Cam Lee
@beetlebro.bsky.social
Podcaster(Big Bad Beetle Bros, Stronger Than Before), Cosplayer, Comic Creator (GodPunk), 1975 Citicar owner, currently researching train robber Jack "The Quail Hunter" Kennedy
In the end, Jack died over 300 miles from his family home. His body went unclaimed by his family for days as word got to KC. His corpse was displayed for hundreds to marvel at as they road the rails past Perryville. He's buried there in an unmarked grave in Home Cemetery, all but forgotten.
October 25, 2023 at 11:00 PM
In the end, Jack died over 300 miles from his family home. His body went unclaimed by his family for days as word got to KC. His corpse was displayed for hundreds to marvel at as they road the rails past Perryville. He's buried there in an unmarked grave in Home Cemetery, all but forgotten.
And in the end? He probably was, statistically at least. His fame didn't survive past his death beyond stories in places like Independence and Perryville, but for a few years at the end of the 19th century he was a god among bandits. Running with the remnants of the James gang that he so idolized.
October 25, 2023 at 10:57 PM
And in the end? He probably was, statistically at least. His fame didn't survive past his death beyond stories in places like Independence and Perryville, but for a few years at the end of the 19th century he was a god among bandits. Running with the remnants of the James gang that he so idolized.
Jack robbed trains because he wanted the fame. He wasn't fighting a prolonged civil war like Jesse and Frank, he didn't want riches (though he got them), and he didn't have political friends write about how he was a grassroots hero sticking it to elites. He wanted to be the best there ever was.
October 25, 2023 at 10:55 PM
Jack robbed trains because he wanted the fame. He wasn't fighting a prolonged civil war like Jesse and Frank, he didn't want riches (though he got them), and he didn't have political friends write about how he was a grassroots hero sticking it to elites. He wanted to be the best there ever was.
Something I want to at least put out there is that I at no point wish to whitewash Jack's life and exploits. While he was no Confederate Guerilla like the James brothers, he was far from a Robin Hood. There is only one murder tied to him, though never proven in court(not that that means anything).
October 25, 2023 at 10:52 PM
Something I want to at least put out there is that I at no point wish to whitewash Jack's life and exploits. While he was no Confederate Guerilla like the James brothers, he was far from a Robin Hood. There is only one murder tied to him, though never proven in court(not that that means anything).
Unlike the film claim, which got an entire section of the paper in 1922 and named towns and witnesses, the Villa claim is only ever a single sentence or two. I've found nothing to suggest Jack himself made the claim or anything beyond "he was down south then came back to MO" as evidence for it.
October 25, 2023 at 10:49 PM
Unlike the film claim, which got an entire section of the paper in 1922 and named towns and witnesses, the Villa claim is only ever a single sentence or two. I've found nothing to suggest Jack himself made the claim or anything beyond "he was down south then came back to MO" as evidence for it.
Just like the film claim, this claim appears in the 1922 papers that cover his November 3rd death after a botched train robbery near Perryville where postal inspectors and cops ambushed 53 year old Jack and his 20-something year old accomplice, Harvey Logan(alias).
October 25, 2023 at 10:47 PM
Just like the film claim, this claim appears in the 1922 papers that cover his November 3rd death after a botched train robbery near Perryville where postal inspectors and cops ambushed 53 year old Jack and his 20-something year old accomplice, Harvey Logan(alias).
I'm currently digging up what few records I can that might prove Jack was in Chaffee in 1914 or 1915 but it's likely a dead end. The other dubious claim of his post prison life is that he fought in the Mexican Revolution with Poncho Villa. This... this I'm not even sure how to begin digging into.
October 25, 2023 at 10:45 PM
I'm currently digging up what few records I can that might prove Jack was in Chaffee in 1914 or 1915 but it's likely a dead end. The other dubious claim of his post prison life is that he fought in the Mexican Revolution with Poncho Villa. This... this I'm not even sure how to begin digging into.
