An ex-Confederate guerilla whose exploits set the pace for the wild decades to come, outlaw Jesse James was a romantic figure in the years after his early death as he was likened to a kind of American Robin Hood. Damn it, he said. To learn more about what he was looking for, he ordered Getler and Brewers book, and it became his bible. Id like to know if I am related to the Younger brothers who ran with Old West outlaw Jesse James and his brothers in the James-Younger gang. In the waning days of the war, in April 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled Richmond with a trainload of what was left of the Confederate treasury in gold and silver. Getler hired a local equipment operator who began carving a switchback path that would allow his track hoe to descend the steep grade to the dig site. Thats when he met a veteran treasure hunter named Bob Brewer from Arkansas. Mary Susan James & Henry Lafayette Barr 3. Furthermore, the Younger family were also related through the Kentucky & West Virginia lines. Jesse married Connie Golda James (born Best) circa 1923, at age 26 at marriage place, North Carolina. In the National Archives, Getler found KGC records with examples of the groups coded symbols. Aker cast doubt on this method because it doesnt account for local growing conditions; the trees could easily be older or younger. KGC historian Keehn disagrees: I never really found anything that supports the treasure-hunting thing, he told me. When he needed money, he suspended digging to remodel houses or cut firewood. Getler made a last visit to the beech trees. T.J. Stiles, author of the groundbreaking biography Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, told me that the treasure hunters get at least one important thing right about the outlaw: He was a much more significant political figure than standard accounts portray. I lost my footing and started to slide, but the rope saved me from rolling 70 feet to a creek below or crashing into the trunks of pines and beeches that towered over the slope. Geneastars | Facebook. Bob died of tuberculosis in prison; Cole and Jim received pardons in 1901. You can kick me in the shins a million times: Warren, pull up a damn gold bar and prove it. Im as close as you possibly can be., Brad Richards, 52, the former history teacher from Michigan, told me that beyond recouping his expenses for two trips to Ohio, the gold means less than the possible contribution to history. He savored my addition to the story. One told me, on the condition that I not publish his name because of his job, that stories of gold on the property go back decades. Born in Prestonsburg, Floyd, Kentucky, USA on 26 February 1941 to Jesse James Prater and Sarah Sallie Ann Kilburn. Genealogies of the Families of the Presidents, by Henry Buchanan. Research genealogy for Jesse James WESTLAKE of Locust Springs, Greene County, Tennessee, as well as other members of the WESTLAKE family, on Ancestry. My disbelief was suspended as shakily as my body on the hillside. Was I feeling treasure fever? It was the same shape as the diagrams carved on two of the beech trees. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. During the war, they filled the ranks of Confederate forces. Leave a message for others who see this profile. RootsMagic 9 is normally available for only $39.95. Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Barr BETTY'S FIRST LINE OF JAMES ANCESTRY Background of a Bandit by Joan Beamis aged 34years old. I think we can all agree that we need a little hope right now, he told me on the phone, before I went to Ohio. A portrait of Jesse James wearing a suit. In 2003, Simon & Schuster published their book Shadow of the Sentinel (retitled Rebel Gold for the paperback) with 21 pages of endnotes, about the quest to crack the code of KGC treasure. James Cole (1804-1827) 7. 26 February 1941 - Prestonsburg, Floyd, Kentucky, USA, 3 January 2014 - Gainesville, Alachua, Florida, USA. As the clerk received a beating that left his skull cracked, townspeople grew suspicious of the lookouts and started a confrontation outside the bank. The weirdest part of the lack of correct information for his tree is that in many biographies of Jesse and Frank James it talks about the way his mother would tell them bedtime stories about being the descendants of Scottish nobility, as well as having Shawnee heritage, which contributed to their feelings of distrust of outsiders overall. He and his girlfriend, Hope Bowser, lived in a mobile-home park and paid the rent by doing maintenance, until they were evicted and lost everything, he told me. Jesse's daughter Mary married Henry Barr and had four children. Robert James married Zerilda E Cole on 28 Dec 1841 in Scott, Kentucky, United States [1] Sometime after their marriage, the marriage record was amended with the words "father and mother of Jesse James and Frank James". A photograph of Dick Liddill, one of the last surviving members of the James-Younger gang. Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847 - April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James-Younger Gang. This book was released on 1988-06 with total page 32 pages. Here's Jesse James family tree Descendants of William James of England 1 William James 1754 - 1805 +Mary Hines 2 Mary James +Edward Lee Genealogy of Jesus Jesus' genealogy can be found at two places in the Bible: Matthew's gospel ( Mat 1:2-16). I looked for neighbors of the Ohio site who might have family lore about James, in addition to the gold rumors Somers had heard. Each of the trio of treasure hunters in Ohio was after something more elusive than gold. Public DomainA portrait of Jesse James wearing a suit. Several local collaborators suspected of having worked with the Pinkertons turned up dead in their homes. Maybe theyre saying they came by barge here? Getler asked. Frank James seemed to have reformed. Its too wet.. The work inspired a new generation of KGC treasure hunters; even the FBI joined the chase. Learn more today. Major children and living persons must directly contact the. Using his system, in 1991, in a hilly forest in western Arkansas, he located a cache of gold and silver coins minted between 1802 and 1889, with a face value of nearly $460. Jesse James (right) poses with brother Frank James (seated) and Charles Fletcher Taylor (left); Frank is wearing a Civil War studio costume.. Robert Mimms had a son named John Wilson Mimms, who had a daughter who was the wife of Jesse James, the outlaw. Also, Cyril Edward Cain compiled Four Centuries on the Pascagoula in 1983, and W.Z. Jesse James: The Confederate Avenger Who Became An American Folk Hero. You can use the other siblings who were not on the run from the law (and therefore may have actually entered a probate with the county) to search for a will or administrative papers. The Kansas Heritage Group also lists all 14 children of Henry Washington Younger and Bersheba Leighton Fristoe (access those names here.). Jesse James was a preacher's son. Circa 1864. Ordanined a Minister in 1839. The Dowling Family Tree with over half a million relatives, Zerelda was one of twelve children. Public DomainThe James family home in Clay County, Missouri. Jesse James went on a killing spree after the attack on his house. The Act permitted territories to each vote on whether they would be admitted into the Union as a free or a slave state. Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Southern Secession, Civil War, Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure. While I was at the pump, I got a text message that the treasure digging had begun anyway and something dramatic was happening. After Belle died, her daughter Flossy moved to Wichita and opened the finest brothel in town. A bit of bullion would be nice, of course. The scientists were able to confirm that the body in the Mount Olivet Cemetery was maternally related to the known descendants of Jesse James' mother. The cold reality of family drama made the treasure hunt seem like a game that made sense only if you were in on it. Jesse James natural father, Robert, was a slave-owning Baptist preacher from Kentucky who was always looking for the next big score that would make him rich. Had the diary pages not been burned, he says, Abraham Lincolns killers may have found a vast treasure of gold, and the Union may well have lost the Civil War.. Their children were Alice, 6, Richard, 2, and Daniel, 1. Their children were: Deceased persons are not concerned by this provision. Wikimedia CommonsAn illustration that depicts that grisly death of Jesse James at the hands of his criminal collaborator, Robert Ford. Add my notes please: Graduated Georgetown College, KY, June 1843 . Howk presented no evidence beyond his colorful yarns, but he had joined the treasure hunt in Zanesville in 1949. 1. Disregard as you may, you can't change history. When his six slaves and 100 acres failed to make him a millionaire there, he packed light and moved to California to get in on the Gold Rush. We returned to that beech each day, waiting for the bark to dry and for the signature to reappear. And he said, Dont worry about it; Ill take care of it. Her mother, Fannie Gerald, was born on Nov. 27, 1888, and died on March 9, 1976. The Youngers pleaded guilty to murder and robbery, for which they received life sentences. . David Montgomery is a staff writer for the magazine. [2], Note by Lilly Martin, Aug 18, 2018: Robert Sallee James had 4 children: 3 boys and 1 girl. Nous sommes tous A potential problem with Netherss testimony, though, is that stories about James paying off mortgages are legion. Getler told me he tries to approach the subject as the journalist he used to be. rootsweb: Click Here A straight skeptic might never find gold, and an overly credulous person might be faked out all the time and keep going, wanting to believe. It is possible that some Younger brothers left a will and probate record that might mention an ancestor of yours, thus making the connection you seek. WHO WAS JESSE JAMES? Frank and Jesse James recovered from the Northfield disaster but didnt keep much of a low profile as they continued to rob trains, stores, and the like. Probably the biggest factor in James rise to fame was the symbiotic relationship he fell into with the publishers of the Kansas City Star, a firmly pro-Confederate paper that constantly editorialized anti-Reconstruction policies. Robert was born about 1819 in Kentucky. Jesse James wrote himself as the titular leader of an eight-man posse called the James-Younger Gang, which consisted of Cole Younger and his brothers John, Jim, and Bob, and other former Confederates. You can contact the owner of the tree to get more information. He renounced his outlaw lifestyle and moved to Virginia for what he hoped would be a quiet retirement. Robert James married Zerilda E Cole on 28 Dec 1841 in Scott, Kentucky, United States [1] Sometime after their marriage, the marriage record was amended with the words father and mother of Jesse James and Frank James. 