. But Jesse Jamess signature was still invisible. This database contains family trees submitted to Ancestry by users who have indicated that their tree can be viewed by all Ancestry subscribers. Getler led me down to look at the carvings on the beech trees. If you are, in fact, related to the infamous Youngers, then you have a fascinating family history, indeed! He savored my addition to the story. This is a treasure recovery, declared Chad Somers, a wiry former rodeo bull rider who had discovered the site. Ordanined a Minister in 1839. Thats when he met a veteran treasure hunter named Bob Brewer from Arkansas. The elder James then died in California in 1850, never having made the fortunes he was hoping for, and his widow took three-year-old Jesse James and his older brother Frank James back to the family farm where she remarried within a couple of years. Bob died of tuberculosis in prison; Cole and Jim received pardons in 1901. Charged with murder and swiftly convicted, both men were sentenced to death by hanging. They also found symbols similar to those cited by Howk as having been left by James. From the Kansas Heritage Group, we learned that Henry Washington Younger was born in Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, Ken., on Feb. 22, 1810, and died in the Westport neighborhood of Kansas City, Mo., on July 20, 1862. The father of Mary Louisa James is Drury Woodson James, an uncle of Frank & Jesse James and Joan's great-grandfather. Research genealogy for Jesse James Greene of Hancock, Tennessee, USA, as well as other members of the Greene family, on Ancestry. Both of Burrell Youngers parents were born in Kentucky, while Charlottes father was born in Missouri and her mother in Kentucky. It was the same shape as the diagrams carved on two of the beech trees. contains thousands of pictures and GeneaStars. But the map was labeled Getler and Somers would say intentionally mislabeled as describing a treasure site somewhere in Tennessee. This book was released on 1988-06 with total page 32 pages. Bersheba Leighton Fristoes parents were Richard Marshall Fristoe and Mary Polly L. Sullivan. 1850s Missouri was right next to the opening act of Americas Civil War and the James family was in the thick of it. Founded in 1845, NEHGS is the countrys leading nonprofit resource for family history research. The overall result of a well-sourced shared tree can be much more complete and accurate than individual trees. A metal detector capable of penetrating 25 feet was pinging and showing large metallic targets. He renounced his outlaw lifestyle and moved to Virginia for what he hoped would be a quiet retirement. A bit of bullion would be nice, of course. Given that schedule, I thought I could depart the scene to give Hope Bowser a lift to the gas station because her car had run out of gas. Getler made an exploratory visit in December. Was I feeling treasure fever? Within several days, after Getler, the Richardses and I had left Ohio, members of Bowsers family relented. That there was something in his writing, in his future . This was around the same time and place where author Mark Twain would later set his picturesque novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, though there wasnt a lot of whitewashing and river rafting going on in the James family. The Kentucky Younger group (previously thought descended from the Younger gang group, but the DNA does not match); 3. I want people that really have nothing to see what they can do. The group attracted 50,000 members. By days end, the track hoe finally reached the site. We dont have heroes today., To many in the James family, the outlaws legend has been a burden including stories of buried treasure and periodic Hollywood glamorization, such as 2007s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt. Discover your family history in millions of family trees and more than a billion birth,marriage, death, census, and miltary records. The risk of confirmation bias fitting the signs to a desired meaning seemed enormous. Was the bark too wet or had he even been here? In fact, their failure only validated the almost mystical qualities they attributed to James. Change the spelling to SALLEE. Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Southern Secession, Civil War, Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure. But who was the thief? Disregard as you may, you can't change history. 