[newsbox] The Reasonable Man Rule[/newsbox]
In the rule of law, evidence must support the actions of “l’homme moyen senuel”, a reasonable person. However, in the case of Jesse James we must hold a higher standard because extraordinary claims require overwhelming proof. That proof comes in many forms throughout the dozens of dossiers in the RJ Pastore Collection.
In matters of Jesse James, there were perhaps 20 outlaws who borrowed Jesse’s persona to commit their crimes. Each of those James gangs had 3 to 5 members at a minimum. Jesse’s career spanned 17 years and hosted more than 80 members in his gang alone. And all of the members and their deeds were attributed to the legend of a single James Gang.
The evidence surrounding the murder of Jesse James have been suspect since day one. Conclusive evidence of a ruse comes in the form of the next compelling photograph. It features three different sets of brothers, all of them are first cousins and sharing the same sets of names. Some will say unlikely, improbable and unreasonable to consider.
Yet the fact remains, these men did exist, were all 1st cousins and shared the same names, Frank and Jesse James.
James Cousins
The photo is the double edge sword in that not only does it proves there were three sets of brothers James, but graphically proves the man on the left is the 1882 murder victim. That is what the middle Jesse, alias J. Frank Dalton claimed at age 100. Finally, the photo corroborates RJ Pastore’s investigation, proving that Jesse Woodson James faked his death and lived happily ever after until age 88.
Just as the photo shows there were 3 set of Jesse & Frank James, they ran three different James Gangs. All of their deeds collectively went to the credit of the legend of Frank & Jesse Woodson James and the Younger Brother.
Turn to the pages on Jesse Robert James and Jesse Mason James to view their dossiers.
Below are a selection of photos that are historically accepted as the James Gang. It becomes obvious that they were comprised of a variety of differing descriptions. Given the 3 sets of Jesse and Frank James above, we can begin to dissect the legend more clearly.
Jesse Mason James Gang
Turn to the pages on Jesse Robert James and Jesse Mason James to view their dossiers.