09/07/2026
Welcome to another episode of Six Degrees of Herman Connection
Monday, September 7th, 2026 is the 150th anniversary of the James-Younger gang’s failed attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, MN. There is a path from that event to idyllic Herman.
In the early 1870’s, Graham Root Bacon and his wife Alice relocated from Vermont to Rice County, MN. Graham and Alice were farmers and they had three children: Charles John, born in 1873, George, who died in infancy in 1879 and Jessie Mary who was born in 1881.
Son Charles John relocated to the Herman area along with his parents and sister to Macsville Township. They lived where Cory and Amanda Kramer now live (formerly owned by Earl and Vi Severance). He married Edna Wilkins. (Keep in mind for later that Edna has three brothers: Fred, James and Elmer Wilkins) Charles and Edna had 4 children: Vera, Majorie, Mildred and Charles “Walter” Bacon.
Vera married Harold Trettin, Marjorie married Harold Nelson, Mildred married Ray Richards and Charles "Walter" married Marlos Schwensohn.
Charles “Walter” and Marlos had three children: Diane (Ken Werk), Kevin and Marilyn (Gerald Underwood).
Mildred and Ray had 4 children: Fern, Anita, Shirley, Carol and Dale.
Graham Bacon lived in the actual town of Northfield according to the 1880 census, as many farmers did at that time. Graham shared this account with his grandchildren: He had witnessed bodies lying in the street after the events of that day. The townspeople helped with foiling the robbery. There was an enormous amount of drama in the ensuing week, with the manhunt for the remaining members of the James/Younger gang. What an unsettling time that must have been, wondering if the thugs were hiding out nearby.
The Bacon and Richards families are not the only Herman residents that can trace their lineage to that day.
Charles John Bacon’s sister, Jessie Mary married her sister-in-law’s brother, Fred Wilkins. They had three children: Llewellyn “Scotty” (b. 1903), Floyd (b. 1904) and Dorothy (b. 1906). Fred died in 1909 leaving Jessie with 3 young children. Nearby, Arthur Blume had married Lilly Johnson (Daughter of Gustav and Rachel who lived at what is the Doyle/Jodi Sperr farm. You can see the proximity of these families on the map of this area of Macsville township.)
Here are the additional connections: Lilly Johnson Blume died in 1910 without any children. Arthur Blume then marries Jessie Bacon Wilkins in 1913. Jessie’s son Llewellyn a.k.a. “Scotty”, does not marry.
Jessie’s son Floyd marries Millie Cramer and they have 3 children. Carol Lowell, and Gail. Carol and members of her family are still living in Morris.
Jessie’s daughter Dorothy marries Walter Oachs and they have three sons, Gerald, James and Kent. Kent is the surviving brother, and his family members live in Edina. Most of Gerald and Jim’s families live in and around Herman or greater MN. Some are more far flung, which shows the reach of our small community.
But wait, there’s more……
The James-Younger gang spent the late summer of 1876 scouting the small towns and small cities in southern MN. Jesse James’ home was in St. Joseph, MO and possibly he followed the Missouri river north through Iowa to southwestern MN and traveled east from there.
Bertha Carlson, who immigrated from Norway in 1873, shared with her grandchildren an interaction with Jesse James.
Bertha was working as a hired girl on a farmstead when Jessie James came through. (It is not clear if the farm she was employed at was near Northfield or if it was closer to Mankato – Mankato was an alternate target of the gang before they settled on Northfield.) The young boys wanted to touch his gun, and he was quite gruff with them. Then after the robbery they rode through again and they fired their guns in the air to keep people living there from approaching.
Bertha married Albert Thompson two years later in Mankato in 1878. They homesteaded near Lismore, MN, south and west of Madelia where the Younger boys were captured.
The Herman thread is this: Bertha and Albert’s oldest daughter was Ida Mae. In 1899, Ida Mae married Emil Graf. They had 5 children: Clifford, Vernon, Gladys, Melvin and Ethel. Clifford is the father of Connie Behan and Vernon is the father of: Joan, Janet, Beverly, Barb, Yvonne, Lavern and Juli.
Finally, there is the Herman hotel register with Jesse James’ signature. His outlaw roamings covered a lot of territory.
Graham, Alice and Bertha witnessed history 150 years ago and their descendants are deeply embedded into the history of Herman. It doesn’t even take 6 steps to make the connection.
You can read more about the failed Northfield bank robbery here:
• https://libguides.mnhs.org/northfieldraid
And you can catch the re-enactment next weekend at the Defeat of Jesse James Days. It runs from September 9-13, 2026. More information can be found here:
• https://www.djjd.org/
Minnesota history is Herman history………
