In the chaotic years following the American Civil War, a period marked by widespread unemployment and burgeoning lawlessness, a new breed of criminal emerged. Among the most infamous were the brothers who formed the Reno Gang from Indiana, pioneers in a terrifying new form of outlawry: the train robbery. This ruthless band of desperadoes terrorized the Midwest, leaving a trail of crime and bloodshed that forever etched the Reno Gang into the annals of American history as the nation’s first true train robbers.
Hailing from the quiet rural community of Rockford, just north of Seymour, Indiana, the Reno family initially seemed unremarkable. J. Wilkison and Julia Ann Reno presided over a sprawling 1,200-acre farm, raising five sons and one daughter. Frank, born in 1837, was the eldest, followed by John (1838), Simeon (1843), Clinton (1847), William (1848), and Laura (1851). Despite a strict religious upbringing that mandated hours of Bible study and farm labor, most of the Reno children harbored a rebellious spirit.
The Early Years of Crime and Civil War Exploits
From an early age, the older Reno boys displayed a propensity for illicit activities. They began by running crooked card games on the farm road, swindling unsuspecting travelers. This escalated into a spree of small burglaries and rampant horse thefts. By 1851, their criminality had intensified, with the family suspected of arson after several local businesses were mysteriously set ablaze.
The outbreak of the Civil War presented a new avenue for their deceit. Frank and John became notorious “bounty jumpers.” This scheme involved enlisting in the Union Army, collecting the federal cash bounty, and then deserting, only to repeat the process in a different location. As the draft commenced, they profited further by accepting money from wealthy draftees seeking to avoid service, then promptly deserting once again after appearing for duty. Their wartime actions honed their skills in deception and evasion, setting the stage for their future as a criminal enterprise.
By late 1864, Frank and John returned to Rockford, bringing with them a contingent of fellow “bounty jumpers” and other lawless associates. This burgeoning criminal collective, headquartered in the burned-out buildings of Rockford, officially coalesced into the infamous Reno Gang. The core consisted of Frank, John, Simeon, and William Reno, alongside their new recruits.
Escalating Crimes and Early Encounters with the Law
The gang’s activities quickly expanded. In late 1864, Frank, along with Grant Wilson and Dixon, robbed the post office and Gilbert’s Store in Jonesville, Indiana. Though swiftly apprehended by U.S. Marshals, they managed to post bond, pending trial. The following year saw a surge in criminal activity, with two more post offices in Dudleytown and Seymour, as well as several retail businesses, falling victim to the gang’s burglaries.
Justice, however, proved elusive for the Reno Gang. When Grant Wilson, a participant in the Jonesville robbery, agreed to testify against Frank Reno, he was murdered before the trial. Without his crucial testimony, Frank was acquitted, a pattern that would become all too familiar. The gang established a new base of operations at the Radar House, a hotel in Seymour, where unwary travelers often found themselves robbed blind. From this hub, they orchestrated numerous robberies across the Midwest and even ran a lucrative counterfeiting ring.
Despite repeated arrests, members of the gang were consistently released. They openly boasted of “political clout,” but the grim reality was that local officials were either bribed or terrorized into silence. By July 1865, the situation in Seymour had deteriorated to such an extent that the Seymour Times warned its readers to “be wary of thieves and assassins.” A week later, the paper’s editorial called for vigilante action, declaring, “Nothing but Lynch law will save the reputation of this place and its citizens.”
The Birth of Train Robbery: A New Era of Outlawry
The crime wave continued unabated. In early 1866, the headless body of a Radar House guest was discovered in the White River, and the Courtland post office was robbed. More murders followed in February and July 1866. The ruthless gang relentlessly targeted travelers in Jackson County and expanded their operations to neighboring communities, raiding merchants and county treasuries. By this point, their organization was so formidable that no law enforcement official dared to intervene, and witnesses remained silent, fearing for their lives.
It was then that the gang conceived of a revolutionary idea: train robbery. This innovation would define outlawry for decades to come. On the night of October 6, 1866, John and Simeon Reno, accompanied by Frank Sparks, boarded the east-bound Ohio & Mississippi train at the Seymour depot. Masked and armed, they stormed the express car, held the messenger at gunpoint, and absconded with approximately $12,000. Signaling the engineer to stop, they leaped off into the darkness, having executed America’s first recorded peacetime train robbery in mere minutes. This audacious act marked a pivotal moment in criminal history.
Pinkerton’s Pursuit and the Fall of the Reno Gang
A “copycat” holdup occurred on September 28, 1867, at Seymour, though it was carried out by associates Walker Hammond and Michael Colleran, not the Reno brothers themselves. John Reno, displaying his own brand of twisted justice, tracked down, beat, and turned in Hammond and Colleran, though he naturally kept the $8,000 they had stolen.
The gang’s next major score came on November 17, 1867, when John Reno and Val Elliott robbed the Daviess County Courthouse in Gallatin, Missouri, netting over $23,000 in cash and bonds. Recognized during the heist, John was relentlessly pursued by the formidable Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Allan Pinkerton’s agents finally cornered him in Seymour on December 4, 1867. Returned to Missouri, John Reno pleaded guilty on January 18, 1868, under the threat of a lynch mob, and was sentenced to 25 years of hard labor in the Missouri State Penitentiary.
Despite John’s imprisonment, the rest of the gang, undeterred, continued their spree. Frank Reno remained in Indiana, where several treasuries were burglarized. Though arrested for the Clinton County robbery, he was acquitted, highlighting the gang’s continued ability to evade justice. On February 18, 1868, the gang robbed the Harrison County treasury in Magnolia, Iowa, stealing $14,000. The following week, they struck the Louisa and Mills County treasuries for about $18,000, and in late March, the Howard County treasury.
Hiding out at Michael Rogers’ home in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Frank Reno, Albert Perkins, and Miles Ogle were tracked down by the Pinkertons. William Pinkerton led a raid, arresting the trio and recovering $14,000. However, in a humiliating turn of events for the law, the bandits managed to break through their cell wall and escaped on April 1, 1868, leaving a taunting “April Fools” note.
The Marshfield Heist and Vigilante Justice
Back in Seymour, Frank and his gang planned their most audacious heist yet. On May 22, 1868, they attacked another train in Marshfield, Indiana, 17 miles south of Seymour. Forcing their way into the Express car, they threw the messenger from the moving train and plundered an astonishing $96,000 in cash and government bonds. After dividing the enormous loot, the gang scattered. Frank Reno, Charlie Anderson, Albert Perkins, Michael Rogers, and Miles Ogle fled to Windsor, Canada. Sim and William Reno sought refuge in Indianapolis, while Frank Sparks, Volney Elliott, John Moore, Charles Roseberry, Henry Jerrell, and Theodore Clifton returned to Jackson County, Indiana, intent on planning another train robbery. The Pinkertons, however, were hot on the trail of every member.
On July 9, 1868, the six gang members in Jackson County attempted to rob an Ohio & Mississippi train at the Shields watering station near Brownstown. This time, they were met with a fusillade of gunfire from ten Pinkerton detectives hidden within the express car. Henry Jerrell, Volney Elliott, and John Moore were wounded, but all except Elliott managed to escape. Theodore Clifton and Charles Roseberry were soon arrested near Rockford and taken to the Seymour jail. On the night of July 20, 1868, as the prisoners were being transferred by train, a group of hooded men calling themselves the Jackson County Vigilance Committee stopped the train three miles west of Seymour. Forcing officials to surrender the prisoners, the vigilantes lynched Elliott, Clifton, and Roseberry from a nearby tree. This act of extrajudicial justice sent a chilling message.
The remaining three bandits, Jerrell, Sparks, and Moore, were tracked to a farm in Coles County, Illinois. The day after the first lynching, they were captured and brought to Seymour. However, on July 25, while being escorted to the Brownstown jail, they too were intercepted by the vigilantes and hanged from the very same tree.