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. Sleek spring sweatersThese dupes are the price of the iconic sweater, but still as sleek as a slicked-back bun and hoops. Unfortunately, the surest ways to tell a trees age is to cut it down, or bore a hole into it, and count the rings. During his unusually long career for an outlaw, James cultivated his own mystique, teasing the lawmen on his trail in cheeky letters to newspapers and staging robberies as spectacular, bloody public spectacles. According to Britannica.com, John Younger died in a shootout in 1874. Jesse James went on a killing spree after the attack on his house. Getler conceded the devices they were using werent as sophisticated as the equipment that the FBI drew upon at Dents Run he couldnt afford that technology here but the Ohio technology had obtained readings at Dents Run consistent with the results that convinced the FBI to dig, he said. Youll get hints when we find information about your relatives . Jesse James (right) poses with brother Frank James (seated) and Charles Fletcher Taylor (left); Frank is wearing a Civil War studio costume.. In the 1950s, a man dug for gold there for years. Today, the James-KGC-gold connection forms an active subculture within treasure-hunting culture, spawning books like Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure and TV movies like Jesse James Hidden Treasure.. Getler told me he tries to approach the subject as the journalist he used to be. Somers began excavating by hand, crawling into tunnels and voids. I clung to a rope on a nearly vertical hillside in rural Ohio, gingerly inching my way down toward a hand-dug shaft that was said to conceal an enormous cache of solid gold bars. And yet, this is undoubtedly murky territory, which makes absolute proof of anything elusive. WHO WAS JESSE JAMES? Following the. He explored the forest, looking for a place to dig. . James was part of a band that targeted banks connected to Unionists and harassed election officials during the midterms of 1866. I wasnt ready to trust the map, but Getlers and Somerss interpretation revealed how they approached the code breaking. They even discussed how they would document the discovery, should there be one. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. 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. In addition, Somers and Getler proposed that when the map was turned to reflect the north-south direction of the creek in Ohio, the N in the locational note From Nashville could become the Z in From Zanesville.. The family allowed the hunt for Jesse Jamess gold to continue, on the condition that it be conducted less invasively. With the leading experts in the field, NEHGS staff can provide assistance and guidance for questions in most research areas. Jesse Woodson James - born Sept. 5, 1847 - died April 3, 1882 Susan L. James - born Nov. 25, 1849. Digital Public LibraryAn illustration by Donald Jay, dated 1882, depicting a train robbery by Jesse James and his gang. Starts with Abraham and lists his descendants all the way down to Jesus. This person was created on 11 March 2011 through the import of VOELKER.ged. Hello Megan, my grandfather Bill Mimms, s/o Gideon Mason Mimms, s/o Drury Shadrach Woodson Mimms, s/o Robert Mimms. 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. You can contact the owner of the tree to get more information. Two of the outlaws took up sentry positions outside while the rest of the robbers went in to crack the safe. On July 21, 1873, infamous outlaw and American folk figure Jesse James robbed his first train in Adair, Iowa with the help of his posse, the James-Younger Gang. Her mother, Fannie Gerald, was born on Nov. 27, 1888, and died on March 9, 1976. Excerpts about Grant's mother, Hannah Simpson Grant, as recorded in Early Records of Simpson Families, by Helen A. Simpson. 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. On one, hearts and arrows were tilted to point in the direction of the shaft. Robert Mimms had a son named John Wilson Mimms, who had a daughter who was the wife of Jesse James, the outlaw. Im not saying everybody can go out and find a treasure like this, but Im saying that with the right mind-set and determination, the things they think are out of reach might be closer than they thought.. The FBI found Dorothys stolen ruby slippers. 26 February 1941 - Prestonsburg, Floyd, Kentucky, USA, 3 January 2014 - Gainesville, Alachua, Florida, USA. By 1873, the Reconstruction Republican governor of Missouri had called for all the help he could get against Confederate guerrillas, but under the law of the time, he couldnt offer a reward from his own office. Contrary to his usual habit, he brought his revolvers to the table with him, suggesting he sensed trouble. Lost in the din of underground resistance activity, the outlaws of the James Gang went largely unnoticed until December 1869, when Jesse James outright murdered a bank cashier he mistook for the Union officer who had killed his old boss, Bloody Bill. Sitting in her living room, she told me how her late husband, James Nethers, had been named for Jesse James and that his great-great-grandmother had regularly washed the outlaws clothes and given him a meal when he passed through the area. The remaining Youngers were captured in the disastrous attempted robbery of First National Bank in Northfield, Minn., from which Jesse and James escaped. Finally, we recommend that you turn to the Younger DNA