Dutch

Dutch was born in the mid-1850s[1] to a woman of English descent named Greta and a father of Dutch ancestry somewhere near Philadelphia. His father fought for the Union in the American Civil War and died in a battle that occurred in Pennsylvania;[2] because of his father's death, van der Linde developed a sworn grudge against Southerners. Dutch was a disobedient child and rarely got along with his mother, eventually running away from home at the age of 15. His mother would later die in 1881[3] and be buried in Blackwater, although Dutch only found out several years later from an uncle of his.[4] Van der Linde valued freedom and liberties above all else and dreamed of living an independent existence. To attain these desires, Dutch began to resort to a life of crime. In the mid-1870s,[5] Dutch met a con artist named Hosea Matthews at a campfire on the road to Chicago. Hosea attempted to con and rob him only to realize that Dutch likewise had done the same and stolen from him. Impressed by the other's skills, the pair laughed and decided to partner up and face the future together, founding the famous Van der Linde gang. Dutch and Hosea later found themselves in the town of Kettering, Ohio, where the two posed as international merchants, conning twelve locals into buying $300 worth of shares into a fictional Portuguese shipping company. Unfortunately, they were eventually discovered and arrested by Sheriff Carmichael. On March 9th, 1877, the pair managed to escape from their cell by unknown means, tying up and robbing the sheriff in the process.[6] Later that year, Dutch and Hosea encountered a 14-year-old street orphan named Arthur Morgan. The pair decided to take the boy under their wing. Teaching him how to read, write, hunt, fight, shoot and ride, Arthur became their first protege and alongside Hosea and Dutch, the trio would go on to comprise the old guard of the Van der Linde gang.[7] Around this time, Dutch became romantically involved with a woman named Susan Grimshaw, who also became a member of the gang. He later ended his relationship with Susan as he met and deeply fell in love with a woman named Annabelle. In 1885, Dutch stumbled across a group of Illinois homesteaders who attempted to lynch a 12-year-old boy named John Marston, who had been caught stealing from them. Dutch intervened in saving the boy's life and inducted him into the gang.[8][9] Dutch taught John how to read, write, fight, shoot and ride just like he had previously done with Arthur. Over time Dutch and Hosea came to regard Arthur and John as their favorite 'sons'. In 1887, Dutch led the gang's first major bank robbery alongside Hosea and Arthur. At 2 o'clock, the trio burst into the banking house of Lee and Hoyt and held up the staff and customers. As a result of the robbery the gang made off with $5000 in gold. After the robbery they lingered in town; going to hovels, shanties, and orphanages handing out money; envisioning themselves as 'Robin Hood' figures in the process.[10] It was around this period where Dutch became a wanted man and earned a price on his head.[11] Sometime later Van der Linde met the infamous outlaw named Colm O'Driscoll who was the leader of his own gang The O'Driscoll Boys. The two maintained a loose and uneasy partnership, as Dutch disliked how Colm treated his own men as disposable. Colm likewise mocked Van der Linde for his philosophy in making a 'better world'. Although the exact reason is unknown, Dutch broke the truce and killed Colm's brother. In retaliation Colm murdered Annabelle, leaving Dutch heartbroken and vengeful. This event caused Dutch and Colm to become arch-enemies and sparked a years-long blood feud between the two rival gangs. In 1893, Dutch and Hosea encountered a drunk veteran named Bill Williamson who attempted to rob them. However, having previously stolen Bill's ammunition, they simply laughed at him and his disorderly conduct which infuriated Bill at first, but Dutch encouraged him and inducted him into the gang.[12] Although Bill lacked conventional intelligence Dutch came to value his loyalty. In 1895, Dutch was stealing some chickens where he came across a young Mexican exile named Javier Escuella who attempted to do the same. Alone and starving, Dutch fed him, wrapped him in warm clothing and soon inducted him into the gang. Javier came to value and idolized Dutch's philosophy and became one of his most loyal members. One night, Dutch and Hosea went to a bar in North Elizabeth where they encountered a young Irishman named Sean MacGuire who became fixated on Dutch's fancy pocket watch. Overconfident, he followed the pair out down an alleyway and attempted to rob them. Dutch and Hosea simply laughed at him as Sean discovered that they had spotted him earlier and unloaded the bullets out of his gun. Instead of killing him, they brought Sean into the gang. At this time, Dutch was an altruistic and idealistic rogue, believing the gang could make a difference in the world. He had fashioned himself into something of a Robin Hood-like figure, taking money from the rich and wealthy who had plenty of it, and giving it to the poor and destitute who needed it. He saw himself as a symbol of the Wild West in its romanticized form, and a humanitarian champion of the people, opposing government control and corporate exploitation while supporting individual liberty and punishing general human cruelty and selfishness. His romantic image and charisma inspired his gang to believe in his anarchistic vision of a "savage utopia", and it was in the name of Dutch and his cause that they committed many violent crimes such as murder and robbery. By 1899, Dutch was reluctantly starting to realize that the way of life he held so dear was quickly becoming an increasingly unrealistic proposition, and that the days of the Wild West were coming to an end, no matter how much he might try to prevent it. In 1898, Dutch looked to sell a cache of stolen gold, aggravating the locals in the process. The deal went south and nearly resulted in him being killed in a bar fight in Crenshaw Hills. Fortunately, Dutch was saved by a career outlaw named Micah Bell who was then accepted into the gang. While Dutch took a particular liking towards Micah, Hosea and Arthur found him to be argumentative, reckless and hot-headed.

