Thomas Theodore Crittenden (January 1, 1832–May 29, 1909)

Thomas T. Crittenden was the twenty-fourth governor of Missouri, serving from 1881 to 1885. He also served as attorney general in 1864 and two terms as a U.S. representative in the 1870s. He is best known as the man who brought the James brothers to justice.

When Crittenden came to office, the offenses of Jesse James and his gang had put Missouri into a state of fear and turmoil. National headlines portrayed Missouri as an unsafe region where gangs of outlaws robbed banks and trains and killed innocent civilians. Crittenden implemented a strategy to rid the state of outlaw activity, restore order, and improve Missouri’s national reputation. He secured money from the railroads and offered substantial rewards for the capture and conviction of Jesse and Frank James. His proclamation resulted in Robert Ford killing Jesse James in 1882. Crittenden pardoned the Ford brothers after they were tried for murder and found guilty. Frank James surrendered to Governor Crittenden in Jefferson City on October 5, 1882.

Crittenden was applauded by many for putting an end to Jesse James and his reign of terror. Others criticized him for conspiring to kill a private citizen. After his term expired, Crittenden moved to Kansas City to practice law. He was appointed United States consul general to Mexico by President Grover Cleveland in 1893 and served for four years. He died in Kansas City in 1909 and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery.

Unless otherwise noted, text and images © 2007, State Historical Society of Missouri