Jesse James Meets Conductor Alford
[This article was originally
published in AAFA ACTION, Issue #5, June 1989.]
UPDATES: The author of the 1989 article excerpted below,
Ronald H. Beights, published an expanded and updated article in Wild West
magazine, June 2005. That article, “Jesse James and the Gads Hill Train
Holdup,” identifies the conductor as Chauncey Alford. Read it online at http://www.historynet.com/culture/wild_west/3034996.html.
He also contributed an article, “The Great Gads Hill Train
Robbery,” to AAFA ACTION, Issue #69, Summer 2005. In that article, AAFA
provided genealogical information about Chauncey Higley Alford.
Although it is believed that Chauncey had a daughter, she
does not appear on any census record with him:
1860 CENSUS
Hamburg, Calhoun Co., IL, dwelling #244 (next door is Rachel
Chrysup, 67 b. GA, possibly Elizabeth’s mother):
Chancy
Alfred 25 PA farmer
Elizabeth 23 IL
Lawrence 23 PA lumberer
[perhaps Chauncey’s brother]
1870
CENSUS
Carondelet,
St. Louis Co., MO, family #991:
Chancy
Alfred 36 IL Gen.
B.M. RR
Mary 24 IL [age
incorrect here]
1880 CENSUS
St. Louis (District 285), St. Louis Co., MO, dwelling #62:
Chauncey
Alford 45 PA VT PA R.R.
Conductor
Molly wife 43 MO KY KY
Eliza
Francis sister 39 MO
KY KY widow [obviously Molly’s sister]
Almira
Shoults servant 24 MO
MO MO single
1900 CENSUS
Los Angeles
Ward 5 (District 45), Los Angeles Co., CA, dwelling #214:
Chauncey H.
Alford 65 MA MA MA Deputy
County Clerk
b.
June 1834 m. 16 years
Henrietta wife 52 NY NY NY
b.
Nov 1847 m. 16 years, 4
children, 2 living
Helen
Kingsley step- 21 CA
MA NY single
daughter b. June 1879
Wm. H.
Smith brother- 62 NY
NY NY day laborer
in-law b. Oct 1837
1910 CENSUS
Los Angeles
Assembly District 75 (District 85), Los Angeles Co., CA, dwelling #11:
Chauncey H.
Alford 74 PA VT PA U.S.
Courts Bailiff
second
marriage, m. 16 years
Henrietta
A. wife 68 PA PA PA
[probably incorrect]
second
marriage, m. 16 years, 4 children, 2 living
Helen K.
Wright step- 30 CA PA PA
daughter divorced, 0 children
1920 CENSUS
Los Angeles
Assembly District 64 (District 217), Los Angeles Co., CA, dwelling #286:
Chauncey H.
Alford 84 PA VT PA no
occupation
Henrietta
A. wife 72 NY NY NY
Cordeila K.
Warren daughter 45 UT PA NY widow
Cordelia
was Henrietta’s daughter. She and her sister Marie Helen are listed with
Henrietta, widow 32 b. NY, on the 1880 census in Salt Lake City, UT, living
with Henrietta’s brother A.K. Smith, physician.
1930 CENSUS
Los Angeles
(District 13), Los Angeles Co., CA, dwelling #54:
Chauncey H.
Alford 94 PA PA PA no
occupation
age
26 at first marriage
Henrietta
A. wife 82 NY NY NY
age
19 at first marriage
Cordelia K.
Wern
daughter 54 UT PA NY Christian
Science practitioner
age
22 at first marriage
The Lifestyles section of the Poplar Bluff (MO) Daily
American Republic on January 29, 1989, printed a front page, full page
article under the heading, “The Great Gads Hill Train Robbery,” written by Ron
Beights of St. Louis.There are pictures of Jesse James in 1874 and a present
day sign in Piedmont, MO. The sign reads:
Gads Hill Train
Robbery
JESSE JAMES
with four members of
his band
carried out the first
Missouri Train
robbery here
January 31, 1874
The very interesting, well researched and thorough article
goes on to tell about the big event. Mr. Beights wrote:
At 4:45 p.m. the Little Rock
Express approached the station for what everyone aboard assumed would be a
routine stop. Conductor Alford, who was in charge of the train, tells what
happened next: “ ... on approaching the station, the engineer signaled by
whistling to ‘brake,’ as danger was ahead ... looking forward over the side, I
saw a red flag being violently waved by a masked mad; I jumped off the car and
ran ahead to inquire about the cause of such a demonstration.” The outlaws had switched the tracks. As the
conductor jumped the slowing train swerved onto the sawmill siding. As it came
to a stop four other masked men brandishing Navy revolvers and shotguns emerged
from hiding. One of them roughly seized the conductor and shoved a pistol in
his face. When later asked by a reporter
if he had been frightened, Alford replied, “Well, I reckon I was somewhat
frightened; but he put me right at my ease—he comforted me.” What did he say? “Stand still, or I’ll blow the top of
your d--d head off!” .... Some of
the highwaymen then stepped aboard and robbed the express safe, rifled the
mailbags and proceeded to make paupers of the passengers and crew…. In some
instances money or items were taken and later returned. One man was given back
$15 when the outlaws learned that he was in poor circumstances and so far from
his destination; another had $5 returned. Conductor Alford was forced to
surrender $50 and a gold watch, but the watch was handed back when he proved it
was a gift from friends. ....
According to Conductor Alford the bandits netted $2444 at Gads Hill, “exclusive
of several revolvers and watches,” but other sources estimated the loss as high
as $22,000.
We wrote to Mr. Beights to see if we could learn the first
name of Conductor Alford and to see if he could tell us more about him. Ron
replied that in all he had read on the subject he had always been referred to
as “Alford”, “Conductor Alford”, or “Mr. Alford.” He also was not able to give
us his age. He did know that Mr. Alford lived in Carondelet, MO (now part of
St. Louis) on Third street between Olive and Nebraska streets. He had a wife
and a Newfoundland dog named Kate. His wife’s name was not mentioned nor was
there any mention of children. At the time of the Gads Hill robbery Mr. Alford
had been a railroad conductor for nine years, three of which were spent on
passenger trains.When Alford returned to the St. Louis area, the day after the
robbery, he found he had become something of a celebrity. A large crowd of
citizens, railroad men and new reporters gathered to meet his train. Mrs.
Alford was there also. She had come down from St. Louis, “so anxious was she to
learn whether he had been hurt”.That same afternoon a reporter from the St.
Louis Globe rode out to the Alford home in Carondelet and interviewed him. The
interview was informal and reveals much about the personality and character of
the man. The story begins with the reporter riding up to his door and
hollering, “Hallo! Alford. Where can a fellow hitch up his horse?”The story
ends with the reporter commenting:
Alford is a quiet man with a
humorous style of describing what he sees, and told his story to the GLOBE in a
quaint but straightforward manner. He is a man of nerve, and a man of strong
common sense . . . In his narrative there was no bragging. He seemed to accept the
inevitable situation and make the most of it.
The above newspaper interview was entitled “Fishbacked” and
was printed in the St. Louis Globe, February 2, 1874.Another news story
of interest was entitled “The Plundered Train”, St. Louis Times, February
2, 1874. In it, Alford gives a prepared statement regarding the details of the
robbery.Only one reference is made to Alford in the (Sunday) Globe,
February 1, 1874. It states: “Conductor Alfred [sic] was in charge of the train
and is regarded as one of the safest men in the employ of the company.”
At the time these newspapers were printed, no one knew yet
who had committed the Gads Hill robbery! Ron advised that all the referenced
newspapers were available in the microfilm room at the St. Louis Public Library.
