Father Unto Death

A fill-in cashier derails a James-Younger Gang robbery.

Joseph Lee Heywood was treasurer at Carleton College in Northfield, MN—but on September 7, 1876, he was filling in as a cashier at the First National Bank. When the James-Younger Gang entered the bank and attempted to rob it, Heywood stalled and refused to cooperate with the outlaws. They shot him to death as a result. Townspeople raised more than $12,000 for his widow and young daughter—that’s more than $320,000 in today’s money.