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ASSASINATION OF JESSE JAMES

By the winter of 1882 , the gang of outlaws led by Jesse James had been greatly reduced due to deaths, captures, and men abandoning the gang. James was running short of cash, and was happy to recruit the young Charley Ford and his brother, Robert, to assist in the robbery of the Platte City Bank. The Ford brothers posed as cousins of Jesse James, but actually were not related to Jesse at all. James asked the Ford brothers move into his house in St. Joseph, Missouri in order to keep himself better protected. Unfortunately for James, the Ford brothers' plan was not to rob the bank, but to collect the $10,000 bounty that had been placed on James's head by Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden .

On April 3 , 1882 Charles and Robert Ford were in Jesse James home in St. Joseph, Missouri . After eating breakfast, the Fords and Jesse James went into the living room. Jesse took off his guns. Before sitting down he noticed a crooked picture on the wall, and stood on a chair to straighten it. Bob Ford took advantage of the opportunity, and shot James in the back of the head, instantly killing him.

Robert Ford wired the governor to claim his reward. He then turned himself in to the law for protection, but was dismayed to find that instead of receiving a reward, he was compensated with a small percentage and a charge of first degree murder. The brothers were tried and convicted for the murder. They were sentenced to death by hanging but within two hours were granted a full pardon by the Governor of Missouri. Ford was known for the rest of his life as a traitor and a coward.


CAREER

Bob Ford earned his living by posing for photographs as "the man who killed Jesse James" in the dime museums of the west. He moved to Colorado where he opened a saloon-gambling house in Walsenberg . After silver was found in Creede, Colorado , Ford closed his saloon and moved where he felt he could make better money in his gambling house business.

By the time Ford arrived in Creede, the good choice lots in the business district were already occupied. He would have to wait for a location to become available before he could open up for business. On the eve of Easter, 1892 , Ford and gunman Joe Palmer , a member of the Soapy Smith gang, were drinking and proceeded to shoot out windows and street lamps along Main Street. Soapy Smith helped Ford and Palmer escape before they could be arrested. The two men were banned from returning, but with the help of friends and business partners of Joe Palmer and Soapy Smith , they were soon allowed to return. Ford was able to obtain a lot and on May 29 , 1892 he opened Ford's Exchange , said to be a dance hall, but no records exist. Six days later, on June 5 , the entire business district burnt to the ground in a major fire, including Ford's Exchange . Ford erected a small tent saloon until he could rebuild.

Three days after the fire, on June 8 , 1892 , Edward O'Kelly entered Ford's tent with a sawed off shotgun and shot Robert Ford with both barrels, killing him instantly. O'Kelly came to be known as "the man who killed the man who killed Jesse James." Ford was buried in Creede, and was later exhumed and reburied in his home state of Missouri.