85:, Jennings joined an outlaw band. The justice system's failures enraged him and encouraged him to resist it. During the summer and fall of 1897 the desperados, often referred to as the "Jennings Gang," composed of Frank and Al Jennings, Little Dick West, and Morris and Pat O'Malley, robbed trains, general stores and a post office, with little monetary success. Two of his most publicized robberies were the August 16, 1897, robbery of a Santa Fe passenger train located three miles south of Edmond, Oklahoma and the October 1897 robbery of a passenger train near Chickasha, Oklahoma. When attempting the Edmond robbery, the gang unsuccessfully attempted to break into a Wells-Fargo safe. After the dynamite failed to blow up the safe, the gang made their getaway. No one was killed during this robbery, but Jim Wright, a passenger who refused to surrender his valuables, had part of his ear shot off. The Chickasha robbery was not significantly more successful. Although the gang was unable to break the safe, they were able to obtain some goods from the passengers, including a bottle of whiskey and a bunch of bananas. The gang's most successful robbery was the Berwyn train robbery, which occurred a few miles north of the Texas border. This robbery allowed the gang to obtain thirty thousand dollars worth of loot. These robberies are the only crimes that historians agree the gang committed. In his semi-autobiographical novel Jennings himself remembered that the law often accused him of various crimes that he did not commit. One of these dubious allegations was that he murdered two men in
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89:. When committing robberies, Jennings followed his personal code of honor. He refused to rob from women or preachers. When he was not robbing, he spent much of his time hiding from the law in Snake Creek in the Creek Nation. Eventually, he became unable to retain his outlaw lifestyle. Jennings was wounded by law officers on November 30, 1897, and captured one week later on Carr Creek near Onapa in
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having a bit part. A bystander thought that the bank was really being robbed and jumped out a window to run for the police. Jennings made several public appearances and told various stories of his alleged prowess with a gun. Supposedly, he could shoot a tin can thrown through the air. His personal
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136:, a novel loosely based on his outlaw life. This novel portrayed the law as persecutors of the innocent and Jennings as an honorable lawbreaker who possessed immense skills in horsemanship and marksmanship. To coincide with this novel,
205:, from a few years before they were sent to the Ohio State Penitentiary (on charges arising from separate incidents), until sometime after their release from prison within a few years of each other, and a subsequent meeting in
93:, Oklahoma. In 1899 Jennings was sentenced to life in prison, but, due to the legal efforts of his brother John, his sentence was reduced to five years. He was freed on technicalities in 1902 and received a presidential
128:, published the short story "Holding Up a Train," a story inspired by Jennings's career. Jennings himself was the actual author of this story. Henry and Jennings met while both were hiding in
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186:, Jennings campaigned openly about his past and won votes with his honesty. One of six Democratic candidates, he finished third in the primary behind
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wrote a series of interviews with
Jennings that perpetuated the same messages as his novel. He re-created one of his bank robberies in the 1908 film
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was the director, James Bennie Kent was the cinema-photographer, and the
Oklahoma Natural Mutoscene Company was the producer. The film was shot in
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in the title role. Jennings also worked as a traveling evangelist and warned the public against making the choices that he made. He died in
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Advertisement for films starring Al
Jennings and Vivian Gane, on January 3, 1920. They made three western short films together,
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Jennings left
Woodward following Houston's acquittal in 1896 and wandered before gaining employment as a ranch hand in the
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who at one time robbed trains. He later became a silent film star and made many appearances in films as an actor and
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201:, which was published in 1921 by NY Burt. It details his friendship with the short story writer, then known only as
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at 87 years of age, Al
Jennings is a guest on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life (mp3 file at the Internet Archive)
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62:. In October of that year Ed Jennings was killed, and John Jennings wounded, in a shootout with rival attorney
58:, prosecuting attorney from 1892 until 1894. In 1895 he joined his brothers, Ed and John, in a law practice at
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attorney, but he lost the general election. In 1914 he made an unsuccessful run for the office of governor of
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West of Hell's Fringe: Crime, Criminals, and the
Federal Peace Officer in Oklahoma Territory, 1889–1907
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182:. Enjoying the popularity of his starring role in the 1914 film adaptation of his 1913 biography,
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in 1911 and became active in politics. In 1912 he won the
Democratic nomination for
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Train
Robbery: The Birth, Flowering, and Decline of a Notorious Western Enterprise
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Train
Robbery: The Birth, Flowering, and Decline of a Notorious Western Enterprise
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List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States
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Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government
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132:, which did not have an extradition treaty with the US. In 1913 Jennings wrote
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Motion
Pictures From The Library of Congress Paper Print Collection 1894-1912
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friends claimed that Al Jennings actually could not hit the side of a barn.
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Jennings became a celebrity. In 1904 William Sydney Porter, better known as
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Through the Shadows with O. Henry (book available at the Internet Archive)
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The Real Wild West: The 101 Ranch and the Creation of the American West
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30:(November 25, 1863 – December 26, 1961) was an attorney in
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Shrems, Suzanne (1989). "Al Jennings: The Image of an Outlaw".
