Central States Lawman and Outlaws Historic Assoc.
*Note this photo is confirmed and appears in James Donavan's book "A Terrible Glory
Charles Reynolds was named the "Lucky Man" by the Arikara's because of his extraordinary hunting ability. He may have been the best hunter on the northern plains.
"Lonesome" Charles Alexander Reynolds. After the Civil War he was engaged in a trading expedition in New Mexico. He became a buffalo hunter on the Republican River for a few years. In 1872, he was a member of the Yellowstone Expedition and the 1874 Black Hills Expedition. In 1875 he was back in the Yellowstone survey expedition. He rode through 150 miles through Indian country to tell Custer of the gold that laid in the Black Hills. He became a civil guide for the 7th Cavalry Quartermaster in 1876. He was with Lieut. Charles Varnum on the trip to Crow's Nest and was killed the afternoon of June 25, 1876. Reynolds had a premonition of his own death before the battle at the Little Bighorn, before the 7th deployed, Charley was giving away his personal belongings, and though he never touched alcohol, he had asked for a drink of whiskey before the engagement, and he was apparently ill and stated that he was depressed and feeling low. He was also suffering from an infection in his left hand, and despite being urged to stay behind, he deployed with the column anyway. He is listed as being one of General Custer's scouts at the Little Big Horn fight. The above photo is a published photograph.
Ref; Cantey collections, and A Terrible Glory by James Donavan 2008
The classic fixed blade knife was necessity on the American frontier. Every survival function on the great plains, in the forests, in the desert and on the mountain tops, made the fix blade knife a must have tool of every pioneer and hunting pioneer of the great American West. The two most famous weapons of the frontier were the 1873 Winchester rifle and the famous knife carried by the Alamo Defender and Frontiersman, Jim Bowie, his weapon of choice was called the Bowie Knife. It was the fix blade knife that gave Americans the real edge on the American frontier. Videographer Tom Hall, breaks down some of the fixed blade knives in his collection for our readers.
The Bowie Knife, was a fixed blade knife of great strength and size, that epitomized the style of edged combat weapons of the day. It was surely the grandfather of the famous Marine Kabar fighting knife.
Chief Black Hawk was a brave and famous Warrior of the war of 1812, and of the war named after him, "The Black Hawk War of 1832" The warrior Chief became famous after he rebelled against the American government because of the signing of the treaty of 1804, in which the Sac and Fox nations capitulated millions of acres of land to the government for two thousand dollars in cash and other gifts and annuities. Black Hawk eventually surrendered to the government. What followed was a situation that involved great pomp and circumstance, as Black Hawk was arrested and taken to Fort Monroe in Washington DC to be incarcerated. The government then treated Black Hawk as an example and he was taken on a grand tour in the east, and given time with President Andrew Jackson.
As Black Hawk began to fade from the public consciousness, he settled into his personal decline. He was forced to live on Keokuk's village on the last big bend of the Iowa River. Famed artist George Catlin described Black Hawk, as a "poor dethroned monarch", who had become an object of pity. In 1837 he moved his lodge down to the Des Moines River, in Davis county, near Fort Madison. The old warrior had become a whiskey drinker. This is very ironic, because he had accused Isaiah' Stillmans men of whiskey intoxication during the battle at Old Mans creek. He also dressed in military uniform given to him by President Jackson. The in 1838, after traveling to Rock Island to collect a government annuity, he dies in a lodge near Iowaville Iowa after a brief Illness. He was seventy two years old. He was buried in the sitting position, clad in military uniform with a cane and two swords. Less than a year later, Black Hawks widow went to the grave and found that someone had dug up Black Hawks body and taken the head. A few months later the remainder was also stolen. It was later found out that a Doctor by the name of Dr. Turner had Black Hawks bones cleaned, wired together and hung in his office. Upon hearing about this, the Governor of the Iowa territory, Robert Lucas, had Black Hawks bones seized and sent to his officer in Burlington Iowa, where the bones were eventually put on display in the Burlington Geographical and Historical Society. The bones remained there until 1855, when the were lost forever in a devastating fire.
Reference- Red Flag of Defiance, by Gene Stevens, Black Hawk The Battle for The Heart of America, by Kerry A. Trask
The following photos courtesy of Jeremy Thomason
Photos courtesy of Jeremy Thomason
The following is an interview with historian and collector Patrick Meguiar. Mr. Meguiar is not only a historian and genealogist, he is also an avid collector of fine antiques. Patrick is a relative of the famed outlaw Jesse James , and has researched and uncovered much about his lineage and connection to Jesse Woodson James. During his journey, he discovered that his family not only had a genealogical connection to the James family, but that another relative had a photo of a young Jesse James in their possession which was handed down to him. The following is an account of his research, due diligence and investigation into the photo.
Interview
Q; Hi Patrick, can you tell me about yourself, your background, he things you collect and how we met etc.?
