Dick Liddil
American outlaw
James Andrew "Dick" Liddil (September 15, 1852 – July 13, 1901) was an American outlaw who was one of the last surviving members of the James–Younger Gang. His surname is often misspelled as Liddel, Liddell, or Liddle.
Early years
Liddil was born to James Milton Liddil and Elizabeth Forsby in Jackson County, Missouri in 1852. In the mid-1870s, Liddil was arrested for horse stealing in Vernon County, Missouri.
James Gang
After being pardoned by the Governor of Missouri, Liddil was introduced to Jesse James in 1879. Liddil joined the James Gang that year and was later described by Frank James as a "good industrious young chap."
Liddil rode with the James Gang in October 1879 when they raided a depot in Glendale, 15 miles east of Kansas City. After capturing the telegraph operator, the gang signaled a train to stop, stealing the money from the safe in the express car. Liddil later said he received slightly over $1,000 for his part in the raid.
According to Liddil's later account, he became engaged to Mattie Collins the day after the Glendale raid. Liddil had met Collins in 1878 while she was on trial for murdering her employer.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Dick Liddil” is american outlaw. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Dick, Liddil and American, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american outlaw” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5273139. VIAF identifies the subject as 46695011. The Library of Congress control number is nr2001052509. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1852, 1901, 1879 and 1878.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Dick Liddil”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Dick Liddil primary sources, Dick Liddil archive and Dick research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Dick Liddil”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Dick Liddil” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.