Timeline of Key Events

This document provides a chronological timeline of the Van der Linde gang's history, from the births of its key members to the events that led to the Blackwater Massacre in 1899.

  • 1844: Hosea Matthews is born.

  • 1850s: Dutch van der Linde is born (1855).

  • 1860s: Micah Bell III is born (1860). Bill Williamson is born (1866).

  • 1870: Dutch leaves home at age 15.

  • 1874: Arthur is orphaned after his father is hanged.

  • 1876: Dutch and Hosea meet outside of Chicago, forming their partnership.

  • 1877: The gang robs a bank. Arthur Morgan joins the gang at age 14.

  • c. late 1870s: Susan Grimshaw joins the gang.

  • 1880: Lenny Summers is born.

  • c. 1882: Annabelle and Bessie join the gang.

  • c. 1883: Hosea and Bessie marry.

  • c. 1884: Dutch kills Colm O'Driscoll's brother, and Annabelle is killed by Colm in retaliation. Hosea returns to the gang after a brief departure.

  • 1885: John Marston joins the gang at age 12.

  • 1887: The gang robs the Lee & Hoyt Bank, stealing $5,000 in gold.

  • c. 1892: Uncle joins the gang. Bill Williamson is dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army.

  • c. 1893: Bill Williamson joins the gang.

  • c. 1894: Abigail Roberts, Karen Jones, Tilly Jackson, Mary-Beth Gaskill, Simon Pearson, Leopold Strauss, Josiah Trelawny, and Orville Swanson join the gang.

  • 1895: Jack Marston is born. Javier Escuella joins the gang.

  • 1896: John Marston leaves the gang for a year.

  • 1897: John Marston returns to the gang.

  • c. 1898: Charles Smith and Jenny Kirk join the gang.

  • c. December 1898: Micah Bell and Lenny Summers join the gang.

  • May 1899: Sadie Adler and Kieran Duffy join the gang.

  • April-May 1899: The Blackwater Massacre occurs, forcing the gang to flee into the mountains and setting the stage for the game's story.