Thomas Coleman “Cole” Younger was an outlaw who joined forces with Jesse and Frank James to rob banks and trains in the period following the Civil War. He was born into a large and affluent family on January 15, 1844, near Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Though his father was a respected landowner and merchant, Cole Younger became an outlaw in the early years of the Civil War. He had trouble with a militiaman, went into hiding, and armed himself with a weapon, a violation of an order by General John C. Frémont who was commander of Union forces in Missouri. After his father was killed, his sister assaulted, and his mother’s house burned down, Younger joined other Confederate guerrillas to fight the Union forces.

Younger fought with William Clarke Quantrill in the raid on Lawrence, Kansas, in 1863. He participated in many fierce raids until the end of the Civil War. Afterwards, Younger and his brothers, Jim and Bob, joined fellow bushwhackers Jesse and Frank James in robbing banks, stagecoaches, and trains. They were, to some extent, seeking revenge for the poor treatment Southern sympathizers suffered at the hands of Unionists during and after the war. Many former Confederates supported the James-Younger gang during these years.

Cole Younger’s career as an outlaw came to an end in Northfield, Minnesota. He was captured after attempting to rob the Northfield bank in 1876. Though Jesse and Frank James escaped, Cole, along with his brothers, was captured and sent to Stillwater Prison. Bob Younger died in prison in 1889; Cole and Jim Younger remained there until they were paroled on July 10, 1902.

After his release, Cole Younger worked briefly with Frank James in a Wild West show. Later, Younger wrote a memoir and toured as a lecturer. He died in Lee’s Summit on March 21, 1916, and is buried there.

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