The Van Der Linde Gang
Welcome to the Gang
The Van der Linde Gang, lead by Dutch Van Der Linde, is a group of criminals, dissidents and free-thinkers who have chosen to reject a corrupt system of power and live instead by their own code. As the price on their heads continues to grow, so does the struggle to remain free. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, the gang is forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, many members must make a choice between their own ideals and loyalty to the gang who took them under their wing and treated them as family.History and Members
The gang's roots lie in a fateful meeting between two petty hustlers, Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews, around the mid-1870s. Van der Linde and Matthews met each other at a campfire on the road to Chicago. Hosea attempted to con and rob Dutch, but realized that Dutch had done the same and stolen from him in the meantime. They both saw the skill that the other had and laughed, deciding to team up and face the future together. The Van der Linde gang was thus founded. Around this same time, Hosea met a woman named Bessie, who would eventually become his wife. Dutch convinced Hosea, who described himself as a "degenerate", that they could find redemption from their sinful lives by robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, similar to the medieval tale of Robin Hood. Dutch had an anarchistic vision of a world without government or corporate interference, a "savage utopia" free from the pressures and intolerance of civilization. He saw himself as a revolutionary and thought that the gang could be an example to others who would follow their lead. They began pulling tricks and ripping off people they believed deserved it the most. The pair found themselves in the town of Kettering, Ohio, where they began conning several people. They posed as international merchants, conning twelve locals into buying $300 worth of shares into a fictional Portuguese shipping company. They were eventually discovered and arrested by Sheriff Carmichael. On March 9th, 1877, the pair escaped from their cell by unknown means, tying up and robbing the sheriff in the process.Arthur
Later that year, the pair stumbled across a fourteen-year-old orphan named Arthur Morgan. He was an unruly child, and they decided to take him under their wing, teaching him to read, write, shoot and other useful skills. Around this same time, Dutch became romantically involved with a woman named Susan Grimshaw, who also became a member of the gang. The gang acted as a family, caring for each other. At some point, the gang acquired a pet dog named Copper, who Arthur grew close to and took care of.Annabelle
During the early years of the gang, Hosea and his wife tried to leave the gang and go straight. But, Hosea slowly drifted back to the gang, unable to fight against his own criminal nature. Bessie understood his struggle and stuck by him. Dutch ended his relationship with Susan, but she still remained in the gang. Dutch, at some point later, became romantically involved with a woman named Annabelle.John
In 1885, Dutch came across a group of Illinois homesteaders preparing to hang a twelve year-old boy for stealing from them. He saved the child, named John Marston, and brought him into the gang, teaching him to read and shoot just as he had done with Arthur. Arthur and John became like brothers, and Dutch often read to them from books by Evelyn Miller and Waldo Emerson, even though most of the concepts went over the young boys' heads. Dutch filled the minds of the boys with his anarchistic worldviews, instilling them with distrust and hatred for the government. He told them that America was designed to produce apathy in people. He would preach that revenge was a fool's game and that they should never kill in cold blood. Over the years, many members of the gang came to believe that John and Arthur were Dutch's favorites as he considers them as his sons, much to the envy of others.First hit
In 1887, the gang committed its first major bank robbery. At 2 o'clock, Hosea, Dutch and the now young-adult Arthur burst into the banking house of Lee and Hoyt. The gang made off with $5000 in gold. After the robbery, they lingered in town, going to hovels, shanties, and orphanages handing out money, still going with the 'Robin Hood' ideals of Dutch. It was around this time (likely because of this bank robbery) that Dutch became a wanted man with a price on his head. Between 1887 and 1899, the gang carried out roughly 37 different bank robberies in various locations around the country.O'Driscoll's Feud
At one point in the past, Dutch and Colm O'Driscoll, the leader of the rival gang the O'Driscoll Boys, had an uneasy truce between them. Dutch disliked how Colm treated the members of his gang as disposable while Colm mocked Dutch for his philosophies about trying to make a "better world". Though the exact reason is unknown, Dutch broke the truce when he killed Colm's brother. In retaliation, Colm killed Dutch's lover, Annabelle - an event which greatly angered and devastated him. These events led to a blood feud between the two gangs which would last for years.Robin Hood
During the early beginnings of the gang, they truly did help people in need and tried to make a difference. Dutch even once scolded Arthur for stealing from a poor man's house, saying that it made them no better than the people they were fighting against. As the years went on, Dutch gradually became disillusioned with society as the world around him grew more and more organized and "civilized", with increasing government centralization continuing to encroach on his idea of freedom. The gang eventually stopped giving money to the poor and helping others and instead focused exclusively on caring for themselves and securing their own survival. Dutch even allowed the gang to become involved in loansharking through Leopold Strauss, which often targeted the type of lower class people the gang previously used to fight for. Instead of just thieving, the gang also began killing their opponents, much to Hosea's dismay. Despite his objections, Hosea stuck around out of loyalty to Dutch, though his faith in their "mission" gradually declined and eventually vanished over the years.Mass Recruitment
