JESSE JAMES AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE A JOINT VENTURE

[L.C. BAKER]

BLF...?

The BLF we are dealing with marked that on O.A.K. pieces that partally contain caches left by the K.G.C........So with that in mind, and the fact that we have not recovered anything to say for sure YOUR guess is as good as mine at this time Rebel! We do know that who ever they were, was active from 1862 until at least1904 without reclaiming what they left behind.

 

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[L.C. BAKER]

I have never shown this big B.L.F. cross that was used and placed by them. You can blow it up to see the B.L.F. at the top of it just like it is written on the little lead crosses they left buried with coded information on them.



This is on the back of one of the lead maps that also has a skull and crossbones with a K and two crossed sabers below it. (A representation of the Knights) Notice the way that the B is made and the way the other letters have a specially shaped border around them.



L.C.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Frank James's was well acquainted with Logan Enyart and when Logan was just twenty-three years of age was married, but not long, they both enlisted in the Confederate Army under Gov. Jackson (first call for soldiers to enlist in MissouriMay 4th, 1861. Frank becoming a member of Company C, 1st Missouri Cavalry and Logan Enyart was the Captain of company G. After that Logan's brother-in-law resigned his commission and joined Quantrill. Jesse and Frank would soon follow. Logan's path was a little different though they never lost touch after the war. It is highly likely that they all may have been well acquainted with Julius Sterling Morton who was also known to correspond with Logan Enyart. When Logan stayed in Nebraska City he stayed at O.F. Holley's Hotel where they were all known to frequent. Holley came into play when the K.G.C. made a point to have the sheriff of Nebraska City collect two of his slaves to prove they were his property owned and then have them sold to pay his debt. The whole thing was just a stunt set up by them to prove that slaves could be owned as property and recognized as such by the local government and could be bought and sold in Nebraska Territory. S.F. Nuckolls had been traveling to Missouri and meeting with the slave owners there to convince them of that very thing verbatim. It is obvious that it was on the K.G.C.'s slavery agenda for Nebraska to become a slave state and Nuckolls as well as Mr. Morton were on the same team. Of course, all of that is unrecognized by the "History of Nebraska" as it is written by J.S. Morton and his coauthors. The reason I mention this acquaintance is to show how early they could have been on the same page together and to show that they had been acquainted for a long time before the James Gang appeared on the scene in Daviess County Missouri and at Logan Enyart's ranch 8 miles from Nebraska City.

" Logan Enyart when twenty-three years of age was married, but not long afterward enlisted in the Confederate Army under Gov. Jackson (first call for soldiers to enlist in Missouri), becoming a member of Company C, 1st Missouri Cavalry. He was at once elected Captain of his company, and this fact indicates his popularity, as he entered the ranks without any military experience. He, however, possessed the natural abilities which secured him the confidence of his superior officers and the respect of his comrades, and that he seems to have held until the last gun was fired, and his subsequent course indicated how correct they were in their judgment. He led his company in his first engagement at Blue Mills, Mo., and was later at Lexington, where he distinguished himself and led his troops to victory. Later he was at the onset in the vicinity of Springfield, covering Price's retreat for ten days and ten nights. He fought at Pea Ridge under Gens. Van Dorn and Price, where he was twice wounded in one engagement, being struck first in the left shoulder and the second time in the forehead, but, notwithstanding, he kept upon his feet by his extraordinary will power, and never deserted his post until the conflict was ended.
Later Capt. Enyart was transferred to Corinth, Miss., from the West, where he fought with Gen. Beauregard in all the engagements around Corinth in the spring of 1862; at Iuka, Miss., in the fall of 1862, and later under Gen. Price. In the second battle of Corinth, under Gen. Van Dorn, while still fighting, he witnessed the defeat of the army under that General, and also at Champion Hills fought in that desperately bloody battle. Capt. Enyart in this latter engagement received a very close call, a musket ball fracturing his nose and putting out his left eye. Although suffering untold agony for days, he never entered a hospital. We next find him at the siege of Vicksburg, where the entire army was captured, and our subject was an eyewitness of the surrender of Gen. Pemberton's army to Grant and of the explosion which destroyed the Confederate boats. He was soon paroled, however, and was among the first to be exchanged at Demopolis, Ala. He was transferred to the army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, at Dalton, Ga., and was with this renowned warrior in the famous retreat from Dalton to Atlanta, when every inch of ground for 110 miles was disputed with Sherman. In this retreat the most noted places at which fighting occurred were Lone Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, New Hope Church, Peach Tree Creek, and wound up with the siege of Atlanta.
Later Capt. Enyart fought at Jonesboro, and subsequently joining the army of Gen. Hood, went back through Georgia and Tennessee, fighting at Altona, and Tilton, Ga. At the latter place, the Confederates captured the 18th Iowa Regiment. Afterward, they engaged in battle with the Union forces at Huntsville, Ala., Columbia and Franklin, Tenn., where blood flowed like a river, and at the latter place Capt. Enyart was again captured, Nov. 30, 1864, and taken to Johnson's Island, in the State of Ohio, where he was confined a prisoner seven months and eleven days, until June 17, 1865, when he took the oath of allegiance to the Union, the war being over, and was released in disgust with mankind, and started for the West.
Capt. Enyart during this memorable period traveled over all the Southern States with the exception of Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland. He is pardonably proud of the fact that he was never in a hospital, and notwithstanding his wounds and extraordinary suffering attendant upon the loss of his eye, never quit the army, but fought to the last, and was the Sir Simon Captain of his State, and certainly is amply entitled the balance of his life to the rank of Captain. In the year 1865 he made his way without a dollar in his pocket across the Mississippi to Nebraska, then a Territory. In his native State of Missouri before the war, he was the owner of 1,000 acres of good land, with buildings, livestock, and all the other valuable appurtenances of a well-developed country estate. His stock was driven off and confiscated, his buildings burned and his land left to waste. " Biographical Album of Otoe & Cass Counties


Richard B. Chiles resigned his commission on 15 June 1862 and .joined Quantrill.


HEADQUARTERS FIRST CHEROKEE REGIMENT,
Camp near Elk Mills, Mo., June 1, 1862.

COLONEL: On the evening of the 29th ultimo I learned from Captain Livingston, who had been sent at the head of 24 men to scout in the neighborhood of Granby, that at noon that day a body of the enemy’s cavalry, thought to be 200 strong, had arrived there, and that he had fired upon their advance guard and retreated toward Neosho. I also learned from Captain Livingston that this detachment of the enemy’s cavalry would be joined by another of about the same number.

On the morning of the 30th I sent 200 men, taken from five companies, with four commissioned officers, under command of Capt. R. C. Parks, with orders to go toward Neosho, and find the enemy if they had not gone back, and if found to attack them. Captain Parks was joined by Colonel Coffee, at the head of something more than 200 of his command. They met Captain Livingston, and learned that the enemy, thought to be about 400 strong, all cavalry, were in Neosho.

On the morning of the 31st our troops, who had remained all the preceding [night] in the immediate vicinity of Neosho, attacked the enemy, who were not dreaming of their presence. The troops of my regiment and the greater portion of those with Colonel Coffee dismounted. The enemy were taken completely by surprise. At the first fire of our troops they attempted to form, returned a volley at random, then broke and fled in the utmost confusion, our troops advancing rapidly upon them all the time. Colonel Coffee’s cavalry, which had charged simultaneously with our infantry, kept up the pursuit for miles.

The Federal loss is estimated at from 10 to 15 killed. Their loss in wounded was undoubtedly heavy. Many, if not the greater part, of the Federal force escaped on foot, and their dead and wounded were found some distance from Neosho, they having fallen in their flight.

The force of the enemy was 400, and, except 100 troops in the regular Federal service, was composed of Missouri militia, and was commanded by Col. John M. Richardson.

Fourteen tents, 5 wagons and teams, arms, horses, some commissary stores and ammunition, and, in fact, all the enemy’s baggage, fell into the hands of the Confederates.

There was 1 man killed on our side who belonged to Colonel Coffee's regiment.

I am, colonel, your obedient servant,

STAND WATIE,
Colonel, Commanding First Regiment Cherokee Cavalry

A who is who and who was were in Missouri https://sites.rootsweb.com/~cappscreek/civilwar/cwtimeline.html

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Frank was born January 10, 1843, which would have made him eligible for membership to either society in 1864 if they followed the rule of 21 years of age. It is a possibility that Frank became initiated first and Jesse was just a wannabe until he turned of age in 1869 him being four years younger than his brother. So if that was a fact then Jesse would have been 17 years old when Frank joined the society in 1864 if he did such a thing. It would so happen that on September 27th, 1864 just twenty-two days after Jesse had turned 17 years old he was with William T. Anderson and his brother Frank at Centralia Missouri. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia_Massacre_(Missouri)
So if Jesse was at arms at that time and he was engaged in the field with a Gorilla unit in 1864 at age 17, then to me it is highly possible that he was already accepted among Brothers and Fellows due to the circumstances and field rules of the societies fluctuation according to the troubled emergency life and death times they were living daily.
There is no way to be sure what happened in the field as there were no minutes kept of those type of meetings. If they were accepted as Freemasons during there lifetime, the Freemasons never used them on the posters to try and drive up membership!

 

[L.C. BAKER]

"On March 2, 1882, James, using the name Thomas Howard, responded to an ad in the Lincoln Journal. James wrote the property owner, who lived in Lincoln, expressing interest in the 160 acres on the south edge of Franklin. James also indicated he would soon travel to Nebraska to inspect the land."

This is a B.S. story. Although Jesse James did visit Nebraska City to see his friends there, it is a farce that he was ever interested in the Franklin County property as has been told since sometime after 1882. There is a story to it, but it involves a man named J.D. Calhoun that was a former C.S.A. veteran that worked for a Lincoln Nebraska paper. Calhoun was known for his humorous tales and storytelling ability by the time he became managing editor of the Nebraska State Journal in 1881 it was a well-known fact. " In Lincoln Calhoun was the author of the Journal’s “Topics of the Times,” a daily column of gossipy paragraphs gleaned from exchange newspapers, readers’ contributions, and his own fertile imagination." It is a fact that Calhoun retained at least 160 acres of land in Franklin County in the spring of 1882 when he advertised in the State Journal to sell this tract in the paper. It was Calhoun that wrote the story about Jesse James's inquiry.

P.S. J. D. Calhoun was a very big supporter of William Jennings Bryan and hated by Julius Sterling Morton as well as many other Gold Democrats.

 

[Kace]

"On March 2, 1882, James, using the name Thomas Howard, responded to an ad in the Lincoln Journal. James wrote the property owner, who lived in Lincoln, expressing interest in the 160 acres on the south edge of Franklin. James also indicated he would soon travel to Nebraska to inspect the land."

This is a B.S. story. Although Jesse James did visit Nebraska City to see his friends there, it is a farce that he was ever interested in the Franklin County property as has been told since sometime after 1882. There is a story to it, but it involves a man named J.D. Calhoun that was a former C.S.A. veteran that worked for a Lincoln Nebraska paper. Calhoun was known for his humorous tales and storytelling ability by the time he became managing editor of the Nebraska State Journal in 1881 it was a well-known fact. " In Lincoln Calhoun was the author of the Journal’s “Topics of the Times,” a daily column of gossipy paragraphs gleaned from exchange newspapers, readers’ contributions, and his own fertile imagination." It is a fact that Calhoun retained at least 160 acres of land in Franklin County in the spring of 1882 when he advertised in the State Journal to sell this tract in the paper. It was Calhoun that wrote the story about Jesse James's inquiry.

P.S. J. D. Calhoun was a very big supporter of William Jennings Bryan and hated by Julius Sterling Morton as well as many other Gold Democrats.

I just thought I'd let you know that while I was doing some research for someone else on JJ and Co...this topic of JJ's letter (as Thomas Howard) responding to the ad for property for sale in Nebraska was one of the things that came up and It IS True...JJ Did Write the Letter responding to the ad.

The handwriting on the letter and envelope was analyzed and confirmed to be JJ's.

Kace

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

"On March 2, 1882, James, using the name Thomas Howard, responded to an ad in the Lincoln Journal. James wrote the property owner, who lived in Lincoln, expressing interest in the 160 acres on the south edge of Franklin. James also indicated he would soon travel to Nebraska to inspect the land."

This is a B.S. story. Although Jesse James did visit Nebraska City to see his friends there, it is a farce that he was ever interested in the Franklin County property as has been told since sometime after 1882. There is a story to it, but it involves a man named J.D. Calhoun that was a former C.S.A. veteran that worked for a Lincoln Nebraska paper. Calhoun was known for his humorous tales and storytelling ability by the time he became managing editor of the Nebraska State Journal in 1881 it was a well-known fact. " In Lincoln Calhoun was the author of the Journal’s “Topics of the Times,” a daily column of gossipy paragraphs gleaned from exchange newspapers, readers’ contributions, and his own fertile imagination." It is a fact that Calhoun retained at least 160 acres of land in Franklin County in the spring of 1882 when he advertised in the State Journal to sell this tract in the paper. It was Calhoun that wrote the story about Jesse James's inquiry.

P.S. J. D. Calhoun was a very big supporter of William Jennings Bryan and hated by Julius Sterling Morton as well as many other Gold Democrats.

I just thought I'd let you know that while I was doing some research for someone else on JJ and Co...this topic of JJ's letter (as Thomas Howard) responding to the ad for property for sale in Nebraska was one of the things that came up and It IS True...JJ Did Write the Letter responding to the ad.

The handwriting on the letter and envelope was analyzed and confirmed to be JJ's.

Kace

And Another piece of Misinformation bites tha dust.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Eh...?

 

[Kace]

Sorry folks, behind again. This is just for clarification.
Ol Kentuk's post # 404: The article from the Windsor (MO.) newspaper talks of "the Democrat man" is most likely talking about the Clinton(MO.) newspaper The Daily Democrat newspaper. Cole and the Editor of the Democrat were acquainted.
The Roscoe (MO.) gun battle where John Younger was killed happened about 3 miles S.E. of Monegaw Springs (pronounced mon ah go). Roscoe is some 5 or 6 miles further South and Osceola is about 10 miles East of the Springs.
The wounded Pinkerton man was taken Roscoe and was said to die there. Other reports have him being put in a coffin, the wagon taken to Clinton where it was put on a train. The Doctor treating the wounded Pinkerton man helped sneak him out. Anyway, he was buried years later.
The Pinkertons hung around the Courthouse of St. Clair Co. MO. to listen to the idlers talk of the Younger & James and got a lead on them. The Pinkerton's might not have been know that way but were known to be strangers.
The Youngers hid out with a black woman who's sister worked for the Younger family in Jackson Co,MO. and were welcome and may have stayed with a white family just down the road, the Crowder's. The Youngers also had family at Osceola.
Lot's of places to hide out in that country. That area was not very far from Bates Co. that was almost completely vacated in 1865 and took years to repopulate. Clinton,MO. is 30 miles North of Osceola and in the 1870's there were few roads and I've read articles that between Clinton and Kansas City (80 miles) there were NO fences. Hard to imagine in these times. Good luck.

Sorry for not helping to keep this going...



More to follow.

Kace

Edit to put Dit's County and Destroyed Missouri Towns Next to My Border Area Pic

 

[Ditlihi]

Awesome that you are doing this Kace.

Hope you don't mind but I have a little something to add that sheds a little light on what it was like for Border Missourians during this time period.....





Martha Jane Rice Tate (1836 — 1870)

Martha Jane Rice Tate wrote a letter in 1864 detailing her harrowing experiences trying to comply with Order #11. The Lone Jack Historical Society is in possession of the original letter.

Tate was the daughter of Martin Rice, whose eyewitness account of the massacre of six-men near Lone Jack, Missouri is chronicled in his writing “What I Saw of Order #11.” Tate returned to the area after the war to live with her father and died there in 1870. Her husband Calvin Tate is buried in the Six-Man Cemetery just south of Lone Jack in Jackson County, Missouri.




