William Rudolph, known as the Missouri Kid, was a handsome con man and bank robber who kept lawmen on their toes in the early 1900s. Born in 1883, he grew up in a rotting, isolated house near Stanton in Missouri’s remote Franklin County.
As a boy, Rudolph was constantly in trouble. He had a brilliant mind but often got into fights at school, and by age 15 he was done with education. By then he was barred from several local stores for stealing.
Rudolph passed himself off as older than he was and charmed women wherever he went. He saved money from mining jobs out West and came to St. Louis, where he invested in a nice suit and a haircut. But when he ran out of money, he was caught burglarizing a store and was thrown in jail.
