George Barnes Biography

George Francis Barnes Jr. also known as George “Machine Gun Kelly” (Brosnon 1). A man who had a normal childhood, his parents raised him in a traditional household. He has gained several people’s respect over time. In 1927, he began his criminal career as a bootlegger and a kidnapper. He found himself without a steady job and separated from his wife (Brosnon 2). It was about this time when Kelly joined in with a small time gangster and started a new venture as a bootlegger (2). George “Machine Gun Kelly” Barnes was born on July 18, 1900 to a wealthy family living in Memphis, Tennessee (Brosnon 1). His career began during the prohibition era, which was when the experiment in the government's attempt to control morality (Horton 1). Kelly’s
When George found himself without steady work and separated from his wife (2). Around this time Kelly took up with a small time gangster and started a new venture as a bootlegger (2). After an early release from prison for being a model inmate (La master 1). George found himself a woman he fell in love with after he was released. Kathryn Thorne was her name and George ended up marrying her ( La master 1). Kathryn purchased George’s first gun and began introducing him as George “Machine Gun” Kelly (1). George and his wife, Kathryn became bootleggers, but Kathryn wanted more ( Townsend 12). Kathryn got George a machine gun and made him start practicing shooting (12). George was promoted by both law enforcement and his malevolent scheming wife, Kathryn was as deadly with the tommy gun ( Walsh 3). Many historians found fellow inmates of George and have said to believe that Kathryn was the creator of the “ Machine Gun Kelly ” image and became known as the mastermind behind several of the successful small bank robberies George pulled off throughout Texas and Mississippi ( Brosnon 3). It wouldn't be long before her self interest built Kelly into far more than he really was and when he drew a stretchy worthy of one of the worst of the worst, also told her to distance herself from him as completely as possible (Walsh 5). Along with the new success also
That's where George “Machine Gun” Kelly and other violent criminals have been prisoners (1). The Alcatraz is no longer a prison (1). With the help of a man named Albert Bates and the planning skills of Kathryn, George intended to kidnap Charles Urschel (Vaccerello 1). George had planned to ransom Charles Urschel for two hundred thousand dollars, but upon arrival at Urschel’s had been two men instead of one and had take both unsure of who was who (Vaccerello 1). The other man was Walter Jarrett(1). Kelly made the move to kidnap shortly after congress passed the Lindbergh kidnapping law in 1932 in response to the public’s outcry over the growth of violent crimes (Horton 1). Kelly found himself at first noticed and then appears in the front page banner headlines and national infamy for his part in the kidnapping of Oklahoma City oil millionaire Charles Urschel (Walsh5). With Urschel’s help the FBI found their way to the house where he was held (Vaccerello 1). There they discovered Kelly and Bates were the kidnappers(1). Initially Urschel didn't think he could help much having been blindfolded almost the entire duration of his confinement (Walsh 7). The FBI agents managed to jog his memory and get him to remember much more about where he'd been held (7). With the clues and serial numbers on the ransom money, they managed to find the kidnappers (Vaccerello 1). Kelly was sent to prison in Alcatraz the famous high