Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Jesse James in Texas

 

One of the benefits to having this blog is the number of different people we have the chance to talk with. Betty Dorsett Duke is one of those people and she has an interesting story to tell. Betty is the author of "Jesse James Lived and Died in Texas" and "The Truth About Jesse James". She makes a compelling argument that her grandfather was really Jesse James and has recently acquired a photo off of Ebay that seems to be of a wedding party and may change history. Zerelda Samuels is easily identified in the center row of the photo and it is possible that Frank James and Betty's grandfather may be in the front row. To get the full story please go to her website http://www.jessejamesintexas.com/index.htm . I think you will find it interesting.

4 comments:

  1. Betty Dorsett Duke's own family contests Mrs. Duke's fancifully concocted fantasy history. Readers may wish to consult that, too.
    http://www.ericjames.org/JesseJamesinTexas/index.html
    Her family's objections is hosted on the web site of the Jesse James family itself, who also disclaims all of Mrs. Duke's imaginary history.

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  2. We by no way are validating Betty's claims. We are only providing an interesting story for our readers. My own personal feelings are that Jesse was killed in 1882.

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  3. I had the pleasure of contributing research to Betty's latest book. She does have an interesting story. While her book does not prove, or disprove, when Jesse James actually died, it does a good job of discrediting other possible James imposters.

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  4. Betty Duke’s claim to be a descendant of Jesse James is a farce. A more accurate description of her story is absurd, rather than interesting. Jesse James was killed in 1882; Zerelda, in her will, twice referred to her dead son Jesse.
    How could a man living in TX since 1871 arrange for, and perpetrate a hoax in St. Joe, MO, placing Wood Hite in the casket of Jesse James as claimed by Mrs. Duke? Utterly preposterous!!
    Mrs. Duke ignores the reality that her great-grandfather, James Lafayette Courtney, wrote that he visited his “ma” when she was 96 years old. The published obit of Zerelda Samuel shows she died at age 86.

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