Jesse James Was My Neighbor

by Homer Croy, Richard E. Meyer (Introduction)

Born in 1883, the year after Jesse James was killed by Bob Ford and buried in his mother’s backyard, Homer Croy grew up near the James farm in northwest Missouri. He talked with many old-timers who knew Jesse and Frank James and their remarkable mother, Zerelda. Eyewitness accounts (sometimes humorous) and Croy’s familiarity with the milieu that produced the outlaw brothers enrich Jesse James Was My Neighbor. Jesse read the Bible before he went out to rob a bank or train (Frank preferred Shakespeare), and he was honest except for those raids, according to Croy. The author follows the James boys, documenting their criminal activities and their human side while sorting out the growing legend. He adds a necrology of the twenty-eight bandits who rode with the James gang at one time or another.

Genres: History

313 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Andrew Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an entertaining enough read. I stayed interested and felt like I was listening to my grandfather telling me about a past era. A recurring theme, though probably unintentional, is the sensational stories of everyone who "knew about" Jesse but only contributing to the surge of false/inconsistent news. Even during Jesse's life, one could not know the full truth as dime store novels and newspapers were trying to make a buck while 'neighbors' were trying to make a name for themselves.

I do find some truth to this book in regards to Hollywood stories, not that I can verify these events, but that it is probably the closest one will get to talking to actual relatives and neighbors of Jesse James. We'll never truly know.

Jesse appears to have a life-long struggle between the gun and his Bible. Reckon the Bible (God I should say) won out in the end. 'Just come on home, Jesse.'

Some quotes I appreciated:

Pg 49 - But he did not swear, he did not thieve, he had not (so far as is known) had any adventures with women. He did not even smoke. The name 'Dingus' still cling to him, with all that it connoted of gentlemanly manners under stress. On top of all this was his interest in religion, inherited from his father and furthered by his mother.

Pg 50 - "[Frank James] would never have dreamed of getting up in church and praying out loud for Jesse [James]. If Jesse wanted to go to Heaven, he would have to do it on his own. No help from brother." How often do some not seek to help his brother/sister in getting to Heaven by refusing to pray for them, or finding the time to it to be wasted?

Pg 50 - "God wanted [Jesse James]. Perhaps; but so did his bold friends. [...] Jesse wad violently pulled between the requirements of a religious life and the demands of banditry." Perhaps God decided Jesse and Elvis Presley should just come on home.

Pg 79 - "Now with Jesse James, at the age of twenty-six, becoming a national synonym for banditry, it seems wise to point out the difference between an outlaw and the 'bad man'. They were two vastly different creatures."

Pg 196 - "At a quarter past two the coffin was taken out of the hotel and carried down the street to the church where Jesse had been converted 16 years before." ---- For 16 years it seems Jesse struggled with his Christianity and his desire to rob. I'm guessing God decided to bring him home.

Pg 237 - on the life of Dr Samuels and the 'Tobacco Bride' - "In 1905 they had marked their golden wedding anniversary: a couple different in so many ways, but they had gotten along well. A good man and a good husband, and best of all, to a woman so ferociously proud of her children, a good father and stepfather."

Pg 258 - "In the living room of the 'new part' of the house are two things that seem the very epitome of the character of Jesse James. There they are, side-by-side on a table: his Bible and his revolver. He was always hesitating between them."

[Lyle Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well researched narrative. Well done. I enjoyed it!