December the 14, 1864

Dear Cousin Mary no doubt but what you will be supprised at the name at the bottom of this sheet if it is ever so fortunate as to reach you which is uncertain those times and it is only by request that I attempt to reach you by letter now at this time. Your Pa and I have been corresponding for over [ ] year and he has asked me frequently to write to you [ ] tell you of some of my troubles that I have seen and undergone within the last year and everybody and to those I never saw I have be delaying from time to time until the present.

In the first place I am the wife of Calvin Tate who was in Indiana ten years ago when you was quite small. I have often heard him speak of you and your Pa when he was there. But alas I never shall hear his lovely voice again on Earth for he is gone gone from me forever and I am left with three small children to take care of am not able a great part of y time to take care of myself and what is to become of them I cannot tell. But the Lord has said I will a Husband to the widow and a Father to the Fatherless and I hope he is such to me and mine for if ever a poor family needed his help it surely is mine and not mine alone for there are many these war times that need a great deal of help from above such is and has been the case with me and five other familys all related to my Husband save one and all living within one mile of each other and although I say it myself a better set of men never lived or died that they were in September 1863.

Ewing made the order No 11 to devastate the Countys of Jackson-Cass Bates and part of Vernon [countys]. People had but nine days to get out of those Countys [or to] a Milatary Post [and we] were all trying to get out [of the] County and the Men would have started in one hour on Sunday Morning. But before they got off some Soldiers from Kansas came and taken My Father Brother and my Husband and five others, two Hunters Brothers and one by the name of Cave Brother-in-law to the Hunters and one Boy 17 years old named Owsley, Nephew to the Hunters, and one old man 60 years old by the name of Potter, Father-in-law to one of the hunters and taken them something over half mile from home and shot them all but Father and Brother. They were released and came home and had just got home when the guns were heard that made four widows and 26 Fatherless children. And oh what a sight to Behold. They were shot all to pieces most and left on the ground by them to stay there Forever for what they cares.

There was but three Men left to Bury them, my Father, Brother and Uncle John Hunter 70 years old and the Father of the two that was killed. Everybody was gone but there familys and one other woman and we had to just dig a hole and put them all six in without any Coffins or Boxes. Nothing but Blankets and right where they were Massacerced by a bunch of Murders and a set of Blood thirsty ‗‗‗‗‗‗. None of those men had ever been in arms on either side except David Hunter who was in the Malisha at Kansas City about two weeks. They were all at home and had Been and was minding their own Business. They were killed in the Morning about 10 O’clock and we left home about 4 in the evening, that home that was to be home no more for me.

We went to Ray County North side of the River and stayed all Winter and came back in the spring. When we left we all had to leave all our stock and left with one wagon apiece and what could Be put in them. Mr. Hunters family and Caves have not come home yet. They live near Dover, Lafayette Co. There is four families of them and But one man among them and that is Uncle John Hunter. The women has all the work to do in and out of the house. They have all got good homes here and good houses and have had several Blacks but they have all gone to Kansas to get their Freedom (do you think they will get it)…. Suffice it to say that War is evil. War absorbs all things else.

…your Devoted Cousin.
Mattie Jane Tate

 

[Kace]

Awesome that you are doing this Kace.

Hope you don't mind but I have a little something to add that sheds a little light on what it was like for Border Missourians during this time period.....


View attachment 1713715


Martha Jane Rice Tate (1836 — 1870)

Martha Jane Rice Tate wrote a letter in 1864 detailing her harrowing experiences trying to comply with Order #11. The Lone Jack Historical Society is in possession of the original letter.

Tate was the daughter of Martin Rice, whose eyewitness account of the massacre of six-men near Lone Jack, Missouri is chronicled in his writing “What I Saw of Order #11.” Tate returned to the area after the war to live with her father and died there in 1870. Her husband Calvin Tate is buried in the Six-Man Cemetery just south of Lone Jack in Jackson County, Missouri.




