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James Timothy Richardson (August 10, 1854 -- October 26, 1956) was an American train and bank robber and a member of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the Van der Linde gang in the Old West.

Richardson engaged in criminal activity for more than a decade from the early 1870s to the late 1880s. In 1889, the Van der Linde gang would split after numerous gang members were killed and Richardson's beliefs had changed. He left the gang to pursue a better life for him and his family.

During the later part of his life, Richardson lived peacefully with his family. On October 26, 1956, at the age 102, Richardson passed away in his sleep peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones.

Richardson's life has been extensively dramatized in film, television, and literature, and he remains one of the most well-known icons of the "Wild West" myths in modern times.

Early Life
James Timothy Richardson was born on August 10, 1854, in Casper, Wyoming Territory, the first of 4 children of English immigrants Rudolph and Eleanor Richardson.

In April of 1861, Richardson's mother passed away from a lung disease. In order to provide for his family, Rudolph Richardson began to work for Sherman Gibbs, a wealthy businessman. This caused Richardson's father to constantly be away from home.

In December of 1865, when Richardson was 11 years old, his father was killed by men hired by Gibbs. Richardson's father had reported Gibbs after he caught him having an affair. After his father was killed, Richardson brutally attacked Gibbs. The young boy was caught, but he managed to escape. For the next two years, Richardson lived a poor life, filled with anger and sadness.

Formation of the Van der Linde Gang
Around 1867, Richardson was found as a "wild delinquent" and picked up off the streets by Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews. Viewing the pair as surrogate father figures, Richardson came to share Van der Linde's vision of a life lived free from the constraints of civilization and the rule of law. The pair taught the young boy how to hunt, fight, shoot, and ride a horse, becoming their first protégé, as well as one of the founding members of the Van der Linde gang.

Criminal Career
On April 15, 1873, Richardson participated in the Van der Linde gang's first bank robbery alongside Van der Linde and Matthews. At 2 o'clock, the trio burst into the banking house of Jensen and Stafford and managed to make off with around $4,000 in gold. After the robbery, the trio lingered in town, going to orphanages and handing out money. The trio envisioned themselves as "Robin Hood" figures. It was following this even where Richardson became a wanted man.

Downfall of the Van der Linde Gang
While traversing the Grizzlies Mountains, several new members were picked up and brought into the gang. A young teenager, Lenny Summers, and a drifting outlaw, Charles Smith. Richardson had generally fair opinions of the pair, eventually forming close bonds with the two. Later on, the gang came across Jenny Kirk, a young woman abandoned by the roadside. The most recent member inducted into the gang was Micah Bell, a hot-heated career outlaw who saved Van der Linde's life in a shootout. Although Van der Linde found a liking to Bell, Richardson openly disliked him for his tendencies.

By the spring of 1889, the gang had arrived in Missouri and decided to hide in plain sight just outside Blackwater, a town undergoing the process of industrialization. The gang began to scope out many leads, including Richardson and Matthews, who were planning a hefty real estate scam. Despite this, Van der Linde was also planning something big. Supported by Bell, Van der Linde began working on a plan to rob a ferry laden with riches coming into the town. Matthews and Richardson were reluctant despite Van der Linde's beliefs. His plan was to carry out the heist then flee west, possibly into Texas. Then, after Richardson and Matthews carried out their scam, they would join the gang the following day.

Unfortunately, the ferry heist did not go as expected. At some point during the robbery, the gang was ambushed by agents of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, causing a massive firefight known as the Blackwater Massacre. Richardson and Matthews arrived late, and by then, the gang was barely holding on. Several gang members were killed or seriously injured, and they fled the area north into the mountains in hopes of avoiding the law. Richardson suspected that the heist might have been a set up.

Death
Years after the Van der Linde gang split, Richardson and his wife went to Richardson's birthplace in Casper, Wyoming. Richardson quietly lived his life while trying to make amends for the choices he made as an outlaw. For the remainder of his life, Richardson lived a good life with his family. On the morning of October 26, 1956, James Timothy Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep. Days after his death, news headlines around the nation were reporting on the death of the notorious outlaw.

Personal Life
When Richardson was a young man, he met a young woman named Mary Lawson. The two fell deeply in love with each other and got married not long after meeting. He befriended her younger brother, Benjamin, and taught him how to ride a horse, just like Van der Linde and Matthews did. However, Richardson’s preference for a life of crime was disapproved by Lawson’s family, most strongly from her father.

On June 4, 1876, Richardson's wife gave birth to a baby boy named Reuben. Two years later, on December 16, 1878, Richardson's wife gave birth to a baby girl named Rebecca.

Legacy
Richardson's life of crime was seen as a tragic story to many people. During his lifetime, Richardson was seen as an honorable man making dishonorable choices.

In the 1880s, during the peak of Richardson's crimes, the Van der Linde gang became the subject of dime novels that represented the bandits as pre-industrial models of resistance. During the Populist and Progressive eras, Richardson became an icon as America's Robin Hood, standing up against corporations, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor.