John Marston

John Marston was born in 1873 in the northern United States. His father was a Scottish immigrant who had been born on the voyage to New York and never learned to read, while his mother, a prostitute, died during childbirth. John was raised by his father, a heavy drinker who constantly reminisced about Scotland and resented the English for their treatment of his ancestors. In 1881, when John was eight, his father died after being blinded in a bar fight south of Chicago. Though the exact circumstances remain unclear, John was told it was another bar fight that claimed his life.

After his father’s death, John spent several years in a harsh orphanage before running away to survive on the streets. At eleven, he killed a man for the first time, later claiming the act had not been his fault. By 1885, at just twelve years old, he was caught stealing from Illinois homesteaders who intended to hang him. His life was spared when Dutch van der Linde intervened. Dutch brought the boy into his gang, where John found a new family alongside Hosea Matthews, Arthur Morgan, and Susan Grimshaw. Dutch became a mentor and father figure, teaching him to read, hunt, fight, shoot, and appreciate the natural world. He often read to John from works by Evelyn Miller and Waldo Emerson, though John admitted he struggled to follow Miller’s ideas and found Emerson detached from reality.

Under Dutch’s tutelage, John grew into a skilled outlaw. He rode with Arthur, Hosea, Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella, and others, taking part in robberies, raids, kidnappings, and killings across the frontier. Within the gang, John was considered one of Dutch’s most trusted protégés, often seen as the “golden boy.” Even Arthur noted Dutch’s favoritism, though it sparked jealousy in members like Bill. For a time, John believed fully in Dutch’s vision — that their crimes had a purpose, that they stole from the rich to help the poor, and that they could spark real change. Later, he would admit these justifications were often little more than excuses for theft and violence.

In 1894, Abigail Roberts, a prostitute, joined the gang. Though she had been involved with several of the men, she eventually fell in love with John. The two had a son, Jack, in 1895. The gang became Jack’s extended family, with most members taking on the roles of aunts and uncles. John, however, initially struggled to bond with his child, plagued by doubts about Jack’s paternity and by his own fears of being an unfit father. Around 1896, John left the gang for a year. While Dutch, Hosea, and others welcomed him back, Arthur saw the departure as abandonment of both Jack and the gang’s code, creating a lasting rift between the two men.

By the late 1890s, the gang had grown with new recruits like Micah Bell, Lenny Summers, and Charles Smith. Their travels eventually brought them to Blackwater, a thriving port town where they stayed for a time. In April 1899, Dutch — influenced by Micah — agreed to target a ferry for a major heist. John took part alongside Javier Escuella, Sean MacGuire, and the Callander brothers, Mac and Davey. The robbery was a disaster. Dutch shot a defenseless young woman named Heidi McCourt in front of John and Javier, and the gang was ambushed by Pinkerton agents. The chaos left Jenny Kirk and Davey Callander dead, Mac separated and later captured, and Sean taken by bounty hunters. John himself was wounded in the arm but managed to escape with the others. Together, the battered remnants of the gang fled north into Big Valley, beginning the desperate struggle that would define their final days.