Early life Dalton was born in 1871 in Missouri to Lewis (1826–1890) and Adeline (
née Younger) Dalton (1835–1925). Adeline Younger was a half-sibling of
Henry Washington Younger, father of four brothers with the
James–Younger Gang. Emmett was the eighth born of nine brothers; they had three sisters. His siblings were: • Charles Benjamin "Ben" Dalton (1852–1936) • Henry Coleman Dalton (1853–1920) • Littleton "Lit" Lee Dalton (1857–1942) •
Franklin "Frank" Dalton (1859–1887) •
Gratton Hanley "Grat" Dalton (1861–1892) •
William Marion "Bill" Dalton (1863–1894) • Eva May Dalton (1867–1939) •
Robert Rennick "Bob" Dalton (1869–1892) • Leona Randolph Dalton (1875–1964) • Nancy May Dalton (1876–1901) • Simon Noel "Si" Dalton (1878–1928)
Outlaw years Emmett's older brothers
Bob and
Grat briefly worked as US deputy marshals in
Indian Territory, sharing a position held by their older brother
Frank Dalton after he was killed in the line of duty. They hired Emmett to serve as a guard at the jail at
Fort Smith, in present-day Arkansas. The elder two started working for the
Osage Nation to help them set up a police force, but fled after being pursued for stealing horses. They began to conduct robberies of banks, stagecoaches, and trains. Emmett joined them, along with two other men. Their venture ended on October 5, 1892, when they attempted to rob two banks the same day in
Coffeyville, Kansas. They had hoped to make enough money to flee the country. Four of the gang were killed in a gun fight with law enforcement and townsmen. Emmett Dalton was severely wounded, receiving 23 gunshot wounds, but survived. He later asserted that he never fired a shot during the Coffeyville bank robbery.
Prison In March 1893, Dalton pleaded guilty to
second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in the
penitentiary in
Lansing, Kansas. In June 1907, he was paroled in order to receive treatment to his right arm, which had been injured in Coffeyville.
After prison Dalton moved to
Southern California after leaving prison, and married Julia Johnson the following year, 1908. Later, he sold
real estate, as Southern California was developing rapidly with migrants from across the country. Dalton's account of his exploits with his brothers, titled
Beyond the Law, was published in 1918 as
serial story in
The Wide World Magazine, a London monthly. The serial was made into a
like-named movie in which Dalton portrayed himself. In 1931, he published
When the Daltons Rode, co-written with
Jack Jungmeyer Sr., a Los Angeles journalist. It was adapted as a
1940 movie of the same name, starring
Randolph Scott,
Kay Francis and
Brian Donlevy—Emmett Dalton was portrayed by
Frank Albertson. He also appeared in
The Man on the Desert. Dalton died in July 1937 at the age of 66. His widow died in 1943, aged 73. They are buried in
Kingfisher, Oklahoma. ==Bibliography==