As far as the whole story of Jesse Woodson James goes… the cat will never be completely out of the bag… But from time to time we get little snippets to help piece the story together… In this case the following doesn’t really reveal anything earth shattering and in reading it, it becomes clear that certain parts of the story still had not yet been told in 1950. It would be another 25 years before many well kept secrets came out, and another 40 years before even more…
In Chapter 3 of the Black book it is mentioned that in 1950 after J Frank Dalton came out publicly admitting he was in fact the real Jesse Woodson James, that George McGrath, special investigator for the Police Gazette, wrote an article stating the authenticity of Jesse W James, that he was not killed in 1882, he was still alive and had been living under the name of J. Frank Dalton. I had always wanted to read the articles, but did not have access, one printed in April of 1950, the second in August of 1950. George McGrath clearly did not have all the facts, there is no mention in this article regarding Captain Harrison Trow, a name in which Jesse live under for over 25 years, nor mention of his true parentage but there is a few other little tid bits you might see if you are familiar with the Black Book, Jesse James was one of his names. One example is the mention of Col. James Russel Davis, who keep in mind, was the alias for the deadly Cole Younger.
I just thought some of you might enjoy this first article from April of 1950, I will post the second August article in days to come…
To this day it is still one of… the most incredible
stories I have ever had the pleasure of investigating… At the time this article was written, Jesse was alive in Granbury Texas, but not doing so well at age 103
Jesse W James, Captain Trow, Older Captain Trow &
J Frank Dalton
Police Gazette April 1950 Page 5 & 26
Authentic Story of The REAL JESSE JAMES
By GEORGE McGRATH Special Investigator for the Police
Gazette
Page 5
JESSE JAMES
still rode in 1950! Ripping aside the musty camouflage of the years, the Police
Gazette has conclusive evidence that the most famous desperado of the old West
was not killed in 1882, but spent 68 secret, furtive years hiding under an
alias while another man's body mouldered, in the grave under his tombstone! It
is a tale of chicanery and double dealing which proves that truth is stranger
than fiction. And there is incontrovertible evidence that the young killer
whose bloody trail started with Quantrell's Guerillas and stretched through 18
years of western lawlessness, is the same white haired man of 102 who appeared
in 1950 to claim his legendary legacy. Why, after all those years, did the crippled,
dying J. Frank Dalton come out of
1. The pale blue eyes still flamed as in a hoarse, rasping voice, James told in detail facts and figures which tallied exactly with historical accounts of his depredations — accounts which could not have been memorized and related with such startling clarity by a man of his age.
2. Physical characteristics are undeniable when compared with exclusive photographs carefully preserved for years and brought to light by the Police Gazette.
3. The testimony of Mrs. Nellie Shevlin, wife of John Shevlin, one of the most honest and fearless law officers of the frontier, as related to this writer.
4. The sworn
testimony of retired Union Army officer, Col. James Russell Davis [Alias Cole Younger]
of
IT was a man
named Charles Bigelow, a one time confederate of the James gang who planned to
betray them to the Pinkerton Agency. And Jesse James sang in the church choir,
with Col. Davis guarding his back, the day they buried "Jesse James!"
The saga of the slaying of Jesse James is known to all: how Ford supposedly
shot him in the back for the reward as Jesse straightened a picture on the
wall. Actually, it was a cover up so that the harried Jesse could leave his
reputation in a coffin with another man's bones and begin life over again in a
new land. By innuendo, you gather a weird tale of political double dealing
which helped fill the campaign coffers of Gov. Thomas Crittenden of
Here is his own story, told to me as he lay in bed waiting to make his final ride: "I was only 15 years old when I joined my brother, Frank, as a member of Quantrell's troop. About the war, I don't like to talk. It was war, and we perpetrated all the cruelties, I suppose, which soldiers have in all wars. We were no different.