The Final Confrontation and the New Albany Lynching
In the same month, law enforcement finally began to close in on the elusive Reno brothers. William and Simeon were apprehended by Pinkerton agents in Indianapolis and jailed in Scott County. Fearing another vigilante attack, Laura Reno offered to pay for their transfer to the more secure New Albany jail, an offer swiftly accepted. The brothers were secretly moved in the dead of night, handed over to Sheriff Thomas Fullenlove of Floyd County on July 29.
Meanwhile, the Pinkertons tracked Frank Reno and Charlie Anderson to Canada. Frank concocted a desperate plot to murder Allan Pinkerton, but the cunning detective foiled two assassination attempts. Bribery also failed. Finally, after political maneuvering and delays, Pinkerton secured custody of the prisoners on October 6, 1868. The next day, Pinkerton and his heavily armed contingent transported them via steamer and train to the New Albany, Indiana jail, where Frank Reno was unhappily reunited with his brothers, Sim and William.
Pinkerton inspected the jail and urged Sheriff Fullenlove to transfer his high-profile prisoners to the even stronger Indianapolis jail, but Fullenlove refused. When the citizens of New Albany learned that more members of the notorious Reno Gang were incarcerated in their town, fear gripped the community. The vigilantes had already threatened to hang Sim and William, and now, with more of the gang present, a more determined effort was expected. A Fort Wayne newspaper, contacted by the gang, reported that if the Renos were hanged, the rest of the gang would burn Seymour to ashes. Local newspapers publicly ridiculed Sheriff Fullenlove for his imprudent decision to house the outlaws in New Albany, predicting violence.
Sheriff Fullenlove publicly declared, “We do not believe that there is any danger of the Jackson County Vigilance Committee extending their visit to New Albany. They would be sure to meet a hot reception here, and they had better keep at a safe distance. These men were sent here for safekeeping, and they will be safely kept if it is in the power of the authorities to do so.”
Fullenlove’s assurances proved tragically unfounded. In the pre-dawn hours of December 12, 1868, over fifty hooded vigilantes silently approached the New Albany jail. They cut the telegraph wires, seized the outside guard, Chuck Whitten, and forced their way into the building, which also housed the sheriff’s residence. They confronted Sheriff Fullenlove and his wife. When the sheriff refused to surrender the keys to the Reno brothers’ cells, the vigilantes brutally beat him and shot him in the right arm. Mrs. Fullenlove then relented, handing over the keys. The determined men proceeded to the cells, dragging out Frank, William, Simeon Reno, and Charlie Anderson. Hauled to the top of the iron stairway on the second floor, the vigilantes lynched them one by one: first Frank, then William, then Simeon, and finally Anderson, who had to be re-hanged after his rope broke. The grim executions were complete by approximately 4:30 a.m.
After their bodies were cut down, they were laid in pine coffins and displayed at the jail, where thousands streamed by to gawk at the remains of the notorious Reno Gang. A Chicago newspaper described that night as “one of the most violent nights in the history of our country.” A half-hearted investigation into the lynching yielded no arrests or convictions. Laura Reno arranged for her brothers’ bodies to be returned to Seymour City Cemetery for burial, while Charlie Anderson’s widow buried her husband in the New Albany area.
The Last Reno Brother and a Legacy of Crime
John Reno, the only brother to serve his full sentence, was finally released from prison in February 1878, returning to Seymour. His criminal career, however, was not over. Seven years later, he was sentenced to three years in the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City for passing counterfeit bills. Upon his second release, he again returned to Seymour, where he died at home on January 31, 1895. Though Clinton Reno, known as “Honest Clint,” never participated in the gang’s activities, he too faced legal troubles, marking the enduring shadow the family’s notoriety cast over even its innocent members. The Reno Gang left a bloody legacy, forever changing the landscape of American crime and demonstrating the brutal extremes of both lawlessness and vigilante justice in the post-Civil War era. Their story remains a compelling and dark chapter in the history of the American West.
