author

J. H. (Joseph Have) Hanson

Best known for a vivid early account of the James-Younger Gang’s failed 1876 raid on the bank at Northfield, Minnesota, this little-documented writer survives in print through one dramatic slice of American crime history.

1 Audiobook

The Northfield Tragedy; or, the Robber's Raid A Thrilling Narrative; A history of the remarkable attempt to rob the bank at Northfield, Minnesota; the Cold-Blooded Murder of the Brave Cashier and an Inoffensive Citizen. The Slaying of Two of the Brigands. The Wonderful Robber Hunt and Capture Graphically Described. Biographies of the Victims, the Captors & the Notorious Younger and James Gang of Desperadoes

The Northfield Tragedy; or, the Robber's Raid A Thrilling Narrative; A history of the remarkable attempt to rob the bank at Northfield, Minnesota; the Cold-Blooded Murder of the Brave Cashier and an Inoffensive Citizen. The Slaying of Two of the Brigands. The Wonderful Robber Hunt and Capture Graphically Described. Biographies of the Victims, the Captors & the Notorious Younger and James Gang of Desperadoes

by J. H. (Joseph Have) Hanson

About the author

Little verified biographical information is easy to find about this author, but catalog and ebook records agree on the expanded form of the name as Joseph Have Hanson. He is credited with The Northfield Tragedy; or, the Robber's Raid, a contemporary narrative about the James-Younger Gang and the attempted robbery in Northfield, Minnesota.

The book was originally published in 1876, the same year as the raid it describes, which gives it the feel of a fast, immediate eyewitness-era account rather than a later historical retelling. Modern readers usually encounter Hanson through digitized editions and library listings, where this work appears to be the main title securely associated with his name.

Because reliable personal records are scarce, it is safer to remember Hanson for the book than for a fully documented life story. Even so, that single surviving work has kept his name in circulation among readers interested in Western history, true crime, and nineteenth-century popular nonfiction.