Voting Station

Frank James

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Outlaw

The Resume

    (January 10, 1843-February 18, 1915)
    Born in Kearney, Missouri
    Birth name was Alexander Franklin James
    Older brother of Jesse James
    Member of the James-Younger Gang
    With his brother, took part in 12 bank robberies and 7 train robberies

Why he might be annoying:

    During the civil war, he joined a band of Confederate guerillas led by William Quantrill.
    The James-Younger gang was responsible for the deaths of at least 11 civilians.
    While in jail awaiting trial, he was treated more like a celebrity guest than an accused criminal.
    He was acquitted more because of juries sympathetic to the Confederacy than the evidence.
    After his acquittal, he moved in with his mother.
    Late in life, he made a living by giving tours of the James family farm at 25 cents a head.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Union militiamen tortured his stepfather to try to find out the location of the guerilla band he was riding with.
    He considered giving up crime and applying for amnesty as early as 1875, but was talked out of it by Jesse and their mother Zerelda.
    After his brother Jesse was killed, he surrendered to the governor of Missouri, saying 'I have been hunted for twenty-one years, have literally lived in the saddle, have never known a day of perfect peace. It was one long, anxious, inexorable, eternal vigil.'
    He was tried twice for murder and acquitted both times.
    He said, 'My old life grew more detestable the further I got from it.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 17 Votes: 64.71% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 13 Votes: 30.77% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 35.71% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 27 Votes: 48.15% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying