Wood Hite

Robert Woodson "Wood" Hite (c.1850 – December 4, 1881) was an outlaw and cousin of Frank and Jesse James. He was a member of the James-Younger gang, participating in a number of robberies and other crimes. He was shot dead by Robert Ford during a gunfight with Ford's friend Dick Liddil. The death of Hite precipitated the series of events that culminated in the killing of Jesse James by Ford.

Early life

He was born around 1850 in Logan, Kentucky to Major George Burns and Nancy Gardner Hite (nee James). His mother was the sister of Robert Sallee James, the father of Frank and Jesse James of the James-Younger Gang, making Wood a first cousin to the James brothers.

Hite fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War, becoming a member of Bill Anderson's raiders.

Criminal career

After the disastrous Northfield Minnesota raid in 1876, James needed new gang members. Wood and his brother Clarence joined the gang.

Hite was described as being between 5'8" and 5'10" with dark sandy hair, light complexion, a prominent Roman nose, and stooped shoulders that made him appear slouched. In his book The Life, Times and Treacherous Death of Jesse James, author Frank Triplett described him as "a great admirer of himself, as well as of the opposite sex". Bill O'Neal describes him as a "gangling, stoop-shouldered man with prominent, decaying front teeth." Easily recognised, he was quickly forced into hiding after he was identified following robberies by the gang.