Dutch himself is shown to be a merciless killer who justifies killing innocent people or lawmen as a way of combating the corruption of the federal government. Despite his brutal ways, Dutch is educated and, unlike many outlaws, genuinely believes he is committing these crimes for idealistic reasons rather than greed. His anti-government and pro-individualist idealism, combined with his natural charisma, attracted a following of people who had been downtrodden by the society they lived in. Several members of the gang were orphans, minorities, town drunks, former prostitutes and other lowlifes; people who had felt they had no purpose until they joined the gang and Dutch gave them one. This created a strong sense of unity within the gang and a great sense loyalty to Dutch. Despite at times being rather brutal in his methods, Dutch would often joke around with his fellow gang members and had a kind, playful disposition. He would often make motivational speeches to encourage the gang to come together in times of hardship while preaching that "loyalty" and "faith" were among the highest and most honorable tenets. Before Hosea's demise, he often consulted him and Arthur on important decisions, putting it to a discussion and vote between the three of them when deciding on the direction of the gang, demonstrating how much their opinions meant to him.

Dutch is an average built man in his mid-forties[1] and is approximately 6 feet in height. He has tanned skin, a large roman nose, brown eyes and a cleft chin, along with a thick, black mustache and soul patch surrounded by a light stubble, and black, slick backed hair that curls at the end reaching his nape. He is always seen in elegant suits or fancy clothing, most often wearing a white and grey striped shirt, charcoal grey striped trousers with pointed black leather boots, an ornate black paisley waistcoat with a blood red silk back, and matching red pocket square, it has glittering gold buttons and is decorated with a gold pocket-watch with twin chains and ruby pendant. Along with a smart black jacket also with a red pocket square, and leather notch lapels, and a black felt homburg hat with a silk band. He also wears a chunky black gun belt with a square gold buckle and twin holsters, and two ornate gold rings, one on his pinkie and another with a large rectangular face on his forefinger. He also owns a red and cream plaid scarf which he wears both for warmth and as a bandana. During the Saint Denis bank robbery, he wears a gleaming white shirt, red velvet vest and black slacks with a long, black tailcoat complete with red silk lining. While stranded on Guarma, his appearance becomes unkempt: his mustache becomes scruffy and long, he develops thick stubble around his face, and his tailcoat is lost, while his white shirt and red waistcoat that he wore for the robbery become loose, dirty and tattered. After returning to the United States, Dutch's appearance returns to what it was before. During the first chapter, he wears a black, knee-length overcoat in black fur with notched lapels, an upturned collar and two rows of brass buttons, along with his plaid scarf, and dark brown rifleman gloves. When he attends the mayor's party, he wears a black three-piece suit and a top hat, but with his bow tie and waistcoat being an off-white silver.