Project, which began in December 2007. Getler hadnt known what to make of those horizontal lines that converged upward into a prow. Results of my tree-measuring test: ambiguous. The sun was about to set, so Getler postponed digging until morning. Enter a grandparent's name. As I continued my cautious journey down the rope on that hopeful fourth day when digging was to begin and the hill would yield its secrets, my mind was still open to any possibility. The James brothers were both born in Missouri, the sons of Robert and Zerelda (Cole) James. My True Ancestry gives me Celtic Virginia 1680's. She got to keep the farm and they got their money.. Since most of the outlaw Younger family stayed in or around the Jackson County, Mo., area, it would be helpful to search through the Missouri county probate records, which range from 1750 through 1998. But today the signature Jesse W. James 1882 was invisible, and he didnt have a picture from December. I raced back to the site and later reconstructed a few moments that I missed via interviews and video that I reviewed. Zerelda Elizabeth Cole (1825-1911) 3rd Generation 4. Rescued in the Internet archive. It had been raining. Jesse Woodson James & Zee Mimms 2. Her mother was the sister of Robert James, Jesse James ' father, making them first cousins. Getler, 61, a former reporter with the International Herald Tribune, the Wall Street Journal and other publications, was a senior writer for Discovery Communications in the late 1990s when he started researching the history. All the evidence about him personally has to be delivered with a caveat, so that also means that hes more susceptible to revisions, and sometimes weird revisions. Robert was born about 1819 in Kentucky. He snaked a camera deeper into the hill, and as this story was going to press, he was sending back images that he and Getler interpreted as signs of objects and tool work. In the decades that followed, stage and screen immortalized the James-Younger gang and Jesse James in particular. Any treasure found could be claimed by them. Now, in Ohio, as a journalist rather than as a dad, I was forced to confront whether the power of this story lay in its truth or its creativity and I knew my job was to be on the lookout for signs the magic was an illusion. The challenge in such a conspiratorial climate is to distinguish truth from speculation: Whats the difference between secret knowledge that guides you to a pot of gold and, say, the signs that lead you to suspect that a presidential election was stolen, or that a deadly virus is fake news? Robert Sallee James (1818-1850) 3. Public DomainJesse James (right) poses with brother Frank James (seated) and Charles Fletcher Taylor (left); Frank is wearing a Civil War studio costume.. 1. Looking incredibly dapper at that allegedly advanced age in a pinstriped vest and trousers, the one-time cook and handyman wields a rifle and still has several bullets in his body from yesteryears gun battles.. 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. I am trying to find my N.American Indigenous roots. Any help you could give me would be appreciated. Search for yourself and well build your family tree together, English (southern): nickname from Middle English, Dutch and North German: nickname for an excessively talkative person from Middle Low German, Operated by Ancestry Ireland Unlimited Company. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. The 1850 census shows the family. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Jesse James Watlington (1912 - 1984) . You can dismiss it outright. 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. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Jesse James WESTLAKE (1868 - 1939) . Robert is 17 degrees from Jennifer Aniston, 18 degrees from Drew Barrymore, 18 degrees from Candice Bergen, 23 degrees from Alexandre Dumas, 16 degrees from Carrie Fisher, 29 degrees from Whitney Houston, 16 degrees from Hayley Mills, 17 degrees from Liza Minnelli, 14 degrees from Lisa Presley, 18 degrees from Kiefer Sutherland, 15 degrees from Bill Veeck and 23 degrees from Brian Nash on our single family tree. But before I could become a true believer, I needed to see if their narrative could withstand attempts to poke holes in it. . After the war, the KGC seemed to melt away, possibly splintering into pro-South successor groups or joining the Ku Klux Klan. 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 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 Jesse James joined up with these outlaws, too, in 1864 at just 16 under the leadership of Bloody Bill Anderson. The way the authors described the American landscape itself as potentially being an encoded map, studded with clues that looked ordinary only to those lacking imagination and skill, was magical. John M. James (c1775-1827) 5. Her mother was L.V. As the clerk received a beating that left his skull cracked, townspeople grew suspicious of the lookouts and started a confrontation outside the bank. One of these, the Northfield Bank in Minnesota, would mark the turning point in the fortunes of Frank and Jesse James. That bomb killed Jesse James younger half-brother who was sleeping at the time and injured his mother. This is the home page for the family trees of WMGS Members. You can search individual genealogies from the Advanced Search page by choosing a particular tree from the Trees pop up menu. I had brought a tape measure with me. 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. But the real Jesse James was anything but a hero. One day about four years ago, they found an old portrait at a yard sale that reminded them of Jesse and Frank James. Public DomainA portrait of Jesse James wearing a suit. Theres no way to get at this history unless youre being a guy whos literally digging in the ground. Getler insists his speculations are not a conspiracy theory; rather, they are a theory about a known conspiracy the KGC and pushing the theory in new directions. The Jesse James Birthplace features the worlds largest display of James family artifacts and Jesse's original grave site. Start a free family tree online and well do the searching for you. Born in Clay County, Missouri, on September 5, 1847, Jesse Woodson James was the son of Kentucky native Zerelda Cole James and her husband, Robert James, a Baptist minister and slave-owning hemp farmer who assisted in founding William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. (Getler is the son of the late Michael Getler, who was a deputy managing editor and ombudsman at The Washington Post.) Wikimedia CommonsThe reward poster for Jesse James. Getler fingered the moist bark. 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. Research genealogy for Jesse James Prater of Prestonsburg, Floyd, Kentucky, USA, as well as other members of the Prater family, on Ancestry. A portrait of a young Jesse James. James roamed as far north as Minnesota to rob a bank, but no deeds in Ohio have been documented. Henry Washington Youngers parents were Charles Lee Cole Younger and Sarah Sullivan Purcell. 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. 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. These dupes are the price of the iconic sweater, but still as sleek as a slicked-back bun and hoops. Jesse James home in Buchanan County, where he was killed. 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.. Id come to see treasure hunting and amateur code breaking as metaphors for our age, when the traditional arbiters of truth the media, government officials, political parties, religious institutions have lost some, or all, of their authority. The trees carvings told a story in three acts, he said, depicting how the group brought the gold up the creek, buried it and certified that the outlaw was their leader. James Birth Records Im the last person to say this is all neatly integrated, seamless. All of the elders in my family are now deceased so there is no one left to answer questions I may have. In accordance with the legal provisions, you can ask for the removal of your name and the name of your minor children. His children were Alexander Franklin, Robert, Jesse and Susan Lavenia. All right, now the adventure begins, Getler said on the first day of the hunt as we trudged a muddy half-mile across a field and through the woods to the site of the suspected treasure trove. Wikimedia CommonsAn illustration that depicts that grisly death of Jesse James at the hands of his criminal collaborator, Robert Ford. Research genealogy for Jesse James Wright of Wortham, Freestone, Texas, as well as other members of the Wright family, on Ancestry. They had one son: Walter Lee James. 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. Its too wet.. After his bull-riding days in his 20s, he fell on hard times. We also found Paul and Fannie Younger living in Benton, Yazoo County, Miss., when the 1920 U.S. Federal Census was enumerated. As the Civil War raged out West, wild bands of raiders and outlaws struck deep into each other's territory to slaughter civilians without mercy. The cold reality of family drama made the treasure hunt seem like a game that made sense only if you were in on it. The account, however, stretches credulity. When his hemp farm didnt pan out in Kentucky, Robert James moved to Missouri to try his hand at cotton. [2], Note by Lilly Martin, Aug 18, 2018: Robert Sallee James had 4 children: 3 boys and 1 girl. The prophet Samuel invites Jesse and his family to a sacrificial feast, but Jesse only brings his seven oldest sons, including Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah; all seven were rejected by God as king ( 1 Samuel 16:6-10 ). Today, the place where outlaw Jesse James died is marked by a stone plinth while the house itself has been moved to St. Josephs and painstakingly preserved for thousands of visitors a year. Born in