Thomas Coleman Younger

Background

Younger was born on January 15, 1844 in Jackson County, Missouri, the son of Col. Henry Washington and Busheba (Fristoe) Younger. Cole was the seventh of fourteen children.

Education

Younger seems to have had some education, since in his later years he was an avid reader of history and theology and he spoke and wrote with grammatical correctness.

Career

Though his father was a Unionist, Younger's own sympathies were Southern, and at seventeen he became a Confederate guerrilla, serving under Quantrill and Anderson. Later he joined Gen. Joseph O. Shelby's "Iron Brigade, " and became a captain. His service with the Confederates brought suspicion upon his family, who were often harassed by militia and irregulars, and on July 20, 1862, his father was robbed and murdered by a company of "Jayhawkers. " After the war Younger declined to settle down but chose instead the career of a freebooter. It is probable that with Frank James he organized the group that became, under the reputed leadership of Jesse James, the most noted band of brigands in American history. Tall, powerful, and of commanding appearance, of great native intelligence, and of imperturbable coolness and presence of mind, he may well have been quite as influential in the counsels of the company as was its ostensible leader. Informed opinion connects him with virtually all the spectacular bank robberies and train holdups of the first ten years of the band's history. With his brothers, the Jameses, and three others, Younger participated in the disastrous attempt to rob the bank at Northfield, Minnesotta, September 7, 1876, in which two citizens were murdered. Three of the brigands were killed, the James brothers escaped, and the three Youngers were shot down and captured. At their trial, in November, they pleaded guilty and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Six years later a Confederate veteran of Missouri, Capt. W. C. Bronaugh, began a campaign for their release on the alleged ground that they were not criminals at heart but victims of the Civil War who had been driven into crime by persecution. Their good conduct as prisoners helped their case, and the movement gained many adherents. On July 10, 1901, the two surviving brothers (Robert had died in 1889), were paroled by the Minnesota Board of Pardons, on condition they would not leave the state. A year later James committed suicide because of a love affair. Early in 1903 Cole Younger was pardoned, and he at once returned to Missouri. For a time he lectured, at another time was with Frank James in a Wild West exhibition, and later employed himself in various ways. His conduct as a citizen won the commendation of all who knew him. He died near his birthplace, after a year's illness.

Achievements

• Younger was an American Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War and later an outlaw leader with the James-Younger Gang.

Connections

Father:

Henry Washington Younger

Mother:

Bersheba Leighton Fristoe

Brother:

Robert Ewing "Bob" Younger

He was an American criminal and outlaw.

Brother:

James Hardin Younger

He was a notable American outlaw and member of the James–Younger Gang.

Brother:

John Harrison Younger

He was an American outlaw.

References

• A Dynasty of Western Outlaws
• The Outlaw Youngers: A Confederate Brotherhood
• The Story of Cole Younger, by Himself