December the 14, 1864

Dear Cousin Mary no doubt but what you will be supprised at the name at the bottom of this sheet if it is ever so fortunate as to reach you which is uncertain those times and it is only by request that I attempt to reach you by letter now at this time. Your Pa and I have been corresponding for over [ ] year and he has asked me frequently to write to you [ ] tell you of some of my troubles that I have seen and undergone within the last year and everybody and to those I never saw I have be delaying from time to time until the present.

In the first place I am the wife of Calvin Tate who was in Indiana ten years ago when you was quite small. I have often heard him speak of you and your Pa when he was there. But alas I never shall hear his lovely voice again on Earth for he is gone gone from me forever and I am left with three small children to take care of am not able a great part of y time to take care of myself and what is to become of them I cannot tell. But the Lord has said I will a Husband to the widow and a Father to the Fatherless and I hope he is such to me and mine for if ever a poor family needed his help it surely is mine and not mine alone for there are many these war times that need a great deal of help from above such is and has been the case with me and five other familys all related to my Husband save one and all living within one mile of each other and although I say it myself a better set of men never lived or died that they were in September 1863.

Ewing made the order No 11 to devastate the Countys of Jackson-Cass Bates and part of Vernon [countys]. People had but nine days to get out of those Countys [or to] a Milatary Post [and we] were all trying to get out [of the] County and the Men would have started in one hour on Sunday Morning. But before they got off some Soldiers from Kansas came and taken My Father Brother and my Husband and five others, two Hunters Brothers and one by the name of Cave Brother-in-law to the Hunters and one Boy 17 years old named Owsley, Nephew to the Hunters, and one old man 60 years old by the name of Potter, Father-in-law to one of the hunters and taken them something over half mile from home and shot them all but Father and Brother. They were released and came home and had just got home when the guns were heard that made four widows and 26 Fatherless children. And oh what a sight to Behold. They were shot all to pieces most and left on the ground by them to stay there Forever for what they cares.

There was but three Men left to Bury them, my Father, Brother and Uncle John Hunter 70 years old and the Father of the two that was killed. Everybody was gone but there familys and one other woman and we had to just dig a hole and put them all six in without any Coffins or Boxes. Nothing but Blankets and right where they were Massacerced by a bunch of Murders and a set of Blood thirsty ‗‗‗‗‗‗. None of those men had ever been in arms on either side except David Hunter who was in the Malisha at Kansas City about two weeks. They were all at home and had Been and was minding their own Business. They were killed in the Morning about 10 O’clock and we left home about 4 in the evening, that home that was to be home no more for me.

We went to Ray County North side of the River and stayed all Winter and came back in the spring. When we left we all had to leave all our stock and left with one wagon apiece and what could Be put in them. Mr. Hunters family and Caves have not come home yet. They live near Dover, Lafayette Co. There is four families of them and But one man among them and that is Uncle John Hunter. The women has all the work to do in and out of the house. They have all got good homes here and good houses and have had several Blacks but they have all gone to Kansas to get their Freedom (do you think they will get it)…. Suffice it to say that War is evil. War absorbs all things else.

…your Devoted Cousin.
Mattie Jane Tate

Great Post Dit!

You know I always appreciate your contributions! I hope everyone contributes to this topic.. Missouri was so different than other states regarding the war and where JJ and Youngers stayed.

UGLY...That Includes You Too!

I got some journals and books out from down there with first hand accounts.

Kace

 

[Ditlihi]

Great Post Dit!

You know I always appreciate your contributions! I hope everyone contributes to this topic.. Missouri was so different than other states regarding the war and where JJ and Youngers stayed.

UGLY...That Includes You Too!

I got some journals and books out from down there with first hand accounts.

Kace

Can't wait to hear those, I love the first hand recollections. So much more personal and totally relevant to the subject.

More please!

 

[sdcfia]

Can't wait to hear those, I love the first hand recollections. So much more personal and totally relevant to the subject.

More please!

All human experiences are anecdotal. Some events are witnessed by multiple humans. History is only a narrative created for political benefit. Are anecdotes any less reliable than the narrative?

 

[Ditlihi]

All human experiences are anecdotal. Some events are witnessed by multiple humans. History is only a narrative created for political benefit. Are anecdotes any less reliable than the narrative?

