Customer Reviews

Ed O'Kelley: The Man Who Murdered Jesse James' Murderer

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One finds this book by accident rather than by looking for it. There probably aren't many people who know the name of the man who killed Bob Ford, assassin of Jesse James. Ford died in relative obscurity himself. His killer even more so.

This is a short book, only 119 pages, including the author's bio, acknowledgements, and intro. O'Kelley's life is apparently not easy to detail. His birth to a woman who married a man other than the father of his child, was the beginning of a troubled life. Born in Benton, Tenn., O'Kelley was sent to live with his mother's mother. There is speculation that he ran with the James gang as a young man. However, by 1892, he was living in Creede, Colo., where he met up with Bob Ford. Accounts vary somewhat on the specifics of Ford's death at O'Kelley's hands, but that fact is well documented.

This is an interesting biography of a character who lived and fought in the old west. It's a quick read, with some surprises. Readers interested in stories of this period, the border wars in Kansas and Missouri, the James and/or Younger gangs, will find this a nice addition to those histories.