I grew up in north central Missouri about five miles south of the Iowa line. Even in the 1950s, folks would talk about Jesse James. As I grew older, I learned more about James, and his brother, Frank. They'd ridden with "Bloody Bill" Anderson during the Civil War. With Anderson, they were involved in the Centralia, Missouri, massacre of Union soldiers riding a North Missouri Railroad passenger train. After the war the James brothers turned to robbing banks as a way of making a living. Several of the banks they robbed were near my home town of Mercer, Missouri. One robbery was in Corydon, Iowa, where the Ocobock Bank was held up in 1871. The other nearby robbery was in Gallatin, Missouri.
An article in the Kansas City Star about the discovery of documents from a Gallatin, Missouri, lawyer, and his role in obtaining civil justice against Jesse and Frank James adds another chapter to the story of the bank robbery in Gallatin.
Jesse and Frank held up the Daviess County Savings Association on December 7, 1869. Cashier John Sheets was shot and killed (The story is that Jesse James thought Sheets was Samuel P. Cox, a former Union officer who had killed "Bloody Bill" Anderson. Jesse was seeking revenge. A common theme in his life.). As the James brothers fled with the loot, one of their horses bolted, dragging the rider down the street. His foot was caught in a stirrup. The man freed himself. He got on his companion's horse. They rode out of town. On the road, they stopped Daniel Smoote. Smoote was an area farmer. He was riding his horse to town. At gunpoint, Smoote was relieved of his horse. The James brothers rode off.
Back in Gallatin what is described as a fine mare was standing on the town square. The mare was identified as belonging to Jesse James of Clay County, Missouri. Smoote sought legal advice. Finally, 25 year old Henry McDougal of Gallatin agreed to represent Smoote. Suit was filed in Daviess County in January 1870 against Jesse and Frank James seeking to attach the horse, bridle, and saddle. All totaled, they were worth about $225.00.
The James brothers hired their own attorney. Samuel Richardson of Gallatin filed a Motion to Quash Service, contending that the brothers had been personally served with court papers. The court agreed.
McDougal obtained permission from the court to publish notice in a local newspaper. After publication of notice, Richardson answered for the James brothers. He denied they had been in Gallatin on December 7, 1869. In October 1870 when the case came on for trial, Richardson withdrew the brothers' answer, and he told the court they did not object to judgment being entered against them. The court entered judgment and awarded Smoote the horse and equipment.
McDougal's encounter with the James brothers was not over. In 1871 Jesse James and one of his gangs returned to Gallatin. James hid behind a hedge. Apparently, he was going to shoot McDougal. He didn't because McDougal was with his wife.
In 1881 McDougal was riding in a railroad passenger car through Kearney, Missouri (the James family home was just outside Kearney). There was a shot. It went through a window of the passenger car. The shot just missed McDougal. Later, a James gang member testified that it was Jesse who took the shot that missed McDougal. At the time of the attempt upon McDougal's life, he was serving as a special prosecutor in the murder trial of Frank James. Frank James was acquitted by a Daviess County jury.
McDougal became a prominent Missouri lawyer. He moved from Gallatin to Kansas City. He helped to found the present day Kansas City firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. McDougal served as president of the Kansas City and Missouri Bar Associations.
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