Archives.com Interviews Eric James on Jesse James Genealogy

[@Metlc2024]

My maternal grandmother was around 5 in 1920 when her Dad’s cousin Jesse James came over and he slept in my grandmother’s bed. He hung his gun holster over the bed 🛌post….she said her knees would shake & shake. When the kids went to school, they were told not to tell anyone that they were kin to Jesse James. The family hid him. He died a very old man. He was also shot twice in the back but survived both times. Shot once in the upper shoulder blade & once in the top middle back. 🤠

[@carolalexander1429]

A couple of years (or three) ago a homeless man came up to me out of the inside of the Cracker Barrel in Amarillo, Texas. He told me to pray for the descendants of Jesse James then tilted his head upward and laughed hard out loud. His top front teeth had been recently extracted. A yellow taxi pulled up and he said, “Well, that’s for me. Hold my coffee for me.” He then left. I’ve always wondered if he was an angel.

[@randalmbundy]

Thank You Mr. James for the very enlightening information. I was born and raised in Southern Kentucky and although as far as I do know I am not descended from Jessie James but some of my cousins are. I am always appreciative of Historical Information. History has always been my favorite subject. Thank You again Sir.

[@KoloheSF]

Great work, Mr. James. Jesse is my second cousin, 4x removed through the Gist line. Henry Clay Gist and MJ Amanda Poor are my third great grandparents. Robert Poor and Elizabeth Woodson Mimms are my 5th great grandparents. I discovered the relation accidentally around 2011 through my research of the Gist/ Smith line. People have to understand that just because we are related and we do research and find it fascinating, it does not mean we are proud of or condone the bad things that our ancestors may have been involved with, but it it still part of our history. I will send you a private message with more info through your website. I am looking forward to reading your books and digging into your research!

[@chachasage4563]

Kolohe SF just discovered I’m related to Jesse James to but not much more

[@MsSunmoon7]

I think it is just fascinating what you have discovered so far! Genealogy is so much fun, dead ends, brick walls but, I love doing it for my family! Now, I do have a male cousin that thinks we're related to Jesse James' Mother. Our GrandFather is a Cole but, so far I can't seem to get it to match up. I will keep digging as usual, & will see if any of it works out.

[@EricFJames]

Like the James, there are numerous Cole families throughout America. A well-documented genealogy is the best evidence of what family one belongs to.

[@MegaMacReal]

Eric F. James She wasn't really a DALTON?

[@josephbragg5020]

I have found that when I was young in the 60s I read everything I could about Jesse in my dad's Old West magazines ,found him to be very captavating. From the new history that is coming to light it occurs to me that Frank +Jesse were hero,s back then and I believe heroes of today also. more and more is coming to light and is very interesting .

[@vickiejohnson2451]

This is very interesting. I love hearing family talk about their family members.

[@EricFJames]

Thank you. You should probably visit our website Stray Leaves, or read our books. www.ericjames.org

[@vickiejohnson2451]

I did. In fact, I emailed you regarding my Cole family who may be related to Zerelda Cole. I'm sure you will find the email. It has a link to my genealogy page and pictures as well. :)

[@jerrysullivan8424]

I was raised in Saint Jo, It seems that everybody claimed to be related to Jesse when I was young. :)

[@nancyduncan2694]

My great great grandpa William Smith ran w Frank and Jesse. He was a justice of the peace and a deputy sheriff at the time but he helped them out more times than I can count. If u find any of the letters from him to the James’ boys I would love to have a copy. My great grandma befriended the boys aunt and she showed my grandma the letters and gave her something for my sisters term paper in the 80’s. We have somehow lost that paper but would love to see something that links my grandfather to Frank as Jesse if you find such. There is a museum in Missouri that is about my family The Smiths. William Smith, Garrett Smith, Clarence Smith, JR Smith is the names that should be there. Anyway I have always be fascinated with the stories my great grandma told about them.

[@zanewoodward8994]

my grandmother always use to say we were related to jesse james ,

[@EricFJames]

+Zane Woodward If you have your family's genealogy, you can submit it for review and comments. Genealogies that include documentation that can be verified qualify for inclusion in the official "Surnames" genealogy database of the Jesse James family that appears on the family's official website and blog Stray Leaves and Leaves of Gas. Just email us using the Contact links on the website or blog.

[@hakanhakan8161]

how is eric james doing now as this was 10 years ago this video? anyone know

[@20alphabet]

A very belated congratulations! Just thought I'd drop a line or two to tell you my grandmother's father told of being rocked to sleep by Jesse and Frank James when they rode through. Also told of times they'd take fresh horses if needed, and finding cash in the cupboard with a Thank You note. One time they came just long enough to get fresh horses and left cash and a Thank You note in the feed bag.

[@garyjames3407]

Hi name’s Gary James. Always heard through the elders in the family that I was related somehow. They’re all pretty much gone now and I never heard the story.

[@EricFJames]

You'll find all the known and documented relatives of Frank & Jesse James on our family website Stray Leaves. Look for the link SURNAME SEARCH in the menu bar. You can email us directly from the website with any questions or comments.

[@miltonroberts7948]

I read that a certain John Adams in early New England had descendants that included the president John Adams,his son John Quincy Adams, Dolly Madison, Millard Fillmore, Calvin Coolidge and Jesse James,

[@miltonroberts7948]

Additional info. I am descended from the Woodson family.My 5th great grandmother was Elizabeth Woodson, wife of Dr. Samuel Ridgway . Her ancestors were noted for a family where the father was killed by Indians within sight of the family home. The mother hid one son in a large storage basket and the other in a potato storage "hole". She killed one Indian trying to come down the chimney and a neighbor who was visiting killed the others who were approaching.So I am doubly related, collateraly. The father was also a doctor.I also know what it is to have a "black sheep" ancestor. Joshua Hill went from a prosperous land owner in Delaware to being exiled because he was a loyalist in the Revolution.Liv ed in New York City, then to Nova Scotia where he died. Only his eldest son joined him. The others were Revolutionists.

[@voxofaor]

Could you tell me a couple of Jesse or Frank & Jesse biography books that the James family put their seal of approval on. And is there any documentary films of Jesse or Frank & Jesse James.that's got enough facts worth watching?

[@EricFJames]

No documentaries to recommend. The best hist is Frank and Jesse James, The Story Behind the Legend by Ted P. Yeatman.

[@voxofaor]

Thanks so much for taking the time respond to my questions! I will defiantly check that book out there are so many I didn't know where to begin!

[@larrymazzuca1313]

I like this guy . I think that In will look into his publications and learn more about the James history especially as it relates to Missouri .

[@EricFJames]

Thanks for the com[liment. You can start with our James family website, Stray Leaves. ericjames.org/wordpress/

[@---nw8qu]

Mr. James, I have a photo that my family claims is a photo of Frank James and two of the Younger brothers on horseback. My great grandfather is standing with them in the photo. My great grandfather lived near Buffalo Missouri. Is it possible to send you the photo by email?

[@EricFJames]

To submit images for comment to Stray Leaves, just email your images in jpg format to [e-mail]. Include all relevant history and provenance. After review, you can expect a reply.

[@maciolouis7551]

How do the Tubbs family tie in with the James sir?

[@EricFJames]

You'll find all the known and documented relatives of Frank & Jesse James on our family website Stray Leaves. Look for the link Genealogy in the Menu Bar, plus sub link Current Genealogy Database. Queries can be submitted through the Contact link.

[@ferdberffle]

As a member of the Clanton family, I can well understand living with the stigma.

[@davidmurphy5405]

Mary Moyer lived around the corner in st Joseph. She was a little kid at the funeral. She gave me some interesting info. At 104 she passed...she said things only a mason would know.. wow. Would really change history. Now I have an assassinated presidential candidate in my family. Uncle Russel was Finance Chair Senate 33 years. And i was raised by gramps and wife and daughter He is a 32° lawyer ...and his mom knew jesse james...He took note as she was the cutest girl in town . So who is gramps dad ? I dont know I wasnt there hmm? But some peculiar things happened. So he retired 46 years a rail lawyer. Grandma Longs birth name was never to be offered. As Huey was a demagogue and sssshhh ! I think Jesse faked his death folks. Gram said mr. Howard carried Bix or sumthin in the box at Jesse's funeral....I cant remember but it was an odd name and she knew everyone in the photos of 1870s St Joseph. Then I found vast fortunes available if I do certain things ... oh well I've been rich and poor. I like niether

[@josephbragg5020]

Who was Andrew Jackson James?

[@gma1046]

There are James relatives in Waverly, TN. Jesse's twin sons are buried there.

[@EricFJames]

This will bring you up to date. ericjames.org/wordpress/2015/10/30/the-exhumation-of-jesse-james-twin-children/

[@ashleydunken9185]

I'm related to Jessie games he is my great grandma great grandpa

[@voxofaor]

Oh wow, I guess that "The Last Days of Frank & Jesse James" is the only movie that I believe has ever touched on the drug addiction.

[@EricFJames]

The topic of Jesse's drug addiction has received little attention in books, too. The fact is, addiction is endemic to the James family, as my present and next book shows. JJ's addiction stemmed from the common application of laudanum, the equivalent of addiction to prescription drugs today. Not uncommon.

[@amylee4965]

Ya i heard that to after being shot the first time he ended up being a user/hooked on Opium

[@derekgreene2304]

How do we know if your a real relation if you keep it a secret, sound a bit of an actor to me, but then again who am I to call you out on it. There are groups out there that would still like to blacken his name??

[@EricFJames]

The genealogy of the Jesse James family has been published and was publicly available since 1950 with the publication of Background of a Bandit by James family relative Joan Beamis. Beginning 25 years ago, Stray Leaves, the official website of the Jesse James family (ericjames.org), began publishing for the public and for peer review an expanded genealogy database of the Jesse James family. The database documents roughly 275,000 individuals in three tiers of research that includes the Jesse James family, in-law families, kinship of in-law family, plus the expanded James family that also includes two lines of Choctaw & Chickasaw descendants of the James. Stray Leaves also maintains a larger database and related databases offline. Documented genealogy can be submitted to the family for review, comment, or possible inclusion. Corroborating researchers also can provide their own submissions, corrections, of criticisms. The genealogy database of the Jesse James family reveals a family renown for generations in the fields of education, religious ministry, politics and community development, the arts with authorship and writing. All of which in its individuality and mass makes the actions and intentions of those who would blacken the family or its name irrelevant.

[@derekgreene2304]

@@EricFJames I didn't know that ,thank you for the info. A lot of people say they are relatives. I personally think from watching Dan lowe he was a patriot, who knew what America was about to become, and they were trying to stop it.

[@michaelsmith957]

not too long ago I received the results of my autosomal DNA study from National Geographic. Jesse was listed in that study. Not only that but in my study by NG, it also listed a little of the Royalty that you've talked about in this presentation plus many others.

[@EricFJames]

Hi Michael, Following our family reunion in 2002, the family commissioned a Y-chromosome study of the various lines of the family who carried the James surname and were established by our genealogical study to be related. The DNA confirmed the findings of the genealogy study uniformly and flawlessly. We hope to release the results of the study in Volume III of our family's biographical history Jesse James Soul Liberty with additional findings since. Meanwhile, we continue the research and continue publishing our results on the James family's website Stray Leaves. Subscribe there if you'd like to receive updates.

[@michaelsmith957]

@@EricFJames Hi. I had to take a look at the NG report and found out it was the X mitochondrial that established my connection to Jesse although it is unclear as to what haplogroup this involves. Years earlier I had read on a blog that the Godfrey family of SC in the upstate had links with the James family but didn't put any weight on this until I received the DNA report from NG. Never the less, I would be interested in reading about it in stray leaves.

[@ashleydunken9185]

I live in Leander tx

[@williammclaughlin811]

I would love to be related to Jesse Jame's. He stayed ahead of the law. Although he died young he had a good life robbing banks and robbing trains and doing whatever he wanted. I keep Jesse's spirit alive. He was a real outlaw no going back with Jesse he took it to the end. SO SAD HE WAS SHOT BY YELLOW BELLY.

[@melindahopson1477]

My mom has family in Fredericktown mo and they said that we related to Jesse James, I dont know how true it is,that I am related to Jesse james are how, I'd need more proff for me to believe, I am related to Jesse James, my sister is a red head ,I have a daughter and granddaughter I know also of that side of grandma that was irish who had many husbands, I am on my 4 marriage so I would see if it's TRUE am I like her, so I am loving what you are doing. I would love to follow you on KZbin to learn more.

[@EricFJames]

Don't forget to subscribe to our website Stray Leaves. You also might want to look into our genealogy database.

[@legendary-heitz3937]

Wow interesting.but people have to remember Jesse may of been a cruel person in people's eyes but he also was a modern day Robin Hood.he did good deeds as well but I couldn't imagine living in that time period how difficult things were . and Robert Ford had no right to do what he did he's not god so he can't judge he was a huge fame seeker

[@amylee4965]

Ya seemed like all he cared about was the money and Jesse james 2 kids just in the kitchen when took place

[@ruthannlangley3258]

My husband is related to Jesse by marriage through mauldins and stubblfields

[@chrisedy9116]

Jesse robed My G Grandfathers train William Edy Iron MT Rail in MO Love the history

[@EricFJames]

Email the story to us with any pictures of him. Would love to have the story in our files. Thanks. [e-mail]

[@chrisedy9116]

I will work on that I do remember my Grandmother saying something about My G grandfather packing a gun He died on the railroad in 1906 Derailment But my Grandmother got mad anytime I asked about her line

[@chrisedy9116]

I do not see how to send pictures but in Ancestry Look for Edy family line

[@Metlc2024]

Also both my grandmother’s were kin to Jesse. Both names are on the family tree. Grt-gpa (maternal) William Fate James Gma Nancy Arbell James Paternal Great great gma Mary James -Mimms Great Gma Daisy Ethel Mimms Gma Mary Prudence Mimms

[@chachasage4563]

Just found out through dna test I’m related to Jesse James

[@EricFJames]

If you were told that by 23&Me, you have been misled. Your connection is to the Cole family, not the James. The results of the Jesse James family dna study in 2002-2003 have yet to be made public due to the confidentiality agreement among the test participants. What has been revealed is that all the James lines that were tested and that are identified in the James family's genealogy database found on our website Stray Leaves are proved by the dna results to be one and the same with 100% consistency.

[@jameshanna7397]

I wonder if Jesse was a twin. I heard twins run in the James family. What is it that we don't know.

[@EricFJames]

Jesse James was not a twin. However, he did have twin children who died in childbirth. He also had twin great-grandchildren. See our website, Stray Leaves. ericjames.org/wordpress/2015/10/30/the-exhumation-of-jesse-james-twin-children/

[@pheart2381]

I'm a descendant of the Lindsay clan so I may be a distant relation of the James family.

[@califawalden8296]

Im related to Frank. Lol

[@davidmurphy5405]

I did make q swing through st Joseph on my 1979 bicycle america tour..they were taking the bricks from the brickyard. I imagine the town smelled like a slaughterhouse first and foremost Well Edgar Levi Moyer was born there May 5 1898... and it's where he was born. 75 miles away at the state hospital my gal was doing her internship. We had just spent the season at ASU music and I was racing the snows in colorado so it was all quite a trip into Prescott halloween and home.

[@ruthannlangley3258]

He uses to walk down the streets of Ardmore ok

[@califawalden8296]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@kimberlyhausmann1301]

jesse was a worroir for god he faught for the true sabbath he caused havic on the freemasons! I am from Arminda James born in fort smith ark1854 records where lost in flood

[@aaronsemchyshen6290]

hahahaha!!!! you may be apparently related to jesse james, but I can tell you the my family blood line is the last of the McCoy's, but you don't see me breagging about it.