Jesse James
Train-robbing bandit
Jesse James was an American outlaw of the post–Civil War era, famous for bank and train robberies across the Midwest with his brother Frank.
Killed by a gang member in 1882, he became a folk antihero—romanticized as a Robin Hood figure despite scant evidence he shared his takings.
His name evokes frontier lawlessness and Wild West mythology: He fancies himself some kind of Jesse James.
Edge of settlement
- cowboysRanch hands tending herds
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- sheriffCounty's chief officer
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
railroad · homestead · settlers · Missouri · Kansas · Civil War · guerrilla · bushwhacker
Famous for negativity
- infamousHaving a terrible reputation
- legendaryFamous beyond ordinary measure
- iconPictorial screen symbol
- exploitsNotable daring actions
assassination · betrayal · Ford · coward · ballad · dime novel · folklore · memorial
Armed roadside thief
- desperadoBold, reckless outlaw
- fugitiveOne fleeing authorities
- gunfighterSkilled frontier marksman
- renegadeDeserter of a cause
highwayman · brigand · lawbreaker · criminal · gang · hideout · manhunt · wanted
frontier
Edge of settlement
- cowboysRanch hands tending herds
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- sheriffCounty's chief officer
territory · railroad · homestead · settlers · Missouri · Kansas · Civil War · guerrilla · bushwhacker · revolver
notorious
Famous for negativity
- infamousHaving a terrible reputation
- legendaryFamous beyond ordinary measure
- iconPictorial screen symbol
exploits · assassination · betrayal · Ford · coward · ballad · dime novel · folklore · memorial · grave
bandit
Armed roadside thief
- desperadoBold, reckless outlaw
- fugitiveOne fleeing authorities
- gunfighterSkilled frontier marksman
renegade · highwayman · brigand · lawbreaker · criminal · gang · hideout · manhunt · wanted · bounty
heist
Organized large-scale theft
plunder · stagecoach · train · bank · vault · robbery · theft · stolen · getaway · accomplice
ballad
Narrative poem or song
- Robin HoodLegendary forest-dwelling archer
- rebelAuthority defier
- underdogPresumed loser beforehand
legend · daring · charismatic · mythos · Americana · tall tale · saga · narrative · nostalgia · romanticized
- gunslingersgunslinger, gunfighter, gunman, quickdraw, fast draw
- Bank RobbersJohn Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson
- Old Westcowboy, cowboys, cowgirl, sheriff, sheriffs
- Wild Westcowboy, howdy, sheriff, giddyup, lawmen
- Outlawsoutlaw, bandit, desperado, highwayman, robber
- roguesrogue, rogues, scoundrel, scoundrels, rascal
Jesse JamesWyatt Earp
Old West lawman
lawman · sheriff · Wild Bill Hickok · Texas Ranger · deputy
Jesse Jamessaint
Canonized holy person
Robin Hood · folk hero · Abraham Lincoln · philanthropist · humanitarian
Jesse JamesAndrew Carnegie
Scottish-American steel magnate
Cornelius Vanderbilt · robber baron · John D. Rockefeller · railroad tycoon · banker