JESSE JAMES' "IDENTIFICATION MARKS" 1. Rope burns on neck. 2. Evidence of severe burns on feet. 3. Bullet hole through left shoulder. 4. Bullet hole in lower belly. 5. Bullet scars under left knee. 6. Bullet scar under right eye. 7. Bullet hole along hairline of forehead. A. End of index finger "chewed" off.
"But when the war ended, we hoped to be allowed to live in peace. I wanted to settle down and I started to study medicine, but it was too much for me. So I began to study law. "But they wouldn't let us alone "We were accused of treason, irregular murders and just about everything else. They hounded us and our only recourse was the things we did. "So we were driven into the life we lived — my brother, Frank, and our cousins, the Youngers, and the rest of our gang. I suppose we are accused of many things we didn't do But on the other hand there were a lot of things we did which were never blamed on us, so I guess it's about 50/50.
I was only 16
years old when we held up our first train, at Blue Cut, just east of
"I'd see
you in hell first!" the man replied. "Well, that's just who I
am," Jesse said, leveling a revolver. "And you'd better hand it
over." The man did. "Nobody knows why we did it, though," Jesse
grinned painfully. "I had a great horse and I'd entered him in the races
at the fair. One of the judges pulled him out of the race, disqualified him. So
I said to Cole Younger: 'C'mon, we're going to get our money anyhow.' And we
did." After that came the daring holdup at Gads Hill, where they ran the
train onto a siding and leisurely stripped the passengers as well as the
express car; another at Muncie, near Kansas City, and then an expedition by the
gang to Huntington and Northfield, W Va. Where a large posse was supposed to
have wounded Jesse.
"They
didn't, though," he said. But the heat was on and the gang broke up for
two years. Then in 1879 came the sudden robbery of the Chicago and Alton train
in Jackson County, Mo., and in July of 1881 the holdup of the Rock Island and
Pacific Railway at Winston, Mo. "I wasn't there on that last one,"
the aged Jesse insisted. "But it was right after that I settled at St. Joe
with my wife and Crittenden offered a $10,000 reward for me."
Political
Double Dealing And that, apparently, is where the political double dealing
began. For Col. Davis reveals that on the night before "Jesse James"
was slain the night of April 2, 1882 — the much sought Jesse had a secret
rendezvous with Gov. Crittenden. "They sat on a log in the woods, with me
on guard against a surprise, and talked for more than an hour,"
It is
significant that the next day after the James Crittenden rendezvous, Bigelow,
who was known to be working for the Pinkertons, disappeared and never was heard
from again. And all concerned identify old pictures labeled "Jesse James'
corpse," as a picture of Bigelow. Col. Davis arrived at the James, or
"Howard" cabin shortly after the news reached
"She
stared at him for three or four minutes and then put a handkerchief to her
face, started to cry and screamed: 'That's my son.' "But when she came out
in the kitchen she was dry eyed — and she winked at me.”Not only that, but
Jesse insisted on going to the funeral and singing with the choir. I sure was
nervous, I'll tell you, and stood back to back with him to keep an eye on
everybody. After that, he went to
The 1882 file
of the Police Gazette, which featured a special edition on Jesse James at the
time the Ford brothers, Bob and Charles were making personal appearances, reads
in part: "The death of the noted outlaw was witnessed by none but the Ford
brothers." And again: "The two Ford brothers immediately delivered
themselves to the authorities and were confined in jail, charged with murder
... They refused to be interviewed, but these facts ... were elicited. In July
1881, Robert engaged in the detective business in
END of April Article 1950
Kentucky Born April 17th 1844, Jesse James’s
adventurous life came to an end on August 15th 1951 at 6:35 PM
Jesse Woodson James and His Full blood
Brother Sylvester Franklin James, 1895,
For more of the story may I suggest the following…
http://www.tuscoro.com/2022/05/james-vrs-james.html
http://www.tuscoro.com/2022/12/the-family-of-jesse-woodson-james.html
Video of Jesse Woodson James in 1948
An assessment of the black book,
(Jesse James was one of his names), and the book Utah Gold Rush.
Was Jesse James murdered in 1882?
What was the Civil War Really about?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment!