outlaw ways. Pinkerton is pleased with the results of Northfield, which he credits to the advance information from Charlie Ford. But he also gives Charlie an ultimatum: Bring Jesse and Frank in and they get amnesty and the reward money. Fail to do so and they swing from the gallows. It's 1882 and Charlie and his quiet brother, Robert ( Jim Flowers ), visit Jesse at suppertime. They tell Jesse they've seen Frank in Alabama. Jesse, knowing where Frank lives, calls them liars, throws his steak knife into Charlie's chest and hits Bob with a candelabra. The commotion causes Zee, who is upstairs with their son, to call down to Jesse to ask what is the matter. Jesse, his traitorous visitors bested quickly runs up the flight to see his wife tucking his son into bed. He goes back down and asks the Fords who sent them. When they tell him that Pinkerton sent them, to get he and Frank, but that Pinkerton would probably stop if he only got Jesse, Jesse has an idea.

With tears in his eyes he lays his gun in front of Bob Ford and goes to straighten a "God Bless Our Home" picture on the wall. Bob picks up the gun but goes to leave. Charlie stops him and goads him. In almost a Messianic manner Jesse waits for his execution. Bob Ford reluctantly shoots him in the back four times. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) In The Asssassination Jesse James ( Brad Pitt ) is a world-weary man at the end of a long career. He is both smitten by his celebrity and desperately trying to shake himself loose from it. The film starts on Sept. 5, 1881, just prior to the Blue Cut Train Robbery, the James gang's last train heist. The Younger brothers are all in jail so they have to make do with inexperienced locals who are used to smaller, meaner work and who yearn to have an association with a real life celebrity. One of these locals is 19-year-old Robert, or Bob ( Casey Affleck ), a shrinking, mumbling toady who has grown up reading the Jesse James mythology. Indeed he even has a box full of dime novels about Jesse.

Robert, the brother of a standing member Charley Ford ( Sam Rockwell ), is a stark example of how far the fortunes of the gang have fallen. Frank James ( Sam Shepard ), is unnerved by the new recruits to the gang, and tells Robert he doesn't have the ingredients to be an outlaw. In an act of prescience Frank quits Jesse and outlawry and disappears back East. In the aftermath of the robbery the remaining members of the James gang hold out in a remote cabin in the Ozarks. Jesse gets increasingly moody and paranoid. He visits former associates and proves himself to be descending into a kind of psychopathic, even suicidal spiral. Jesse tries to return to his domestic life with his wife, Zee (( Mary-Louise Parker ), and their children, but he keeps reminders of his infamous past hanging around like mementos, including Robert. He both needs and needles Bob, asking him the pointed question, "You want to be like me, or you want to be me?" Jesse seems to be inviting Bob to dispatch him, allowing him to get close, tolerating his irritating sycophantic ways and presenting him with new firearms.

Robert, meanwhile, is tired of his rough treatment by his former idol and greedily eyeing the reward money posted for the capture of Jesse. He even demands an audience with Governor Chittenden ( James Carvill ) and, in an audacious move for a public official, the governor assents to be a party of the assassination by agreeing to give Robert clemency and the reward money to kill James. Robert shoots Jesse, out of fear, out of greed, out of rejection, and expects to be branded a hero. He is, perversely, branded the coward of the title. He remains in the shadow of Jesse James, reenacting his role as Jesse's Judas for a Wild West show in New York (with Charley playing the role of Jesse). Robert is doomed to relive his act until he is shot to death by the same kind of fame-seeking nobody as him. Page last updated by keithsim , 9 years ago Bob Ford (1861 - 1892) - Find A Grave Memorial Mineral County Colorado, USA Folk Figure. Born Robert Newton Ford, one of seven children of James Thomas Ford and Mary Ann Bruin of Missouri.

At about age 18, he and his older brother, Charlie, became a peripheral member of the band of outlaws headed by the notorious James brothers. In January 1882, two gang members began an argument that escalated to gunplay. Ford, a friend of Dick Liddell, one of the combatants, calmly shot his opponent, Wood Hite through the head. The gang then began preparations for a robbery of the Platte City Bank. Shortly thereafter, Liddell surrendured himself to authorities, placing Bob Ford by association, in a bad light with the gang. The Fords then apparently decided to make the best of their situation by betraying Jesse James for the offered $10,000 bounty that had been placed on James's head by the Governor of Missouri. The brothers were taking breakfast with James on the morning of April 3, 1882 when Ford became convinced that James had tumbled to their plan. As James climbed upon a chair ostensibly to dust off a picture; Ford shot the outlaw through the head. Ford turned himself in and claimed the reward on James. Although he was granted a percentage of the reward, he was also charged with the murders of both Hite and James.

At trial he was convicted and sentenced to hang. He was, however, almost immediately pardoned by the governor. After his release, Ford tried to earn a living by posing for photographs as "the man who killed Jesse James" but was largely shunned as a traitor. He eventually moved to the silver town of Creede, Colorado where he opened a tent saloon. Shortly after opening, Ed O'Kelley entered Ford's place armed with a sawed-off shotgun. According to witnesses, Ford's back was turned when O'Kelley called out, "Hello, Bob," and as Ford turned, O'Kelley fired with both barrels, killing Ford. Ford was initially buried in Creede, but was later exhumed and reburied in the Richmond City Cemetery, Missouri. O'Kelley was convicted of the murder on July 12, 1892 and spent eight years in prison. (bio by: Iola) Unusual Historicals: Cowards: Robert Ford Unusual Historicals A handful of historical authors brave the wilds of unusual settings, times, and characters to create distinctive, exciting novels just outside of the mainstream.

