FRANKLIN — The small photograph encased in a wooden box fits easily into the palm of a hand. Despite its diminutive size, however, it may be a large piece of history.

Growing up in Simpson County, Patrick Meguiar regularly heard the family stories about how they were related to the notorious outlaw Jesse James.

His grandfather also told him stories about James regularly visiting the family home in the Lake Spring community in Simpson County.

One day, Meguiar asked him, “Did (James) ever leave anything?”

It turned out he had, according to Meguiar’s grandfather — a small portrait of himself — which was at an aunt’s house.

“You better believe I made haste in going” to her house, Meguiar said.

The aunt kept the picture in a box with other family keepsakes.

Meguiar dug through the box and found the small wooden box that opened to reveal a photo of a young man. He said he remembered thinking the image did not seem to match pictures he had seen that were purported to be of James.

But, as he soon discovered, the reason was that there are countless purported James images floating around with many, if not most, not being of the famed outlaw.

But Meguiar is confident his picture is the real deal because of the family connection and a forensic analysis.

 

James in southcentral Kentucky

That Jesse James was in this area is unquestioned — after all his gang’s 1868 robbery of the Southern Bank of Kentucky in Russellville is still reenacted every year during the Logan County Tobacco Festival. While some speculate James was not at the actual robbery, and he later denied being responsible, the consensus is that James was there.

James also was known to have robbed a stagecoach near Mammoth Cave in 1880.

There is also a legend that James and his gang hid out in Lost River Cave in Bowling Green after the Russellville robbery. Another legend is that James hid out in a private Bowling Green residence at some point. While those claims are unverified, it is known that James and his brother (using assumed names) at one point lived just across the border in various locations in and around the Nashville area.

The location was a natural landing spot for the James boys; their father, Robert Salle James, was born in the Lickskillet community in Logan County. Wood Hite, a first cousin to Jesse James and later a member of his criminal gang, was also born in Logan County.

It was during the period that the James brothers were living in Tennessee that Jesse reportedly would visit his kin in Kentucky, including known relatives in Adairvillle and, according to Meguiar, the Martin home in the Lake Spring community.

The property had a special appeal to James, Meguiar said, because the Martins raised thoroughbreds.

Behind the old family home is a large field that once featured a horse race track, he said. Neighbors still often find horse shoes in the area.

Fast horses were of course a valuable commodity for someone who often had to outrun gun-packing posses.

“He wanted the fastest horses available,” Meguiar said.

Meguiar’s third great-grandfather, Robert Martin, was a first cousin of Jesse James’ grandfather. Robert Martin died in 1858. However his son Will Martin continued breeding and training thoroughbreds on the family property. Jesse James, according to family lore, gave the photo of himself to Will Martin’s wife, Sarah Mariah Martin Meguiar, in January of 1868.

Aside from family lore, there is verification of the claim of James’ presence in Simpson County from an 1897 (Nashville) Tennessean newspaper article.

The article recounts Frank and Jesse James’ time in Tennessee, and states “the story goes that the robbery of the Russellville, Ky. bank was effected while he had his racing headquarters at Franklin, Ky.”

Meguiar said a 1928 genealogy book known as the Douglas Register and a DNA test linking him to known James family members further proves the family link.

Analysis

Forensic artist and forensic facial imaging expert Michael Streed, based in California, analyzed the photo (technically an ambrotype) and compared it to two known images of a young James.

After comparing and measuring features, analyzing facial symmetry and doing an image overlay, Streed determined “that the person shown in (Meguiar’s) photo … is likely Jesse Woodson James, a.k.a. the outlaw Jesse James,” according a report shared by Meguiar.

In a follow up email with the Daily News, Streed clarified that “Whether it’s Jesse James or not, no one can say for certain. My examination of Meguiar’s photo found facial features that were similar to others known to be James. While my opinion was that Meguiar’s photo was ‘likely’ Jesse James, it fell short of highly likely the same person or strong support for it being the same person which is the highest rating that I provide.”

He added that “facial comparison and analysis are subjective. I routinely receive historical photos to examine and have read reports by other experts and most follow the same morphological analysis that I use, though we document the results differently. Other evidential factors also play into the process of determining authenticity.

“While I don’t believe it’s possible to say with 100% certainty that a person in a questioned photo is the same person as a collector believes, there are some that will render such an opinion. In the end, it’s up to the appraiser or auction house to be satisfied with and accept the examiner’s opinion.”

An ambrotype is a glass negative placed against a dark background, and were most common from the mid-1850s to mid-1860s. Meguiar’s ambrotype shows a teen or young man, which considering James was born in 1847, fits that timeline.

The male in the picture also has an undeniable likeness to James based on the known photographs — especially a well-known picture of a young James holding a pistol.

The value of an authenticated James photo is anyone’s guess. In 2011, a signed photo of James sold for $51,000. But in 2018, a purported new photo of James was valued by experts at up to $2 million — before further analysis determined the picture was not of James. In 2011, a photo of outlaw Billy the Kid sold for $2.3 million.

Muddling the question is the fact that there are many disputed James photos being circulated, Meguiar said.

As a result, “I know an actual true image is far rarer than most people think it would be,” he said.

Gary Chilcote is the director of the Pattee House Museum in Missouri, where the house where James was shot and killed 1883, is now located.

He said the museum sees people who claim to be related to James, or have a photo of him, “about every day. We haven’t had one (photo) that’s authentic.”

While the legend of Jesse James seems to be as vibrant as ever, there was a long time when “people who were genuinely related (to him) didn’t want to admit it,” he said.

Meguiar, who now lives in Portland, Tennessee, said the same was true of some of his family — including the aunt who had the photo previously.

But Meguiar, 67, said despite the link to a family history he freely admits, his goal now is to sell the photo.

“I’d like to retire,” he said.