(Alan Pinkerton, head of the Pinkerton Detective Agency and the nemesis of the James Boys.) Here’s my 6th installment of this series of posts:
November 1873: The heroic “legend” of Jesse James
gets a boost when his biggest media fan, John Edwards (now with the St. Louis Dispatch) writes a 20-page editorial claiming that Jesse is nothing less than a Confederate Civil War hero 
who is being unjustly persecuted by “ tyrannical Northern interests.” January 31, 1874: Jesse, Frank, and the boys rob another train
, this time near Gads Hill, Missouri. Some of this loot may have been stashed in caches near Gads Hill and elsewhere in Missouri. March 1874: Certain railroad “interests” are in no mood to have their trains robbed. The Pinkerton Detective Agency
is once again hired to put a stop to the James Boys and their criminal activities. Joseph Whicher, a Pinkerton detective, is sent to Clay County, Missouri 
to hunt Frank and Jesse down. Whicher, not realizing he is taking on more than he can chew or digest, heads out to the James family homestead to take care of business. Somewhere along the line Whicher is shot dead, his bullet riddled body found not on the James property, but at another location. This raises the ire of other Pinkerton detectives who eventually end up in a gun battle with the Younger brothers (Frank and Jesse are not involved..). In this shootout John Younger
is killed as well as another Pinkerton and a “local” who had an axe to grind with the James and Younger boys. The big boss of the detective agency, Alan Pinkerton
, vows to hunt down the James Boys and their associates like the “miserable curs they are.” Meanwhile, the activities of Jesse, Frank, and the Younger boys is causing heated political debate between Democrats and Republicans in the Missouri Statehouse. April 24, 1874: Jesse “ties the knot” with his first cousin, Zerelda or “Zee” Mimms, who was named after Jesse and Frank’s beloved mother.
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December 1874: The James gang carries away well over $30,000 when they rob a train near Muncie, Kansas. This is a huge haul for the times and at today’s equivalent would make this score well over half a million dollars or more.
If you liked this post, you may want to read: “Jesse James Research Timeline (Part 5)”
http://treasuretrovegold.blogspot.com/2011/03/jesse-james-research-timeline-part-5.html
© Jim Rocha (J.R.) 2011
Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com
research timeline:
, along with a small cadre of former Confederate “bushwhackers,” rob a bank in Columbia, Kentucky. During the robbery a hapless cashier is murdered in cold blood and Jesse is tagged as the killer. 
. John Edwards, the James Boys “media” supporter at the Kansas City Times, wrote an editorial after the robbery describing it as “a feat of stupendous nerve and fearlessness.”
holds that the James gang buried a good part of their ill-gotten gains from this train robbery along their path back to Missouri. The reason? A good part of the loot was said to be in 
and thus a hindrance in making a fast getaway. Further research is needed to substantiate this claim, however.
(each) for the arrest or capture of Frank or Jesse. Lesser gang members have $200 rewards placed on their heads.
, along with assorted ex-bushwhackers including 
, plan and carry out a robbery in Russellville, Kentucky. Things go south when a local citizen is shot dead and an unnamed member of the gang is captured by local authorities. The James Boys and Cole ride hard for Missouri where another member of their crew is killed by a posse.
during the war years. In a rage, Jesse shoots down the hapless cashier who, as it turns out, is not Sam Cox but a local named John Sheets. Local newspapers play up the robbery and murder, and Jesse’s name is mentioned in published articles for the first time.
Edwards lends a sympathetic ear and publishes Jesse’s letter as well as editorializing about the validity of Jesse’s “persecution” claims.
(KGC) missions, including the burial of a number of KGC caches.
to track the robbers down. Robert Pinkerton (along with a local sheriff) tracks the James Boys back to Missouri where a gunfight ensues. Frank is wounded but he and Jesse escape. Infuriated, Jesse writes another letter to the Kansas City Times again protesting his innocence and blaming Unionists and Republicans for making him out to be a criminal.
(and perhaps elsewhere). Some of these caches are quite small while others are substantial and thought to be 
oriented.
research timeline installment:
finally over.
, one of their closest family friends and a former comrade who rode with them under the black flag of 
at the time. It was at this juncture that Pike directed them to begin burying KGC caches…I’ll let you decide the validity of this claim.
was riding as a local "bushwhacker" prior to this point in time. However, that is more a hunch than anything else.)
hide out, “Bloody Bill’s” corpse is put on public display as a warning to all Confederate sympathizers.
ended a month previously, Jesse, Frank, and a small band of hard-core “bushwhackers” fight on. They are helped by many of their friends in Clay County and it's likely they stashed "goodies" at various locations. Ultimately Jesse is shot in the chest by Union troops and spends months recuperating.
out there know that research timelines can be valuable treasure hunting tools. Although timelines do not usually contain a great amount of detail, they provide a structure of dates, times, people, places, and events that can be researched further for potential clues or "waybills" to 
and troves.
("Quantrill's Raiders") Frank James rides into Lawrence, Kansas where he participates in the violence as this prosperous Union town garrisoned with Union troops and their sympathizers is looted and burned, and most of its male inhabitants shot down. This is in retaliation for Union and "Jayhawker" atrocities committed in Missouri. 
, jewelry, cash, silverware, watches, etc., etc. Since the guerrillas were hard pressed by Union forces on their ride back to Missouri, I personally suspect that a good 1/3 or more of these "goodies:" were stashed or