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The Fourth Guardsman: James Franklin "Bud" Ledbetter, 1852–1937
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Shrems, Suzanne (1989) "Al Jennings: The Image of an Outlaw,"
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Gage, Duane (Autumn 1968), "Al Jennings, the People's Choice",
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L.A. Unconventional: The Men and Women Who Did L.A. Their Way
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Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Jennings, Al
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assembled a posse, chased and captured the bank robbers.
238:, on December 26, 1961, aged 98. He is interred in the
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Rasmussen, Cecilia (1998). "Typecast as an Outlaw".
224:adviser. A film biography of him was made in 1951,
724:. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Times. pp. 77–78.
212:Retiring from law and politics, Jennings moved to
807:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
216:and worked in the motion picture industry making
511:, Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press
502:, Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press
487:, Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press
220:, appearing in many as an actor and also as a
705:"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". December 17, 1941.
669:. University of Nebraska Press. p. 257.
626:, University of California Press, p. 169
622:Niver, Kemp R. (1967), Bergsten, Bebe (ed.),
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408:, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 27, 1961
842:Recipients of American presidential pardons
101:. Then in 1906, he married Maude Jennings.
607:"Beating Back – Introducing Al Jennings".
395:"Beating Back – Introducing Al Jennings,"
812:Burials at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery
596:"Guthrie Daily Leader". October 4, 1897.
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73:Al Jennings Leavenworth mugshot in 1902
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81:. While working near present Bixby in
16:American lawyer and actor (1863–1961)
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583:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1989.2204_109.x
460:Historical Atlas of the Outlaw West
558:. Johnson Books. pp. 171–172.
470:, Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Books
462:, Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Books
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509:Temple Houston: Lawyer with a Gun
265:Through the Shadows With O. Henry
199:Through the Shadows With O. Henry
160:Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
827:Outlaws of the American Old West
667:Encyclopedia of the Great Plains
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690:"Hickok-Hoakum Goes to Trial".
641:. Macmillan. pp. 378–379.
388:"Hickok-Hoakum Goes to Trail,"
285:Captain of the Gray Horse Troop
832:People from Oklahoma Territory
554:Patterson, Richard M. (1981).
240:Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery
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466:Patterson, Richard M. (1981)
197:Jennings wrote another book,
520:, Austin, Texas: Eakin Press
485:Oklahoma Politics: A History
458:Patterson, Richard (1985),
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611:. September–December 1913.
571:Journal of Popular Culture
493:Journal of Popular Culture
436:The Chronicles of Oklahoma
609:The Saturday Evening Post
399:. September–December 1913
397:The Saturday Evening Post
292:Vengeance – and the Woman
139:The Saturday Evening Post
56:Canadian County, Oklahoma
28:Alphonso J. "Al" Jennings
637:Wallis, Michael (2000).
446:The Guthrie Daily Leader
516:Shirley, Glenn (1997),
507:Shirley, Glenn (1980),
498:Shirley, Glenn (1978),
483:; Danney Goble (1982),
474:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
331:The Land of Missing Men
227:Al Jennings of Oklahoma
299:The Lady of the Dugout
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692:The American Rifleman
539:Jennings, Al (1913).
390:The American Rifleman
203:William Sydney Porter
188:James B. A. Robertson
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97:in 1904 by President
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817:People from Virginia
451:Jennings, Al (1913)
46:Jennings settled in
405:The Daily Oklahoman
306:The Fugitive's life
236:Tarzana, California
339:Song of the Gringo
192:Robert L. Williams
170:Jennings moved to
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99:Theodore Roosevelt
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64:Temple Lea Houston
52:Oklahoma Territory
32:Oklahoma Territory
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731:978-1-883792-23-7
676:978-0-8032-4787-1
663:Wishart, David J.
648:978-0-312-26381-2
476:December 17, 1941
448:, October 4, 1897
421:Missing or empty
114:A Fugitive's Life
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822:Oklahoma lawyers
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347:The Oklahoma Kid
146:. In this film,
144:The Bank Robbery
23:Jennings in 1924
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118:The Frame-Up
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116:(1919), and
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83:Creek County
79:Creek Nation
76:
45:
27:
26:
802:1961 deaths
797:1863 births
763:Al Jennings
754:Al Jennings
254:As author:
158:and at the
148:Heck Thomas
791:Categories
383:References
244:Chatsworth
232:Dan Duryea
214:California
110:The Tryout
392:June 1926
324:Loco Luck
318:The Demon
222:technical
42:Biography
38:adviser.
36:technical
740:40701771
665:(2004).
414:citation
355:See also
218:Westerns
207:New York
180:Oklahoma
130:Honduras
126:O. Henry
112:(1919),
60:Woodward
230:, with
162:, with
120:(1919).
48:El Reno
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350:(1939)
342:(1936)
334:(1930)
326:(1927)
320:(1926)
314:(1924)
308:(1919)
302:(1918)
294:(1917)
288:(1917)
280:(1914)
267:(1921)
261:(1913)
95:pardon
526:Notes
272:Films
767:IMDb
736:OCLC
726:ISBN
671:ISBN
643:ISBN
427:help
190:and
765:at
756:at
579:doi
242:in
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