I am Related to a Gangster

Henrietta Younger and the Younger Brothers

Cole Younger

I am not sure if you would say a ganster. Or gang member. I am related to the Younger Brothers, who rode with Jesse James. They ultimately were caught right here in Minnesota!!

Here is how I am related (this gets confusing even for me).

My great grandmother was Bettie Rawlins. My father's, father's, mother. tee hee

She had a brother, my great great uncle, named A. Bledsoe Rawlins.

He was married to a lady, my great great aunt, named Henrietta Younger.

Her brothers were THE YOUNGER BROTHERS! The famous outlaws of the 1800's.

Okay so the relationship was an in-law type of thing. So I am only related to the Younger Brother by marriage not by blood. But still it is interesting as hell to me. (What an odd saying....is hell really interesting?) hhhmm don't know why I would have chosen those words? Moving on. I guess it was so interesting because my father remembered tales of the brothers coming to visit their sister in Alvarado. And that they stashed some of their robbery treasures around Alvarado!

Also Interesting. My great great grandfather, Captain R.A. Rawlins (Bettie Rawlins father from above) was a captain in the Confederate Army. His home is still standing and is a historical site in Texas. This home is still owned by the family. I have spoken with them and am invited whenever I am in town. Coooooooool. I love history.

Here is the story of the Younger brothers final robbery.

Frank and Jesse James, Cole, Jim and Bob Younger, Charlie Pitts, Clell Miller, and Bill Chadwell took the train to St. Paul and Minneapolis at the beginning of September 1876. They divided into two groups, one going to Mankato, Minnesota and the other to Red Wing, on either side of Northfield. They purchased horses and scouted the terrain around the town. On September 7, 1876, at 2 p.m., they attempted to rob the bank. Three outlaws entered the bank, and the other five stood guard outside. The citizens realized a robbery was in progress and took up arms. Shooting from behind cover, they poured a deadly fire on the outlaws, killing Miller and Chadwell, and wounding the Youngers (particularly Bob, who suffered a shattered elbow). They also shot Bob Younger's horse. One of the outlaws shot Nicholas Gustafson, a bystander, dead in the street. Inside the bank, cashier Joseph Lee Heywood refused to open the safe and was murdered in cold blood for his resistance. The infamous failure of the raid is celebrated every year in Northfield as Defeat of Jesse James Days.

Bob Younger died in prison of tuberculosis at age 36 in 1889. Cole and Jim were both paroled in 1901 but Jim could not cope and shot himself to death the next year. He was 54. Cole lived until 1916, when he died at age 72. The Youngers remained loyal to the Jameses when they were in prison and never informed on them. They ended up being model prisoners and in one incident helped keep other prisoners from escaping during a fire at the prison. Cole Younger also founded the longest-running prison newspaper in the United States during his stay in Fargo.

Did you follow all that? Now I know where my rebellious side comes from.

Your rebel without a cause,

Joytobe