Join us as we chronicle the trials and rewards of our quest - from research and writing to publication and establishing lasting careers. By Carrie Lofty Jesse James is a legend in the history of the American West, and his killer, Robert Ford, who shot James in the back, is nearly as notorious. His name became synonymous with cowardice, even to the point on inspiring the title of a Brad Pitt film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Born in the warzone of Civil War-era Missouri in 1862, Ford grew up a poor admirer of Jesse James's Confederate vigilantism and outlaw pursuits. By the early 1880s, while the nation was still healing, James was the most wanted criminal in Missouri, if not the entire United States. But he had already fostered a post-war following among Confederates who resented Reconstruction changes to their antebellum lives. This sense of Robin Hood-type chivalry was quickly amplified by dime novels who put James on the side of poor Confederates who battled money-hungry Northern carpetbaggers and bankers. Ford joined the gang in early 1882.

By this time most of James's trusted cohorts had fled, assumed new identities, or been jailed or killed. Even Jesse's brother, Frank, had retired to Virginia. Jess James settled his family in St. Joseph County, Missouri, and went by the name Thomas Howard. The Ford brothers, including Robert's brother Charles, posed as his cousins. While Charles Ford had participated in James Gang raids, Robert was still new and untested. Jesse James planned one last raid on a bank in Blue Cut, Missouri, even as the Ford brothers met with newly-elected Governor Crittenden. Crittenden had made the capture or death of Jesse James a prominent part of his inaugural promises. He also made promises to the Fords: $5,000 each and exemption from prosecution if they killed Jesse James. Keep in mind that no matter how Robert Ford went about killing the notorious outlaw, Jesse James had, by the end of his life, participated in anti-Union massacres, robbed dozens of banks, and terrorized citizens throughout the Midwest. James was not a great guy. But the fact he was shot in the back in his own home became the stuff of legend.

Storytellers used Ford's supposed act of cowardice to magnify James's Robin Hood-style legend. Countless depictions of unaware, "innocent" James straightening a picture on his wall, with Robert Ford looming at his back, graced newspapers and magazines across the country. Especially because James's pro-Confederate image hearkened back to the mythologized Old South--where gentlemen dueled face to face--his murder seemed especially tragic to those who mourned an extinct way of life. Rather than the hero's status Ford assumed he would receive, he was ostracized. Political forces in Missouri were split along many post-war factions, and few agreed that Crittenden's scheme had merit. The Ford brothers were convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to hang, only to be pardoned within hours by the governor. They were paid but a portion of the bounty promised; the railroads that had posted the reward had no incentive to pay up once their villain was dead. Following the killing, Ford lived a tumultuous life. His brother, a tubercular morphine addict, died in 1884.

Robert Ford drifted from job to job, opened a salon, survived would-be knife assassin, and wound up at a mine in Colorado. There, a petty outlaw named Edward O'Kelley, convinced he would be revered as a hero for killing the ultimate coward, shot Ford point-blank in the chest with a shotgun. Ford was only thirty years old, his place of cowardice in the violent history of the American West secured. What do you think about Robert Ford and Jesse James? Was Ford a coward for taking down an outlaw by any means necessary? Or has history made James out to be a more sympathetic "victim" than he merited? Carrie Lofty 's next historical romance, PORTRAIT OF SEDUCTION , is available May 2. Later this year watch for Carrie's new Victorian series from Pocket, as well as her "Dark Age Dawning" romance trilogy from Berkley, co-written with Ann Aguirre under the name Ellen Connor .

"Historical romance needs more risk-takers like Lofty." ~ Wendy the Super Librarian Posted by Robert Ford Robert Ford Location of death: Creede, CO Cause of death: Murder Remains: Buried, Richmond City Cemetery, Richmond, MO Gender: Male Nationality: United States Executive summary: Shot and killed Jesse James As a young man, Robert Ford idolized the often exaggerated and romanticized outlaw Jesse James , and Ford eventually met and befriended James, even earning an invitation to join the James Gang. Beginning in 1879, Ford and his brother Charlie participated at least two train robberies with the James Gang, including one in which two of the victims were killed. More often, though, the gang rode without Ford, leaving him to tend their spare horses. When Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden posted a $10,000 bounty on James, dead or alive, the Ford brothers decided that their loyalties were to the money, not the gang. On 3 April 1882, Charlie and Robert Ford had breakfast with James in his house and, when James turned his back, Robert Ford shot him in the head.

Instead of being paid the bounty, however, the brothers were charged with first degree murder, found guilty, and sentenced to hang before being pardoned by the Governor. Ford spent the rest of his life dogged by his own reputation for cowardice, and hounded by constant rumors that friends of James would have vengeance. The rumors are probably what drove Charlie Ford to suicide. Robert Ford went on to own a saloon in Creede, Colorado -- where he was himself shot in the back by one Ed O'Kelley. Ford's killer, who gained some fame as "the man who shot the man who shot Jesse James", spent eight years in prison for his crime, and soon after his release he was shot dead in Oklahoma City. Father: James Thomas Ford

Question: Which outlaw was shot and killed by Bob Ford?
Answer: Jesse James