As each day passes here in
During the days of the civil war and long after, it
was common play to change ones name, all they had to do was decide what to be
called, create their own family ties and then live by it. Certain men with
motive changed their names like some changed their underwear, once a month or
once a year.
It was difficult enough to know and stick to what was truly happening without trying to remember faces you might see once in your lifetime or maybe a few times per year, we didn’t have google to access the many photos available today, in fact cameras were in their infancy and photos of each individual was a rarity. It is remarkable that we even have as many photos from the 1800’s that we do have.
The only way anyone could positively identify someone in the 1800’s was if you knew them personally and interacted with them on a regular basis. I remember the faces of my school mates even after 45 years, but it is because I seen and interacted with them 5 days a week for 12 years.
Facial recognition was the only thing we had in them trying times of the civil war or the testimony of someone who knew them well. This disadvantage to some was an extreme advantage to others. Once a familiarity of ones face is established a testimony of their “opinion” develops merit and becomes worthy of consideration, but consideration of that opinion depends on motive of that individual and or ability.
I have found that there are some whom even if you took a line up of someone’s valid photos throughout their life, and put it in front of them, they would discount some of the photos as not being authentic and the reverse we have those who have no idea what Jesse WOODSEN James looks like except for a purported photo which no one seems to know the origin of… and it is used as a standard, even in encyclopedias of the past and used frequently by our wonderful WIKI and academic sources. And then there are those who without any familiarity having only WIKI to rely on, can put Jesse’s face on any old tintype they buy from Ebay. Some have it and some don’t…. With this said, my abilities should be considered just as I have written above. Moving on…..
There are many individuals of historic importance that has a past to hide and have taken advantage of the obscurity mentioned, people whom you would not think but perhaps we will come back to them. Today I want to tell of a curious individual that some or not many of you have never heard of, Captain Harrison Trow. Below is 5 verified images of the man who called himself Captain Harrison Trow whose history seems to begin in 1882 when he mysteriously just happen to be in the neighborhood on orders from Governor Crittenden and identified the body of Jesse WOODSEN James and the history ends with his purported death in 1925. I’d bet big money if the grave was exhumed, you would find an empty coffin or some poor schmuck inside who was going to spill the beans or some rat who deserved to die to fill the coffin.
The first hint of Harrison Trow appears in 1860 Census
showing he was 19 and working as a farm hand owned by George Hudspeth in
Now before I get rolling here too much I must admit that much of my information comes from my efforts to prove or disprove the book called Jesse James was One of his Names, nick named, the Black Book, and evidences gathered over the years.
It is well known that in 1860 Jesse was just 16 years
old, wiki birth year is incorrect. Jesse was belly aching to get into the
impending wars like his two older brothers, John and Frank and his Father
George S James. Jesse was always told he was too young. My personal belief which
was not pulled out of my backside is that the name Harrison was used as early
as 1860 by Jesse or Frank, Frank also found in 1860 Census not a few miles from
where
In 1882 Captain Harrison Trow just happen to be in the
neighborhood of where Jesse was supposedly shot and killed by Bob Ford. He said
he was sent by Governor Crittenden who was some 250 miles away, how did he get
the message to Harrison which enabled him to arrive in the scene 15 minutes
before the sheriff located 1 hour away? Harrison Trow went down in history as
the man who identified the body of Jesse Woodson James, and he would know
right? After all he rode with him in Quantrill’s Raiders. There was no better
man to identify Jesse, because he was Jesse. This is the story that is told in
the Black Book but is it true? Well… I knew if I could find a photo of
I have already demonstrated comparisons of various Jesse Photos in previous articles leaving me with no doubt that they are in fact Jesse WOODSON James, however some may see it differently. In order to get more familiar with the true face of Jesse the following choices are of my opinion are authentic.
Of all the photos circulating today that is supposedly
Jesse WOODSON James, these are among the only ones who I have verified is
Jesse.
But what about photo comparison of known photos of
Harrison Trow and Jesse W James?
Captain Harrison Trow
Below is a Charcoal drawing done by Anna Lee
Dillenbeck who was very much known for her work in creating charcoals of
Quantrills Raiders, She was clearly a friend of the families and lived in the
same towns as Jesse and others. She was known for making many of her drawing
from photographs and although I suspect a photo exists of the following, one
has not yet been found. However knowing if I could find a photo of Harrison, I
knew it would be the splitting image of Jesse due to the story in the black
book, where in he is said to have left the murder scene for a bout 15 minutes
and returned as the “elegant Captain Harrison Trow” Using a point dot process
for alignment, these two photos of Charcoal drawing of Harrison on the left and
Jesse on the right from near the same time frame are compared, you decide.