1. It would be incredibly exciting to be a part of discovering and illuminating hidden history. He adds that hes the skeptical one. Im not big on looking at grainy video footage and being 100 percent certain on anything. He had gone to the trouble of checking signed initials on the map against the handwriting in Howks letters in a Texas archive but Howks veracity is dismissed by historians. The outlaws thus frequently raided stagecoaches, public events, and trains, once in 1873 while wearing KKK hoods as a message to the federal authorities, with basically no consequence. Have you taken a DNA test? That day, Missouris governor issued a pardon for both men and saw to it that they got their reward. Wikimedia CommonsThe reward poster for Jesse James. This is all great information you can use to try to connect your Younger family to the infamous Younger outlaw family. His father, Robert S. James, of Welsh ancestry, was a commercial hemp farmer and Baptist minister in Kentucky, who migrated to Missouri after marriage and View Site Frank James - geni family tree Andrew Krea, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and NEHGS Researcher Meaghan Siekman, Black Musicians Are Not A Monolith: An Interview with Bartees Strange. Probate records show that at his death he owned six slaves and was a commercial hemp farmer. She told him that they were going to foreclose on the farm the next day and she wouldnt be there. But for a very limited time, RootsMagic is offering RootsMagic 9 at the special price of $20 . Lavina Nethers, 85, lives a short drive from the dig site. Masters degree in 1847. And Confederate gold did go missing. Hello Megan, my grandfather Bill Mimms, s/o Gideon Mason Mimms, s/o Drury Shadrach Woodson Mimms, s/o Robert Mimms. Circa 1864. The men inside the bank dropped what they were doing and, pausing only to shoot the clerk whod held them up, made a run for it. In 1998, an international team began tracing and reviewing more than 450 global branches. Excerpts about Grant's mother, Hannah Simpson Grant, as recorded in Early Records of Simpson Families, by Helen A. Simpson. The Kentucky Younger group (previously thought descended from the Younger gang group, but the DNA does not match); 3. Could this be the wolf trap spoken of in the letter between Zanesville treasure hunters in 1949 or was it meaningless scrap? James was a noted revivalist. The remaining Youngers were captured in the disastrous attempted robbery of First National Bank in Northfield, Minn., from which Jesse and James escaped. One had showed him a treasure tree scarred with strange carved symbols. Im the last person to say this is all neatly integrated, seamless. You can search individual genealogies from the Advanced Search page by choosing a particular tree from the Trees pop up menu. The brothers had been taken by surprise by the amount of disruption to the property, and it was clear that at least some members of Bowsers family considered the treasure hunt a deluded fantasy. An illustration by Donald Jay, dated 1882, depicting a train robbery by Jesse James and his gang. This was just when Jesse James was making his own transition from wartime Confederate guerrilla to postwar, politically inspired, anti-Union bandit and killer. Connect with Other Family Members Getler hadnt known what to make of those horizontal lines that converged upward into a prow. Dowling But the co-owner soon contacted her as well and let her know he disapproved of digging for alleged gold with a track hoe and cutting a road to get to the site. Since the death of Jesse James, the outlaw has been portrayed as a frontier hero or a Robin Hood figure who balked against corporations and stood in defense of the poor farmer, but nothing in his history suggests that he did either of these things. The Northfield Bank robbery went down on September 7, 1876. Brewer and he located other markings that old stories tied to the KGC on suspected treasure trails in several states. Ill see you tomorrow. He came back the next morning and had the money for her foreclosure. Hes always been a very, very persistent writer and journalist., One of Getlers closest friends, Andy Secher, a trilobite fossil specialist affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, says Getler always had the idea that he had a great purpose. Betty's descendant line from Jesse James is as follows: 1. Similarly, when searching for land deed records or probate records, members of the Younger family may not have wanted official government recognition involved with their transactions, thus negating any record that those Younger family members may have left behind. On one, hearts and arrows were tilted to point in the direction of the shaft. Jesse Woodson James - born Sept. 5, 1847 - died April 3, 1882 Susan L. James - born Nov. 25, 1849. (Getler is the son of the late Michael Getler, who was a deputy managing editor and ombudsman at The Washington Post.) Its suggestive. John M. James (c1775-1827) 5. A DNA test brought the evidence all the way down the James family tree to Oklahoma City attorney Robert Jackson, 65, and his nephew, Mark Nikkel, 36, of Edmond. 