Wood Hite

Native Kentuckian Robert Woodson "Wood" Hite was born circa 1856 [http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-OutlawList-H.html] . He was the famous Frank and Jesse James' first cousin, and he and his brother, Clarence, rode with the James Gang.

Wood was reportedly murdered by Robert Ford in 1882 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ford_(outlaw)] , which led to the arrest of Ford and his brother Charley. The Ford brothers arranged a deal with Missouri governor, Thomas Theodore Crittenden, to be pardoned for Hite's murder if they captured Jesse James dead or alive. The James brothers' outlawry had caused the state of Missouri to be dubbed "the outlaw state." The authorities apparently wanted Jesse more than Frank because he led the gang.

News articles of the day contain conflicting information about Hite's death. Some reported that he was murdered in December (anywhere between the 1st and the 5th) of 1881, while others claimed that he was still alive in March of 1882.

According to a special dispatch to the Kansas City Journal on April 6, 1882, Coroner Richard Bohanon, acting on a tip, retrieved the body of Wood Hite from Robert Ford’s farm.

The coroner’s description of Wood Hite’s wounds was that he was shot in the head, had a shattered skull, and a wound over his eye. The coroner also described a slight wound on Hite's right arm.

There have been rumors that Hite's body was used to fake the death of Jesse James [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James] , but these have been fairly conclusively discredited.

External links

www.jessejamesintexas.com