Prestonsburg, Floyd, Kentucky, USA on 26 February 1941 to Jesse James Prater and Sarah Sallie Ann Kilburn. The James family home in Clay County, Missouri. You, however, are looking into the possibility of another black connection: That at least one of the Younger brothers has African-American descendantsyou among them. The Alexander Younger group from Essex County/Halifax County, Va.; 4. Andrew Krea, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and NEHGS Researcher Meaghan Siekman, Black Musicians Are Not A Monolith: An Interview with Bartees Strange. Joan called her Nanna. Its messy. Before the war they focused on agitating for secession and building a slaveholding empire in a geographic circle encompassing the southern United States, the Caribbean and parts of Latin America. Brewer and he located other markings that old stories tied to the KGC on suspected treasure trails in several states. And I say that to him all the time.. Pinkerton later denied burning the house down on purpose, though research a century later turned up a letter in which Pinkerton bragged about what he planned to do. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Jesse James Butler (1949 - 2018) . 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. But the hunters grew suspicious when the agents wouldnt let them watch the excavation, and after residents later told reporters they had heard digging at night and seen convoys of FBI vehicles leaving the site. If you would like to view one of these trees in its entirety, you can contact the owner of the tree to request permission to see the tree. The James family was from the heavily Confederate western portion of the state. We are not thieves, Jesse James reportedly wrote, we are bold robbers. Citing Getlers KGC research, an FBI agent filed an affidavit seeking permission to dig up and seize the gold as stolen federal property. James was a noted revivalist. Robbing trains turned out to be a risky decision as the other great outlaws of the West the Railroad Barons had a private army of their own to take down the James-Younger gang. Public DomainThe last portrait taken of outlaw Jesse James while he was alive, certified by his wife. Lawrence Henry Barr & Thelma Duncan 4. With one single test, you can discover your genetic origins and find family you nenver know you had. While I was at the pump, I got a text message that the treasure digging had begun anyway and something dramatic was happening. Sun was glinting off the creek, a gossipy circle of wild turkeys faced us on the other side, and Somers was in a pensive mood. One of the treasure hunters told the Zanesville Times Recorder that the outlaw had foreseen the invention of metal detectors but knew how to cover [treasure] with something so no machine will ever locate it.. Probate records show that at his death he owned six slaves and was a commercial hemp farmer. Login to find your connection. Existing RootsMagic and Family Origins users may upgrade for only $29.95. It seemed fitting that this hunt was in a secluded forest about 30 miles northwest of Zanesville, the birthplace of Zane Grey, the prolific popularizer of the Old West in scores of novels. Then, learn about the forgotten black cowboys of the frontier. Grainy video from a camera snaked into a tunnel off the shaft showed potentially man-made structures and possibly reflective material. 1 of the founders of William Jewell College, Liberty, Clay Co MO. By searching the census records on Ancestry.com, we found your great-great-grandfather Burl Younger (spelled Barl), living as a farmer in Yazoo County, Miss., when the 1870 U.S. Federal Census was enumerated. Thats what started this whole thing., Bowser and one of her brothers co-owned about two dozen acres that included the forest on the steep hill overlooking the creek the same creek Somers had visited as a boy of about 10. This database contains family trees submitted to Ancestry by users who have indicated that their tree can only be viewed by Ancestry members to whom they have granted permission to see their tree.These trees can change over time as users edit, remove, or otherwise modify the data in their trees. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and founding director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. James family history is first recorded in 1187 in Gloucestershire, with a man named Walter James. After that, Allan Pinkerton himself led the manhunt, the climax of which was a raid at the James farm that intentionally turned into a sneak arson attack when the Pinkertons threw a firebomb through the window. He brought it into the field with him every day as he scoured the territory for the kinds of markers and symbols that the authors described. Frank (right) and Jesse James in 1872 The American Civil War began in 1861, when James was eighteen years old. He was pretty sure he was about to become a rich man, and he had complicated feelings about that.