I will say that the latter is probably more likely as we do know Jack was scene loitering around theaters other times. In 1914, the same year Beating Back came out, Jack was detained outside a St Louis theater and said he was trying to sell his life story to any film makers visiting the town.
October 25, 2023 at 10:44 PM
I will say that the latter is probably more likely as we do know Jack was scene loitering around theaters other times. In 1914, the same year Beating Back came out, Jack was detained outside a St Louis theater and said he was trying to sell his life story to any film makers visiting the town.
Obviously this is a minor error but it got me on a research tangent. I've got two working theories. 1) Mrs. Ford simply misremembered and associated Jack's career with that of Jennings 2) Jack hung around showings of the film and claimed it was about him. Both are equally likely and hard to prove.
October 25, 2023 at 10:42 PM
Obviously this is a minor error but it got me on a research tangent. I've got two working theories. 1) Mrs. Ford simply misremembered and associated Jack's career with that of Jennings 2) Jack hung around showings of the film and claimed it was about him. Both are equally likely and hard to prove.
Now, the dubious bit? "Beating Back" is a film adaptation of a semi-autobiographical book of the same name written by Al Jennings, an attorney turned train robber turned public speaker. Jennings wrote the book, produced the film, and stared in the film as himself. No record indicates Jack is in it.
October 25, 2023 at 10:39 PM
Now, the dubious bit? "Beating Back" is a film adaptation of a semi-autobiographical book of the same name written by Al Jennings, an attorney turned train robber turned public speaker. Jennings wrote the book, produced the film, and stared in the film as himself. No record indicates Jack is in it.
The few books written either about Jack or featuring Jack all mention the dubious claim that he stared in the 1914 silent film "Beating Back". I traced this claim to a 1922 Southeast Missourian article published in the wake of his death. A Mrs. Jake Ford claimed to see the film with Jack in Chaffee.
October 25, 2023 at 10:38 PM
The few books written either about Jack or featuring Jack all mention the dubious claim that he stared in the 1914 silent film "Beating Back". I traced this claim to a 1922 Southeast Missourian article published in the wake of his death. A Mrs. Jake Ford claimed to see the film with Jack in Chaffee.
In 1899 Jack was convicted of train robbery with a sentence of 17 years in the MO state penitentiary. He would serve 12 before being freed under the 3/4th's rule for good behavior. The decade between his leaving prison and his death in 1922 is largely unknown, and the main focus of my research.
October 25, 2023 at 10:35 PM
In 1899 Jack was convicted of train robbery with a sentence of 17 years in the MO state penitentiary. He would serve 12 before being freed under the 3/4th's rule for good behavior. The decade between his leaving prison and his death in 1922 is largely unknown, and the main focus of my research.
Returning to Kansas City, the real spree of it all began. Jack befriended Jesse James Jr., who was selling cigars in the Jackson County courthouse, and roped him into at least one job that nearly got them both caught. But these were the dying days of the "Wild West" era, and Jack did end up caught.
October 25, 2023 at 10:34 PM
Returning to Kansas City, the real spree of it all began. Jack befriended Jesse James Jr., who was selling cigars in the Jackson County courthouse, and roped him into at least one job that nearly got them both caught. But these were the dying days of the "Wild West" era, and Jack did end up caught.
Presumably, Bill taught Jack everything he knew. As robberies started to hit Jack's S.P. route, he was suspected enough to be fired. They were likely right to assume, he later bragged about netting $61,000 from the job. He and Bill tried forming gangs in California and Tennessee to no avail.
October 25, 2023 at 10:32 PM
Presumably, Bill taught Jack everything he knew. As robberies started to hit Jack's S.P. route, he was suspected enough to be fired. They were likely right to assume, he later bragged about netting $61,000 from the job. He and Bill tried forming gangs in California and Tennessee to no avail.
When he was roughly 18 Jack moved to Texas and opened a saloon, but it quickly failed. He pivoted to working for the Southern Pacific railroad out of Houston, working his way up to engineer by his early 20s. It was then he met Bill "Whiskeyhead" Ryan, a James gang alumni fresh out of MO prison.
October 25, 2023 at 10:30 PM
When he was roughly 18 Jack moved to Texas and opened a saloon, but it quickly failed. He pivoted to working for the Southern Pacific railroad out of Houston, working his way up to engineer by his early 20s. It was then he met Bill "Whiskeyhead" Ryan, a James gang alumni fresh out of MO prison.
Jack idolized Jesse James. Growing up in Independence, MO (then called Crackerneck), where Jesse and Frank were also from, Jack knew all about the gang. He even claimed to have heard the Blue Cut robbery of 1879 as a 13 year old one night, the robbery taking place mere miles from the Kennedy farm.
October 25, 2023 at 10:28 PM
Jack idolized Jesse James. Growing up in Independence, MO (then called Crackerneck), where Jesse and Frank were also from, Jack knew all about the gang. He even claimed to have heard the Blue Cut robbery of 1879 as a 13 year old one night, the robbery taking place mere miles from the Kennedy farm.
The nickname stuck and from then on Jack would be "The Quail Hunter". Poems were written about his exploits in the Independence Sentinel, Jack left notes and calling cards at crime scenes calling his gang "The Masked Knights of the Road" and saying "the supply of quails was good".
October 25, 2023 at 10:25 PM
The nickname stuck and from then on Jack would be "The Quail Hunter". Poems were written about his exploits in the Independence Sentinel, Jack left notes and calling cards at crime scenes calling his gang "The Masked Knights of the Road" and saying "the supply of quails was good".
One rainy Kansas City night in 1898 Jack's horse slipped on the icy road, fell, and knocked the rider unconscious. As passersby pulled him into a pharmacy for care, police recognized him. When asked why he carried a mask, fake beard, shotgun, and pistol he replied "I'm going Quail Hunting".
October 25, 2023 at 10:23 PM
One rainy Kansas City night in 1898 Jack's horse slipped on the icy road, fell, and knocked the rider unconscious. As passersby pulled him into a pharmacy for care, police recognized him. When asked why he carried a mask, fake beard, shotgun, and pistol he replied "I'm going Quail Hunting".
That would be more robberies than the James brothers, Dalton brothers, and Butch Cassidy's "Wild Bunch" combined. Some would net as little as $20 while others landed hauls of upwards of $90,000(that's somewhere around $3 Million in 2023 money) typically from mail express cars carrying payroll.
October 25, 2023 at 10:19 PM
That would be more robberies than the James brothers, Dalton brothers, and Butch Cassidy's "Wild Bunch" combined. Some would net as little as $20 while others landed hauls of upwards of $90,000(that's somewhere around $3 Million in 2023 money) typically from mail express cars carrying payroll.
From the years of 1892 to 1899 it is suspected Jack pulled as many as 22 train robberies (possibly more, likely fewer). From Missouri to Tennessee to Texas, he hit em all and was only ever successfully convicted once. What does 22 train robberies mean in comparison to his contemporaries? well...
October 25, 2023 at 10:17 PM
From the years of 1892 to 1899 it is suspected Jack pulled as many as 22 train robberies (possibly more, likely fewer). From Missouri to Tennessee to Texas, he hit em all and was only ever successfully convicted once. What does 22 train robberies mean in comparison to his contemporaries? well...
John "Jack" F. Kennedy, born Dec 17, 1866 in Independence, MO is someone my family spent the better part of three generations pretending didn't exist. Why would they try so hard to erase him from the family ledger? Jack Kennedy was the last great train robber of Missouri, maybe the entire country.
October 25, 2023 at 10:14 PM
John "Jack" F. Kennedy, born Dec 17, 1866 in Independence, MO is someone my family spent the better part of three generations pretending didn't exist. Why would they try so hard to erase him from the family ledger? Jack Kennedy was the last great train robber of Missouri, maybe the entire country.