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| Outlaw James Gang |
| The Son of Frank James |
| Many mysteries surrounded the Legendary James Gang. As the historians continued to search for insite into the gang, the mysteries of Frank James, his silence, and the mysterious James Gang never happened, and only caused confusion. Possessing such enigmatic quailty, Frank James allowed very little insight to historians or writers, as a boy remain unknown to all. A son of the Legendary Frank James who at one time, had caught the eye of one individual working for the Kansas City Times. |
| The Son of Frank James |
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| Photograph Courtesy of the Jackson County Historical Society. Independence, Missouri. |
| John M. Leathers born along "Yellow Creek" Son of Frank James and Nancy Leathers. |
| Many reasons can be attributed to Frank James' silence. The most reasonable cause is credited toward his son John. Maddness and the circus type atmosphere displayed by many after the killing of Jesse James, was engulf by all, while insite into the James gang would remain with Frank James, Leader and Organizer of the gang. After the killing of his brother Jesse on April 3, 1882, another article appeared on the pages of the Kansas City Times. An article which gave "Evidence" of a teenage boy published on April 11, 1882 several days after Jesse James was killed. An article contributing to the fact, that he was living with his mother in western Kansas. That son would never be revealed unto citizens of Clay or Jackson counties in Missouri, nor would evidence be revealed by Frank about the boy, the gang, and others who were involved. |
| The Jesse James Farm and Museum has never promoted the photo of the teenage boy as being Jesse James.The photo of the teenage boy was donated to the Jackson county Historical Society, giving reference into the ledger only as a teenage "James" boy. The handwritten ledger, logging in the photograph, lists Robert possibly as the boy. The photo was logged into the ledger book as all others were above this Photograph when it was received. Horizontal lines on the outer edge of the ledger book were used as a stopping point, when logging in photo's with handwritten discriptions. Oddly, the name Jesse appears on the outer edges of the hortizontal lines of the ledger book, as all others were maintained within the "Perimeter" of the boundary lines while being logged in. The photo has little similarity to Jesse, as others may question resemblance to Robert. As John and Robert being half brothers, the resemblance was to John and his father Frank James. |
| Copyright, 2001, Leathers Collection, Frank James Collection, All Rights Reserved. |
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| Frank James; Leader & Organizer of the James-Younger Gang. |