His father, a hard-working tanner, left the child-rearing to his wife. He had only two rules for his children; no one was to touch the family car, and no guns of any kind. Even toy guns were forbidden.
Despite indications that Gillis had a strong and loving family, he began roaming the streets at a early age. Altough he would eventually complete the eighth grade, he seldom attended school, and his teachers saw it as an event when he was present rather than absent.
One of Gillis' earliest friends - and partner in crime - was Jack Perkins. They and others from the neighborhood were involved in a variety of petty crimes. Many years later Perkins would remember that Gillis, being the smallest in the group, would be responsible for creating a diversion at a store counter while the others would quickly fill their pockets with items from the other end of the counter. They evenutally graduated to more serious crimes and by the time Gillis was 12 he was an accomplished car thief and petty criminal. In 1921, at the age of 13, he was arrested for car theft and was sentenced to a year in a juvenile correctional facility. In 1922 he was arrested again on a similar charge and this time was sentenced to 18 months. While in jail, Gillis' father, now a heavy drinker in part because of the shame of his son's criminal activities, committed suicide. Gillis blamed himself for his father's death and began giving a portion of the money he stole to his mother to help support the family.
In 1928 he met a petite Chicago salesgirl, Helen Wawzynak. Gillis was captiviated by her dark eyes and quick wit; she was taken with his confident style and boyish grin. They began dating and within a year, despite her family's strong objections, were married. The couple would have two children. A son, Ronald, was born April 4, 1930, six months after their marriage. A daughter, Darlene, was born in 1932. The couple remained devoted to each other and their children for the rest of their lives and often traveled as a family, even when Gillis was hunted by law enforcement officials.
Gillis, who by now had adopted a number of aliases, was calling himself George Nelson when he was arrested and tried on a bank robbery charge in 1931. He was sentenced to a term of 1 to 10 years in the infamous Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet. While serving his term, he was tried and convicted in the Du Page County Circuit Court on another bank robbery charge out of Wheaton, Ill. This time he was sentenced to a year to life. As his prison terms began to add up, so did his plans for freedom.
The train bringing him back to Joliet from Wheaton on Feb. 17, 1932, was late in arriving and the prison car had already left. Rather than wait for another car to be sent to the station, Nelson's guard decided to take his prisoner back to the prison by cab. When they were nearly there Nelson produced a handgun and, pointing it at the guard, said "Don't give me a reason to kill you." He then ordered the driver and guard out of the vehicle and he made his escape. It's believed that Nelson's wife, Helen, planted the gun for him in the station.
After a brief stay in Reno, Nev., Nelson, now calling himself Jimmy Burnett and Jimmy Burnell, headed to Sausalito, Calif. There he met John Paul Chase, a small-time thief, bootlegger and smuggler. They would be associated for the rest of their lives.
Nelson worked with Chase as an armed guard on trucks transporting liquor and a variety of illegal or stolen goods. They were also involved in a number of robberies and highjackings and would become so close that Chase would frequently introduce Nelson as his half brother.
As was to become his custom, Nelson would find a place to live in a good neighborhood and would send for his wife and children. The family remained in California until May 1933, when Nelson moved them to Long Beach, Ind., where they lived for several months. It was in Indiana that Nelson met several bank robbers including Charles Fisher,
Earl Doyle, Tommy Carroll, Edward Bentz and Homer Van Meter. It was during this period that Nelson also met John Dillinger, then a relatively unknown bank robber. It's uncertain, however, if Nelson met Dillinger through Van Meter or Alvin Karpis, a leading member of the Barker/Karpis gang.
In November of 1933 Nelson, Van Meter, Carroll and Fisher were in San Antonio, Texas. On Dec. 11, Carroll shot and killed Detective H.C. Perrow of San Antonio during a robbery.