Captain
The Charcoal photo on the right is used to overlay the photo on the left 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
As far as any of us know, after Jesse killed off the
alias Harrison Trow, and assumed the name of 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.
Harrison Trow on the left in 1920 and J.
Frank Dalton near 1948
I don’t know about you but it leaves me wanting to not only further investigate the Black Book, but to learn more about Captain Harrison Trow and the years between 1900 when he arrived in Hereford to the end of the alias in 1925.
Other Figures of the past with alias’s. Judge Isaac Charles Parker
There are many other historic figures of the past whom
you would not believe their hidden past. And although this is not proven by any
means anymore than what I have just presented to you… I have plenty of cause
which compels me to believe it.
Judge Isaac Charles Parker
“The Hanging Judge”
Judge Parker was actually John Younger of the Younger Gang, the
brother of deadly Cole Younger.
In 1874 it was reported that John was killed in some
shooting in
"Legally
dead, John changed his name to Parker, got religion and went up to
"My
mother was a
"One
night, we were sitting in the Judge's living room and Parker asked, 'Jesse, do
you have to wear your six-guns while you're a guest in my home?' I replied,
'You're damn right I do, Judge, just in case you forget you're John Younger and
try to put a rope around my neck!'
Brushy Bill Roberts
Brushy Bill Roberts aka Olie L Roberts
AKA Billie the Kid in about 1948
The current famous photo of Billy the kid is no way
now how Billy.
Sundance Kid
Most of you have seen this character before and likely
know him as the Sundance Kid, aka Harry Longabaugh which was an alias itself.
His real name is Grat Dalton of the Dalton Gang, Jesse’s cousin.
Known photos of Sundance are the two
right photos, 1st photo is “supposed” to be Grat Dalton, the second
photo is suspect of Sundance taken from a photo posing with Jesse James and Sylvester Franklin James and one other unknown.
Grat Dalton along with his brothers Bob, Emmett and
their older brother Frank served as US Marshals for a short time. After
switching gears becoming out laws, it is said that Grat and Bob were gunned
down in 1892.
Once again two men were killed and mistaken for Grat
and Bob. Neither person dead in the photo below is Grat or Bob.
Grat Dalton died under the name of Grover Shropshire
outside of Cut Bank
Are some of you a little concerned with the ages of some of these characters?
John Trammell, Old Ages
John Trammell is the tall guy at age 114. Are wondering why 3 Black men are hanging around a Confederate Colonel from the south? When Jesse met John, he knew well and good he was an escaped slave. How is this? Maybe we have been lied to as to what the Civil war was really about?
Anyway, John Trammell lived to be 121 following is an article when studies were done in 1954 when he was 117.
George Strother James
Father
of Jesse Woodson James and Sylvester Franklin James
The man who fired to first cannon shot kicking of the Civil
war at
John Wilkes Booth
Some if not many of you might remember the name of John Wilkes Booth, the man who shot Abraham Lincoln. It is said that John was tract down and killed in 1865 after shooting the president. But once again the man survived, A double agent so to speak who played both sides of the Civil war. Booth although once a small part of the Confederate underground was under surveillance because he wasn’t trusted. Booth succumbed to a representative of the Rothschild family, likely and highly suspect Salmon Chase under the direction of Edwin Stanton who served as secretary of war under president Lincoln.
I don’t know who it was that was shot in the old barn,
but it wasn’t John Booth. Booth lived for many years after and was living under
the name of
Emperor Maximillion
Maximillion
and Carlota
Maximillion miraculously survived a firing squad in
Kaiser Wilhelm of
Kaiser Bill and Princess Hermine
After being sacked by
“Princess
Hermine died suddenly in 1934 and was buried in
Jesse Woodson James and Sylvester
Franklyn James
And who could forget Jesse
and Frank?
Jesse, Molly and Frank
Likely
taken within a year or two after 1882
This picture was found in about 1940 just a few years
prior to J. Frank Dalton announced he is Jesse W James, in an old cabin near
bottomless
In 2021 another picture was found of what appears to be Jesse and Frank, for now I will only show a portion of the photo but at the bottom it has the name of the photographer and his studio location, after looking him up I find he was only in business in 1895 and 96. That means the photo was taken 13 to 14 years after Jesse was supposedly shot and killed.
Jesse
and Frank in 1895-6
The grayscale photo above with Jesse and Frank and
their mother was used of a point dot overlay to compare in the following photo,
maybe you would see it but watch how smooth the transition is from the Sepia
photo to the grayscale. It leaves no doubt in my mind. What alias they were
using at the time I can only guess.
