Emmett Dalton was born in 1871 to James Lewis Dalton and Adeline Lee Younger. He was one of the youngest of the Dalton children.

He lived in Coffeyville, Kansas for much of his childhood.

Onetime gunslinger Emmett Dalton's fame rested on 10 minutes of rapid gunfire on a street in Coffeyville, Kan., but the legacy he wanted to leave behind was that of an outlaw who became a crime-fighting crusader, helping to keep boys out of prison and to keep villains from being glamorized as heroes.

The youngest brother of the notorious Dalton Gang, which robbed trains and banks in the late 1800s, was in his post-criminal life variously a Bible-quoting evangelist, real estate promoter, author, actor, technical advisor and prison-reform crusader who wanted Hollywood films to separate fact from fiction.

When Emmett was a teenager, his older brother Frank Dalton was killed while serving as a U.S. Marshall.

Emmett's older brothers, Grat and Robert had sworn to avenge their brother's death and signed up as marshall's. Emmett reportedly rode with them, too young to enlist himself. Grat and Robert uncovered crooked gambling that involved powerful men and were fired.

At that time, the three brothers took up a life of horse and cattle rustling and relocated to California (where two of their other brothers lived).

On Feb. 6, 1891, Grattan, Robert and 20-year-old Emmett had been drinking heavily in the saloons of Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, and then tried to hold up a Southern Pacific train. They couldn't get the safe open, but they did mortally wound a railroad fireman, which got their pictures on wanted posters all over California.

All three were soon arrested. Emmett and Robert jumped bail and went back to the Midwest. Grattan was convicted and sentenced to 20 years at San Quentin, but managed to escape before he got there and rejoined his brothers.[4]

In 1892, the brothers (along with 4 others) as the "Dalton Gang" had continued the robberies of trains and banks in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

Robert was quoted as stating "We'll see Jesse and go him one better" comparing themselves to the Jesse James Gang.

On the morning of October 5, 1892 the Gang attempted to rob two banks simultaneously in Coffeyville, Kansas. It was during that robbery that the town's citizens had opened fire on the Gang killing four of the five members. Emmett was the only one to survive the shootout, with many bullet wounds.

Emmett was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Kansas State Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas.

In 1900, Emmett appears in the Federal Census in Lansing State Prison. There he served nearly 15 years before being pardoned by Governor E.W. Hoch in 1907.

Per the book "The Dalton Gang and Their Family Ties" by Nancy Ohnick, Emmett Dalton and Julia Johnson Lewis cared for a foster child for a number of years. The boy's name was Roy Reynolds Johnson and was later adopted by people named Johnson (unrelated to Julia).

1918 and on: Emmett has his book Beyond the Law published. He and Julia move to Hollywood, where Emmett makes yet another movie about the Dalton gang, with the same title as his book. This is the best known of his films. He also acted in this film, and in some others based on his life. These never made much impact, but toured the theaters as secondary features for some time. Emmett toured lecturing with Beyond the Law till early 1925.

He became a general manager in two film companies; Southern Feature Film Corporation and Standard Pictures of California Inc.

In 1920, Emmett and Julia lived in Los Angeles, California.