23 Stirring Maya Angelou Quotes That The World Needs Now More Than Ever, 50 Interesting Random Facts That Will Melt Your Brain And Shock Your Friends, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. That bomb killed Jesse James younger half-brother who was sleeping at the time and injured his mother. L.V.s father, Paul Younger, was born on Oct. 25, 1880, and died on Jan. 11, 1938. Her mother was L.V. Jesse James had been shot in the chest during the War and was nursed back to health by his first cousin who he later married. "The Frank and Jesse James Family Outline" Descendants of William James of England 1 William James b.1754-d.1805 + Mary Hines . 2 Mary James + Edward Lee . 2 Richard James + Mary G. Poor . 2 John M. James b.1775-d.1827 + Polly Poor b.1790-d.1827 . 3 Mary James b.1809-d.1877 + John Mimms According to their later account, James had made a few inappropriate comments and overtures toward their sister, Martha, not to mention the fact that there was a hefty $5,000 bounty on James head dead or alive. Other evidence that Getler and Somers relied on included a copy of a treasure map attributed to Howk the alleged confidant or grandson of Jamess who had been on the 1949 Zanesville treasure hunt. The outlaws used stolen tools to pry up part of the track, pulling it aside with rope as the train rounded a blind curve. Hey, Chad, nice find there, buddy, Getler said. James lived his whole life underground, and theres no collection of [personal] letters from him, Stiles says. Somers commenced digging. Citing Getlers KGC research, an FBI agent filed an affidavit seeking permission to dig up and seize the gold as stolen federal property. discoveries. But the tree where Getler saw the signature would be only about 110 years old. Jesse James stepfather Reuben, for example, was seized by Union troops in 1863 and tortured for information about his team of guerilla Confederate fighters called bushwhackers.. The predictable, tortured conclusion of these shows is nearly always the same: no treasure so it must still be out there. It referenced clues including an old shovel, a wagon iron and a wolf trap, and instructed, Drive a stake at each point until we can run the lines[;] then where the lines cross is your solution. Somers had uncovered a shovel, with the blade pointing toward the shaft, and a wagon axle, also pointing toward the shaft. Any treasure found could be claimed by them. Biography. Yes there are differences because the information for Zerelda Cole (her father was Zachariah Cole) and Hannah James and the lack of connection to the Finley's and Fry's of Kentucky is erroneous. The map is widely shared on the Internet in treasure-hunting circles, but I couldnt determine who first posted it, and Getler didnt know either. The old beech trees were especially haunting: Their smooth bark was elaborately carved with rabbits, human faces, hearts, letters, a boat and what looked like crude blueprints. At the end of this thing, I just want everybody involved to be able to sit down and smile and wrap our minds around what we have done regardless of whether its in there, he said, adding: I mean, we kind of already know its in there.. There was a diagram that Getler interpreted as a shaft with tunnels, and beside it was a portrait of a man with a broad brim hat and what could be a vault or a chest near where his heart should be. A further point of validation, he added, is that some of the symbology here in Ohio, such as the hearts and the JJs, matched that found at other suspected treasure sites out west. What is it about Jesse James that triggers a sense of connection in so many, real or imagined? Existing RootsMagic and Family Origins users may upgrade for only $29.95. Placerville, El Dorado County, California, Marriage of Robert James and Zerilda E Cole, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2D4-S1D4, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZ7-1JN, http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1820usfedcenancestry&h=1259936&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt, 1850 US Census: Name: Robert James; Sex: Male; Age: 31; Event Place (Original): Platte, Clay, Missouri, United States; Birth Year (Estimated): 1819; Birthplace: Kentucky; Race: White, "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (, "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (.