My intent here is not to create confusion, strife or even conversation for that matter, the information I am to give in the following is true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I am not beyond error however I believe none is present. If you choose to, prove me, or disprove me, my objective is to find truth, if you disagree with any portion please explain and provide what proof you may have. This was created for use of genealogist, historians and researchers with real intent, and pure motive to correct the linage and history of Jesse Woodson James and those touched by his life.
This project began as a result of being asked to evaluate the contents of the book Jesse James was one of His Names, (The Black Book) The objective was primarily prove Jesse faked his death and to try to validate the many controversial statements made within, or disprove them, to date, I have not been able to disprove anything in the book although many things remain to be assessed, I have however validated many statements or claims made within. It has gone beyond a project, it has become an obsession, it pulls at me I just have to straighten out the mess created by would be researchers, historians and academics whom it seems never learned how to ask questions but instead they just follow the leader… It is my recommendation that the researcher take the book more serious than has been in the past by researchers and academics. And Incidentally, DNA is not the answer… in fact it has become part of the problem due to misapplication as many never resolved the first problem and that was, who was Jesse James, what did he actually look like?... And remember, regurgitation of indoctrination will never result in truth.
The real image of Jesse W James Taken not long after his hoaxed death
___________________________________
After 7 years of what I thought would be a simple task, I have come to see first hand and realize just how misinformed or should we just say screwed up the history of the real Jesse W James is. I don’t think we can lay all the blame on the many history writers and those who pretend by flexing their egos through such avenues as WIKI who are mostly guilty of nothing more than believing everything they read… one after another regurgitating what can only be classified as pure bullshit based upon many authors of even more bullshit all based on the narrative of those who created again, the bullshit history of the Civil war, pardon the backwoods slang.
However, think about it, only those who knew Jesse intimately, brothers, cousins aunts, uncles and friends, knew what he truly looked like, all others were as good as a best guess... the many false claims of identity is what has made those around him and his history so misunderstood...
Here is one of many examples I will insert before I get started…
Researchers and historians, if you think these two woman are one and the same person, you need your head examined. And yet article after article web page after web page and books, can’t seem to decide which picture to use and often they are used side by side, even genealogy web sites can't make up their mind and the descendants of those in question! do they think we are stupid? Doubtful, but IT IS their own ignorance that blinds them.
They look nothing alike! Do I need more evidence or is it plain to see? These are two different people! Surprisingly enough, many cannot see the blatant difference. Perhaps the reason for this mix up is that Myra’s Confederate spy name for a time, was Bell Star.
Jesse Woodson James (Kentucky Born)
Let’s start with Jesse who is the most misunderstood character of the Civil War, but lets start with the right Jesse, there were three… yes three.
Kentucky Born Jesse Woodson James, brother to Dr, Sylvester Franklin James (Frank James) and who were the Sons of Mollie Dalton and Captain George Strother James, the very man who fired the first cannon shot in 1861 at Fort Sumter. Jesse was NEVER married to Zerelda Mims. Nephew of Zerelda Cole James and Rev. Robert James. Cousin to Zeralda Mims. Died 1951
Progressive photos of Jesse Woodson James, these photos are among the only real photos of Jesse with the questionable top right photo most used for Jesse.
Overlayed and opacity adjusted photos
The
Charcoal photo on the right of the younger Harrison Trow, is used to overlay the photo on the left of Jesse and the opacity increased each photo.
And
now using the same photo on the left, I compared to an older known
photograph of Harrison Trow using the same point dot alignment.
Jesse
on the left and Captain Harrison Trow on the right
In
1925 on February 24th,
the alias of Captain Harrison Trow came to an end when Jesse again
killed himself off and 8 days later he killed off his other primary
alias William Andrews Clark on March 2nd.
Jesse
spent 25 years of his life in Hereford Texas, with him was
his one true love, Myra Belle Shirley still using the name of
Missouri Ann Jesse. Also during those years were 4 of Jesse and Myra
Belle’s children, along with his Mother (Molly Dalton) and Father
(George S James).