I'd love to debate this issue with you, Steve, but this is neither the time nor the place. This thread doesn't appear to be about you, or me, or personal philosophies in general.

First hand accounts of the trauma endured by citizens of the Border States during this period gives us insight into the minds and motivations of the guerrilla actions and later outlawry of the men we are discussing. Not only the men, but the women, families and slaves who chose to aid and protect them as well. Until we understand that the horror and deprivations this particular region endured were unlike any other of the Civil War, we cannot grasp the true history of the people, places, and actions described in this "narrative" we call the Black Book. The Subject Of This Thread.

Which 'History' is more accurate, the political narrative we are given by the 'Winners' or the one recorded by those who lived and lost the most. I believe that is for the readers to decide for themselves. So how about we table the philosophy and get on with it, eh?

 

[Ditlihi]

I'd love to debate this issue with you, Steve, but this is neither the time nor the place. This thread doesn't appear to be about you, or me, or personal philosophies in general.

First hand accounts of the trauma endured by citizens of the Border States during this period gives us insight into the minds and motivations of the guerrilla actions and later outlawry of the men we are discussing. Not only the men, but the women, families and slaves who chose to aid and protect them as well. Until we understand that the horror and deprivations this particular region endured were unlike any other of the Civil War, we cannot grasp the true history of the people, places, and actions described in this "narrative" we call the Black Book. The Subject Of This Thread.

Which 'History' is more accurate, the political narrative we are given by the 'Winners' or the one recorded by those who lived and lost the most. I believe that is for the readers to decide for themselves. So how about we table the philosophy and get on with it, eh?

Damn, I got this reply mixed up with Kace's thread on the Black Book. My apologies, Steve, and Kace. I'm having a time catching up on these topics and, as they all seem to intersect at certain points, it's difficult to keep them separate. Give me time, I'll get up to speed.

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

The original letter Baker is referencing, signed by "Tho. Howard", was sold at auction in 2005 by a New Hampshire firm specializing in autographed items, R&R Enterprises Auctions. It was priced at $250,000.

About R&R Auctions

R&R Enterprises Auctions

It was AUTHENTICATED by John Reznikoff, founder and President of University Archives, a well-known authority and writer on the subject of rare documents and manuscripts. John is arguably the most requested Authenticator for historical items In The World. His clients have included the U. S. Justice Department , the FBI, state law enforcement, top auction houses, and the largest rare book dealers in the world.

About John Reznikoff

John Reznikoff


Fer any members interested in seeing a comparison fer themselves....

In 2004, Christie's New York sold a six-page handwritten letter in pencil from Jesse James to his step father, Dr. Ruben Samuel, dated March 23, 1875. It sold for $175,000.

Image of the last page, courtesy of Christie's.

Jesse James handwritten letter referenced in Baker's post, signed "Tho. Howard". Sold by University Archives in 2005.

Image courtesy of University Archives.

We appreciate yer honesty, Baker, in admitting yer comments are ALL SPECULATION, but ye might notch yer Personal Attacks down a bit when faced with the FACTS.


And a big Thank You, Kace. You and yer posts are most definitely an Asset To This Forum. Glad to see that light shinin'.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I thought that maybe you guys and gals might want to bid on this one of a kind?? "original" It has been authenticated too I guess...... https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/on-the-block-only-known-jesse

 

[L.C. BAKER]

On a side note for anyone paying attention to the facts, J.D. Calhoun sat with K.G.C./ O.A.K. members in the Democratic convention most likely as a member of both. Either way, he was aware of the land speculation concerning the "original path "of the Transcontinental Railroad which had been determined by members of the K.G.C. This led to a lot of lands directly west of Nebraska City being purchased by the informed. However, personal greed by a newly appointed Governor, young Thomas Cumming who made Omaha the State Capitol instead of Nebraska City altered the original projected path of the rails. The K.G.C. lost millions and Cumming got run over by a carriage in the street.....accidentally This is why the Rails of the Transcontinental take an unexplained sudden left just outside Omaha and go south before they turn back west towards Kearny. It also has a lot to do with the birth of "Credit Mobilier". which I believe to also have been hatched by the O.A.K.


L.C.

https://history.nebraska.gov/sites/...files/doc/publications/NH2000JamesCalhoun.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomington,_Nebraska

Now you know the rest of the story and the facts that the truth about the 160 acres in Franklin County Nebraska that the story in the Lincoln Democrat was based on, by who, and why.

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

I thought that maybe you guys and gals might want to bid on this one of a kind?? "original" It has been authenticated too I guess...... https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/on-the-block-only-known-jesse

Excellent link.

Unfortunately, there will always be a niche market for the gullible in fakes, forgeries, and wannabes, which makes groups like the one in the link very beneficial for collectors. Conspiracy theorists can be found lurking around any corner, ready to sell you a line of pure fiction. That is why its so important to have these documents and photographs vetted by well known Proven Professionals, such as the aforementioned John Riznikoff (also mentioned in the link above as THE Authority in such matters), for authenticity.

I wonder what John would have to say about this one?

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

On a side note for anyone paying attention to the facts, J.D. Calhoun sat with K.G.C./ O.A.K. members in the Democratic convention most likely as a member of both. Either way, he was aware of the land speculation concerning the "original path "of the Transcontinental Railroad which had been determined by members of the K.G.C. This led to a lot of lands directly west of Nebraska City being purchased by the informed. However, personal greed by a newly appointed Governor, young Thomas Cumming who made Omaha the State Capitol instead of Nebraska City altered the original projected path of the rails. The K.G.C. lost millions and Cumming got run over by a carriage in the street.....accidentally This is why the Rails of the Transcontinental take an unexplained sudden left just outside Omaha and go south before they turn back west towards Kearny. It also has a lot to do with the birth of "Credit Mobilier". which I believe to also have been hatched by the O.A.K.


L.C.

https://history.nebraska.gov/sites/...files/doc/publications/NH2000JamesCalhoun.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomington,_Nebraska

Now you know the rest of the story and the facts that the truth about the 160 acres in Franklin County Nebraska that the story in the Lincoln Democrat was based on, by who, and why.

I respectfully disagree. The thing about authenticating documents and photographs is that they either Are authentic, or they are NOT. The stories made up around them mean very little unless they relate to actual Provenance, not speculation.

Conspiracy stories claiming documents or photographs as Proof of the conspiracy must meet authentication and provenance standards to be declared Authentic. Simple hearsay that there was a conspiracy behind them in the first place is not considered Provenance. It's merely Hearsay, or at best a theory. Same goes for claims that a document or photograph is a "BS story". Especially when trying to assert that a document is not authentic and was merely a "made up story" in order to bolster a promulgated conspiracy theory. The fact that this document, or letter, WAS AUTHENTICATED by the world's top authority puts the kibosh to that assertion.

Using poor documentation that CAN BE AUTHENTICATED AS SUCH, as a basis for a conspiracy theory, is a very slippery slope. It will eventually come back to haunt the unwary. Before one 'grasps at straws' to validate their theories, they should first make sure the 'straws' have merit. It is easy for our own biases to blind us to the cold hard Facts. Ask John, he knows all about wanting to believe something so badly that you let your instincts be taken over by it.

Early in John's career he made the mistake of unknowingly befriending a very accomplished con-artist. This con was named Lex Cusack.

In the 1990s, John Reznikoff stumbled upon what he thought was the missing link: Official documents finally connecting Marilyn Monroe and President John F. Kennedy, confirming that there was in fact an illicit relationship between them. The documents were the property of Lex Cusack, and were worth millions. They would change history as we knew it. The problem was the documents were forged…fakes, exposed by ABC news.

Here's the story in his own words.

THE KENNEDY-MONROE PAPERS

It was a devastating blow to John, and one that could have destroyed his career. Instead, John's humility in admitting his mistake, taking ownership and using the incident as an impetus to better his methods and those of the industry in order to prevent such happening again, all made him a model for others to follow. Through his efforts he regained the trust of those in the industry and the organizations that use them. Today he is considered the top authority in the world on famous signatures.

There is a lesson here for those willing to learn from his example.