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.
Q; That's very interesting, What did you discover?
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.
Copyright 2024 (c)
The opinions of in this article are not necessarily the opinions of the author, or The Central States Lawman and Outlaws Historic Assn.
Hi. I gave been told that my DNA also links me to Jesse (via Ancestry). Hard to find the direct links back though.
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