Sile Doty

Sile Doty (August 30, 1800 – March 12, 1876) was an infamous robber, burglar, horse thief, highwayman, counterfeiter, and criminal gang leader. Stewart Holbrook says that Doty "was, before the James-Younger era, the most energetic and notorious all-around bandit in the United States." Doty's criminal career is known primarily through his autobiography, compiled by J. G. W. Colburn and published four years after Doty's death as The Life of Sile Doty The Most Noted Thief and Daring Burglar of His Time. As this title suggests, the tone of the autobiography is boastful and unapologetic. Doty excuses his crimes as stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Except where otherwise noted, what follows is taken from the autobiography and may contain exaggerations and self-serving distortions.