Yet Another Jesse James Image

[TerryB]

Or it could have been a masked man who wanted to announce things in a way that would pin the blame on someone else--namely FRANK. Cole Younger says Jesse and Frank never got caught after Northfield because they weren't along in the first place. Do you want to believe him? I don't know how to advise on that, but I can tell you that Cole did his time. He did 25 years in the Minnesota prison at Stillwater. He and Frank were best friends. Cole said he never could have engaged in any sort of enterprise with Jesse because Cole didn't like Jesse. So, would an ex-con who was Frank's best friend (but who didn't like Jesse) be honest about this in his memoir?

No one alive today knows the answer to that question. What's your guess?

All good points. I seem to remember a cryptic quote about "The man who rode a bay horse shot the teller." By inference that was Frank, but we'll never know. While Cole did his time in a non-death penalty state, Frank stood trial in Missouri and was acquitted by a jury of ex-Confederates. Makes you wonder.

 

[Patrick H]

All good points. I seem to remember a cryptic quote about "The man who rode a bay horse shot the teller." By inference that was Frank, but we'll never know. While Cole did his time in a non-death penalty state, Frank stood trial in Missouri and was acquitted by a jury of ex-Confederates. Makes you wonder.

General Shelby testified as a character witness at Frank's first trial. I have read a transcript of his testimony. It's pretty entertaining.

Frank came to another trial in Boonville, too. He and Mrs. James received a throng of about 1,000 well-wishers in the Sheriff's parlor while waiting for the local citizens to post his bond. Then he and the Mrs. registered in the City Hotel. The prosecutor asked for a continuance, so the judge let the James's go home until the next court date. On the appointed date, the court reconvened and again the prosecutor asked for a continuance. Once again the James's were allowed to ride the train home and yet again they came back for the next court date. Eventually the judge threw the case out. It seems the prosecutor could never find a witness willing to testify against Frank. That's no joke.

 

[TerryB]

General Shelby testified as a character witness at Frank's first trial. I have read a transcript of his testimony. It's pretty entertaining.

Frank came to another trial in Boonville, too. He and Mrs. James received a throng of about 1,000 well-wishers in the Sheriff's parlor while waiting for the local citizens to post his bond. Then he and the Mrs. registered in the City Hotel. The prosecutor asked for a continuance, so the judge let the James's go home until the next court date. On the appointed date, the court reconvened and again the prosecutor asked for a continuance. Once again the James's were allowed to ride the train home and yet again they came back for the next court date. Eventually the judge threw the case out. It seems the prosecutor could never find a witness willing to testify against Frank. That's no joke.

Shelby was quite a character himself. You can't make this stuff up--it's fascinating.

 

[rebracer]

The nose is not right and the countenance does not match the photos we know to be authentic.

 

[ericfjames]

This image has been discredited by the Jesse James family and also by an independent scientific forensic analysis performed in the UK. Also discredited are so-called American authenticators of the fake mage. The owner of the fake image attempted a similar fraud previously with an image claimed to be Abraham Lincoln.
The entire story appears in a four-part series on the James family's web site Stray Leaves.

http://ericjames.org/wordpress/2018/03/22/justin-whiting-ebay-find/

 

[dixie1861]

Well...he kinda looks similar if you don't look too hard.

 

[Fraker Photos]

I've been talking to Mr. Whiting in one of the wild west facebook groups. He really believe he has something there. The problem with Dunniway is he seems to authenticate every photo he sees. lol.

Agree with renovations. Jesse was beat and stung up by federal troops at the farm at about age 14. Whitings image shows infected chin and abrasions on left jawline. Swollen face is hard to id for sure. His shoulder line is more of a giveaway of it's not Jesse W James. Compare to some images of son Jesse Edwards James, you might be surprised. Background of his photo sure have a KG look to it.

 

[Fraker Photos]

Jesse was a VERY impressionable young boy of about 15 or 16 when he came under the influence of Bill Anderson. Then he came under the influence of Archie Clements. Jesse's post-war fame came about due to his own very considerable cleverness, plus the complicit help from "Major" John Newman Edwards. Now....Edwards was a very capable Confederate cavalry officer and adjutant to General J.O. Shelby. But he was a die-hard, seemingly unapologetic rebel. He saw Jesse supposedly continuing the fight, and he jumped willingly into Jesse's media spin. In fact, he CREATED most of Jesse's media spin, and he helped Jesse propagate anything that Jesse didn't create himself.

As far as I am concerned, I think Frank is by far the more interesting of the James brothers. That's because I never swallowed any of Major Edwards's spin. Major Edwards was a fine adjutant with a fine intelligence network, but he was a newspaper editor with a personal agenda, and there can be no doubt about that.

I agree Frank is the more interesting of the brothers. Annie Ralson did too. Her father tried to distance himself from the James brothers, particularly Frank after the war. Samuel Ralson was a very rich Reb. and very outspoken during the war. After the war he was "a very good business man" and kept his thoughts to himself. I personally think some of the KGC money was laundered thrust his enterprises.