A; My name is Patrick Taylor Meguiar and I was born in Franklin, Kentucky, however I grew up in Portland, Tennessee. My family lived on the family farm called Fountain Head Farms that was started by my great-grandfather, Fount Edwin Hobdy, M.D. in the mid 1920's. I farmed with my father, Tom Meguiar until he passed away in 2011. I started dealing in rare antiques when I was nine years old and have continued that hobby to the present. I also work for Macy's in their ICQA department in Portland, Tennessee. I graduated magna cum laude from Tennessee Technological University with a B.S. in History in 1979. I have always loved to research history. I consider myself to be a good researcher.
A; From the time when I was a young boy, my grandfather shared stories with me about being related to Jesse Woodson James and how he was around my ancestors with his race horse business. And Yes, we met through your comments about Emory Canty. Timothy Gordon suggested that I talk to Mr. Canty which I have been unsuccessful in doing and I understand his health prevents that as well. My grandfather told me in great detail that Jesse James wore a carvat and blinked his very light blue eyes often. My grandfather shared with me that Jesse James deceived people by using pictures of other men to conceal his identity just as he used alias names to do the same. He told me that most pictures claimed to be Jesse James were not him and that I would come to that knowledge by just looking closely at all images believed to be Jesse James. I asked my grandfather if Jesse James left anything when he was with his grandparents and he told me his father had shown him the ambrotype that Jesse James had given to his grandmother in 1868. I asked him immediately where that picture was. He told me that his sister, Pattie likely had it. I went to see my great aunt, Pattie and asked to see the ambrotype Jesse James left with her grandmother.
A; She took me to the room where she kept his picture and told me what box it was stored in and I looked at the ambrotype for the first time that day. She told me to take the ambrotype home with me and she firmly said she never wanted to see the ambrotype again. That was in 1977 when she gave me the ambrotype of Jesse James and I have had it since that time. I took what my grandfather said and compared it with his partisan ranger photograph and his 1882 post mortem and saw strong similarities with both.
Q; So you told me about the photo being discovered, and your research, Can you tell what occurred in the investigation?
A; I contacted Mickey Miller who I know very well, because his ex wife was my 2nd cousin. Mickey was at that time a Commander with the Metro Nashville Police Department and explained the ambrotype to him and he said he knew an officer who was FBI trained in forensic facial analysis to identify a person through comparisons. I asked him to share the images of the ambrotype with his partisan ranger picture with the FBI trained forensic facial expert. They matched with greater than 90% positive likeness. They are the same person as related to me by Commander Mickey Miller. Mickey is now retired and his last position was Chief of the Hendersonville, Tennessee Police Department.
Q; I understand, accept and respect the weight of forensic evidence, I am, after all a retired police officer and private investigator. But there others who will not accept the veracity of police investigative science, but demand provenance, even though "provenance has not been clearly defined by certain gatekeepers. What other evidence can you present?
A; Well... I also knew I needed a direct link to Jesse James, because family folklore is not always factual. We knew my 3rd great-grandfather, Robert Martin had a horse race course where he trained his horses and it was discovered that the Tennessean reported on April 18, 1897 that Jesse James had his horse racing headquarters in Franklin, Kentucky which established that Jesse James was well connected with my ancestors.
Q: Did you have your DNA profile completed?
A: Yes, I had my DNA tested through Ancestry and it matched that my direct ancestor Sarah Hines Martin was the sister of Mary Hines James from the DNA of their direct descendants.
Q; During our discussions, we both have talked about various people, or "gatekeepers", who seem to be attempting to block new information or newly discovered photos. You, I, and several other collectors and researchers have run into this online, which is where they seem to mainly hold control, by way of bulling and intimidation. You mentioned one gentleman by the name of Eric James. I never met him, or ran into him online, can you tell me more about what your experiences have been?
A; It's a very interesting fact that in spite of all this evidence, Eric James ran an all out attack against me including claiming that I was not related to the James family. He fabricated a fake expert to falsely claim my ambrotype was not Jesse James. He said the Douglas Register didn't have the marriage of William James to Mary Hines and the marriage of John Martin to Sarah Hines which was a lie. Eric James even encouraged me to sell the ambrotype of Jesse James and then he began his attacks when I attempted to sell the ambrotype of Jesse James.
Q; So you want to sell the James photo?
Yes, I have been single most all of my life and I have no heirs to pass it down too. I contacted Heritage Auctions after I had tried to sell it for their input and they said "it was Jesse James" but would not have interest in offering it due to the headwind that would ensue. Even without their mentioning why it was that way, clearly that gate keepers were busy at trying to suppress my ambrotype of Jesse James from ever being marketed or accepted as being Jesse Woodson James!
- Central States Lawman and Outlaw Historic Assn.
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The opinions of in this article are not necessarily the opinions of the author, or The Central States Lawman and Outlaws Historic Assn.
