interested in finding out if Roy, Ray or Nash (Noel) Prater were running with the kimes gang.

What's the history behind the brothers you speak of? Do you have information connecting them with the Kimes boys? I've not heard of any connection but perhaps Mike Koch has....

Absolutely love this forum and posts. I am working on my family genealogy and always wondered if the Kimes boys were related to our line.
It seems they are, but as cousins. My line is Conrad Kimes and this line is his brother Valentine's line. So this is as close as we come to the gang.
I do remember growing up and asking about our relatives and a family tree. I was told my great Aunt started the family genealogy and went back as far as finding 'some horse thieves' and that's where she stopped looking!
I bet it was in reference to the Kimes' gang kids!
There was only one line of Kimes that settled in America. The original line came from Germany and spelled the last name Keim. Along the way, in fact with Conrad, they changed the spelling of the name to Kimes. Probably misinterpeted somewhere and it stuck.
There are early Kimes that migrated into MS and had large families.
I, too have ordered my copy of Mike Koch's book..can't wait to read it!

Hi,

I am familiar with Valentine Kimes, Sr. and Jr. and they are listed in the front of my book on the Kimes Gang. Your right that their names were spelled differently in Germany, I got some family info from a lady in California. You are probably, at the very least, distantly related to Matt & George Kimes. These lines have very large families. Best of luck to you.

We have a note the we located from my great aunt. She was Ray, Roy, and Noel Prater's sister. I'll quote the note since it's kind of
difficult to understand.

"Ray & Noel Prater were in McAlester Prison for
robbing a bank in Biggs, Okla ($12000). Noel escaped and was never caught. Kimes Brothers ran around. Ray spent 5 yrs. in prison."