As
far as any of us know, after Jesse killed off the alias Harrison
Trow, and assumed the name of his deceased cousin, J. Frank Dalton. I’m sure there are
many details during this time we are unaware. According to certain
genealogy sites Missouri Ann died in 1928 but did she die? I see no
way of finding out unless some family member comes forward. During
these years of research and contacting Jesse’s descendants, the
best I have found is a family that were told they were decent, but
half the family wants nothing to do with being related to a
Confederate cold blooded killer, the other half is fascinated by it…
Let’s now take a look at a comparison of a known proven photo of
Harrison Trow and a known photo of J. Frank Dalton. Notice the smooth
transition of these photos as in the previous comparisons.
Missouri Born Jesse Robert (Dingus) James. First Cousin to Jesse Woodson James and Sylvester Franklin James and coconspirator. Son of Zerelda Cole James and Rev. Robert James. Brother to Missouri Born, Alexander Franklin James, The other “Frank James.” Jesse Robert was also never married to Zerelda Mims. No photos are known at this time.
Sylvester Franklin James Kentucky Born BROTHER of Jesse W James and is usually the very “ Frank James.” in about half the stories. Frank is also the Son of Mollie Dalton and Captain George Strother James. Nephew of Zerelda Cole James and Rev. Robert James. Often referred to as Dr. Sylvester Franklin James.
Sylvester Franklin James
Alexander Franklin James Missouri Born First Cousin to Jesse Woodson James and Sylvester Franklin James, THIS is the son of Zerelda Cole James and Rev. Robert James, and is usually the “ Frank James.” in half the OTHER stories.
Possible Photo of Alexander Franklin James
More Likely a possible Photo of Missouri born Alexander Franklin JamesNOT to be confused with
Sylvester Franklin James, brother of Jesse Woodson James
Cousin Jesse Ballard James who was hung by the damned Yankees at Dora Missouri. 1862. No known Photo.
George Strother James (Jesse Woodson and Sylvester Franklin James’s Father) Brother to Rev. Robert James. Uncle to Jesse Robert and Alexander Franklin James. Husband of Mollie Dalton. History is correct in that he was the first to fire a cannon at Fort Sumter kicking off the Civil War, and he did not die in 1862, the center photo below was taken in 1920.
George Strother James
Jesse Woodson’s Father
Notice how much the boys look like there Father...
Mollie Dalton, Georgia Born, (Molly) (Matilda?) (Jesse Woodson and Sylvester Franklin James’s Mother) A real lady by any standard. Sister to James Lewis Dalton who is the father of the Dalton Brothers. Parents possibly Benjamin Dalton and Nancy Rabourn.
Molly Dalton
Jesse Woodson James’s Mother
Myra MayBelle Shirley, Daughter of Judge John Shirley and Elizabeth Hatfield. Jesse Woodson James’s one and only true love, married under the names of Missouri Ann and Harrison Trow (See Photo often attributed to Jim Reed and Mayra Belle) Despite the many encounters Jesse had with other women, Jesse and Myra Belle stayed together until Missouri Ann’s supposed death in 1928. They had at least 4 children together but their real names are unknown. Myra Belle NEVER married Jesse under the alias names of Jim Reed and /or Bruce Younger, she was never married to either.
(Maybell) Myra Belle Shirley
Bell Starr, Murderous woman outlaw, I do not know where she came from, not sure anyone does. This is NOT Myra Belle Shirley.
Bell Starr
Zerelda Mimms Bigelow, Jesse’s cousin, married to Charlie Bigelow. Charlie is the man who was killed and passed off as Jesse Woodson James. Her mother was Mary Elizabeth James who was the daughter of Rev. John Martin James, the brother of Rev. Robert Salle James, Jesse’s uncle.