For the next 6 years, the gang traveled throughout the frontier performing many other heists and crimes according to Dutch's values. In this time the gang picked up around a dozen new members, usually people who wished to escape and live outside of conventional society. It is unclear exactly when these gang members joined. Examples of these new members included Mac and Davey Callander who were brothers described as “a vicious pair of bastards” and served as gunmen for the gang. Karen Jones was a con artist and triggerwoman who joined after assisting the gang in a bank robbery in Tucson, Arizona. Mary-Beth Gaskill was a young woman who was taken in by the gang as she was being pursued by a man she had just pick-pocketed. Tilly Jackson left her previous gang after she killed a cousin of Anthony Foreman's, who was the gang's leader. She lived on the streets until she met Dutch who took her in and taught her to read just as he had done for Morgan and Marston. Simon Pearson was a former Navy Chief who was rescued by Dutch from other loan-sharks; he would become the camp cook. Orville Swanson, a reverend with both severe alcoholism and morphine addiction. He saved Dutch's life once, and as thanks Dutch offered him a permanent place in with the gang. Uncle was a petty thief and drunk who joined the gang, with his personality earning him the reputation of a bit of a freeloader, yet they allowed him to stay due to his ability to entertain them and do what they wanted when asked. Sean MacGuire was a young Irishman who attempted to rob and kill Dutch and Hosea in North Elizabeth, but was later adopted into the gang. Molly O'Shea was a woman who abandoned her rich family in search of adventure and romance; it's unclear how she joined the gang, but she later became Dutch's lover. The eccentric Josiah Trelawny was another con artist who formed an association with the gang, he would act as an informant for Dutch on both large and small scale heist opportunities. Due to his line of work he was allowed to come and go from the gang as he pleased, never becoming directly involved with most of the other members besides Dutch himself. At one point, prior to Tilly joining, an unnamed member betrayed the gang but was later caught and killed in the gang's camp for it.Bill
In 1893, a US Army veteran named Bill Williamson, who had recently received a dishonorable discharge, drunkenly attempted to rob Dutch. However, Dutch simply laughed at him, which infuriated Williamson at first. Sensing the struggles of his would-be robber, Dutch decided to help Williamson by bringing him into the gang, giving Williamson a newfound purpose and reason to live. Though Bill lacked conventional intelligence, he made up for it with his unwavering loyalty to Dutch and the gang whom he felt greatly indebted to.Abigail
In 1894, Uncle introduced the gang to a prostitute named Abigail Roberts, who joined the gang and had sexual relations with several of the gang's male members. Abigail eventually formed a more romantic relationship with John, and soon after, showed signs of being pregnant. John refused to accept responsibility for the child, insisting that it may not even be his. Due to his father's lack of commitment, the baby, Jack, was collectively raised by rest of the gang during his first year of upbringing. As he grew older, Jack came to view many of the gang's members as his "aunts" and "uncles" due to the family-like environment.Javier
In 1895, while stealing chickens, Dutch came across a young Mexican exile named Javier Escuella, who was also stealing chickens in order to survive. Escuella was starving and alone, so Dutch took him into the gang, feeding and clothing him. Javier, a former revolutionary, had a strong affinity with the gang's philosophy and began to idolize Dutch; he eventually become one of the gang's most loyal gunmen.John's Struggle
Sometime during 1896, when the young Jack Marston had reached just over a year old, John left the gang, abandoning his son in the process. His actions provoked notable animosity from Arthur, who saw it as both an act of betrayal towards the gang and cowardice in John's responsibility as a father. The following year, in 1897, John returned to the gang and accepted his share of responsibility for the baby boy. Arthur never truly forgave him for his actions, and their relationship was only worsened by how Dutch and many other members of the gang seemed to welcome John back with open arms. The rift between the two men would then continue to steadily grow over the next few years. By 1898, the gang found itself in Montana. Hosea caught several large salmon, planning a feast for the whole camp until Copper, Arthur's dog, found and ate the fish. Sometime after this, Copper passed away. After a fire and some trouble up in the north, the gang travelled south and east, taking a slow and tortuous trail down through the Northern Grizzlies to throw off anyone tracking them. They then spent several months in the wilderness. During the winter, they stuck mostly to the western foothills of the mountain. Food was plentiful, and for a time, the gang lived in peace. Dutch eventually got a lead on some land for the gang to buy for their "savage utopia", but it either did not match up to Dutch's criteria or he grew suspicious that law enforcement was watching them and the gang began wandering again.Lenny & Charles
While traversing the Grizzlies, the gang picked up several new recruits. The first of these new recruits were Lenny Summers and Charles Smith. At first, Hosea was unsure of Lenny, but the two grew to mutually respect each other and become good friends. Lenny was literate even before joining the gang and tried to use his knowledge to teach Sean how to read. Charles was used to surviving alone but was surprised by how fairly Dutch treated him despite his race and decided to stick around, having found a place he felt he belonged in. The gang picked up two new members around this time as well: Jenny Kirk, who was found abandoned on the roadside, and Micah Bell, a hot-headed, career outlaw who saved Dutch's life. Dutch met Bell at a place named Crenshaw Hill while trying to sell gold that the gang had recently stolen. Dutch ended up offending some of the locals, leading to an altercation where Micah stepped in and saved his life.The Blackwater Massacre
By 1899, the gang arrived in the state of West Elizabeth and decided to camp outside the town of Blackwater, a town undergoing the process of industrialization. Eventually, Micah convinced Dutch to rob a riverboat carrying money from the bank. Arthur and Hosea protested, believing the risks involved to be too great. Despite this, Dutch thought the heist would be worth the risk and went ahead with it. They scoped out several safe spots in the state of New Austin for the gang to use as a fallback after the robbery. The heist did not go as planned, with the Pinkertons arriving unexpectedly quickly. In the heat of the moment, Dutch cracked and killed an innocent woman named Heidi McCourt via a gunshot to the head, in a very cruel way, according to Javier. Chaos ensued, leading to John, Mac, Davey and Jenny Kirk all being shot. The latter two had much more severe injuries than John and they both died shortly afterwards.Outlaws for Life
Founding Date
Mid 1870
Type
Illicit, Gang
Leader
Notable Members
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