Zerelda Mims
Jesse E. James and Mary James Barr (Which is not their real names) Thought to be Jesse W James’s offspring which is not true, they are the children of Zerelda Mims and Charlie Bigelow.
Jesse E. and Mary Susan Bigelow
Zerelda Cole Samuels James; Mother of Jesse Robert (Dingus) James and Alexander Franklin James, Jesse Woodson James Aunt. Sister-in-law to George Strother James who is Jesse Woodson’s Father.
Zerelda Cole James
Rev. Robert Salle James; Father of Jesse Robert (Dingus) James and Alexander Franklin James. Husband to Zerelda Cole James, Brother of George S. James who was Jesse Woodson James Father.
Rev. Robert Salle James
Carl O’Clark
posing as Jesse posing as William A Clark
Jesse had two other wives that is known, Margaret Wabasha and had a son Joe Jesse, also He married Susan Palmer under the name of William Cole, they had a daughter, Alice Susan Cole, in which Jesse likely never knew of... His wife and true love Myra Bell Shirly they married under the names of Harrison Trow and Missouri Ann, and he stayed with her until her passing around 1935.
John Younger alias Judge Isaac Charles Parker?
Image on the top left is the only known picture of John younger, the second picture is the young Isaac Parker and the right photo is the older Isaac Parker
NEW unknown Image revealed of Jesse Woodson and Sylvester Franklin James with two previous unknown standing men...
Jesse
Woodson James and His Full blood Brother Sylvester Franklin James, sitting, 1895, Huntsville Alabama. Photo by W. W. Fox. Courtesy of
the G G Grand Daughter of Jesse Woodson James. Karen…
UPDATE: Standing top left is none other than Grat Dalton alias Sundance Kid and standing on the right is Harvey Logan alias Kid Curry.
Grat Dalton Alias Sundance Kid
Images used left to right, only known image of Grat Dalton, a well known image of Sundance, Bowler Hat, new image of formerly unknown taken in 1995 posing with Jesse W. and Dr. Sylvester Franklin James, 3 years after Grat was supposedly killed and on the right another well know image of Sundance.
Grat to unknown
image taken in 1895
Grat to Bowler
hat Sundance
1895 image to
Bowler hat Sundance
Other well know
Sundance Image to 1895 Image
Left is well known image of Harvey Logan, alias Kid Curry, inserted image on the right is from the 1895 image showing Jesse, Frank, Sundance and Kid Curry
Leroy Parker alias Butch Cassidy
According to the Black Book, Butch and Sundance went to Hollywood and worked as movie extras, Butch even played some rolls under the name of "Tex Driskell" (Driscoll) Could these following images be Butch Cassidy?? The images are not as such where in I can compare, and the beard definitely does not help...
Jesse’s immediate Family:
Father George Strother James B 1799, Son of John Stobo James
Mother Mollie Dalton Likely daughter of Benjamin Dalton
Siblings:
John James
Sylvester Franklin James
Jesse Woodson James
Matilda (Tilly) Jesse’s Twin (Married to James Obedia Howk) Possibly named after her Mother.
Morgan James Changed his name and owned a ranch in Colorado
Peter James Lived in Colorado (lived and Died under real name)
Levi James owned property in Moab Utah and in Idaho. (lived and Died under real name)
Rebecca James Younger, Married to Cole Younger. Rebecca Raised Jean Hickok in Maryland who was the daughter of Calamity Jane and supposed Bill Hickok.
Believed to be Jesse and Myra’s Children before moving to Texas in 1900
Picture likely taken about 1880-1890
A Clip of The Herford Photo
Same Kids compared to the Hereford photo, about
30 years later in 1920
Top Left in 1920 she was going by the name
Florence Redfield Broadwell,
Top right and right photo, in 1920 she was going by the name of
Mollie Elizabeth Barnard Webb.
Bottom left he was going by
Epinetus Bushrod Black
Bottom Right he was going by the name of
Rev. Marcus Milton Beavers