Category Archives: Announcements: births, deaths, marriages, etc

The discovery of historical artifacts always is thrilling. My exhumation of the twin children of Jesse James was clearly more poignant than the authentication we conducted of the Zee James Collection, the trunk packed after Jesse’s assassination that was sent to his mother’s family in Stamping Ground, Kentucky for safekeeping, but became a lost treasure itself as 130 years of… (more…)

Last week, I responded to a question put to historical archivists about Chicago’s Field Museum selling off its rare book collections. I responded, using the recent experience of the Jesse James family: Many think archives and institutions are forever. The fact is, they are subject to failure like anything else. This sad realization hit home in recent years for the… (more…)

In its book review of Jesse James Soul Liberty, appearing in the James-Younger Gang Journal, March, 2013, reviewer Nancy Samuelson offers considerable praise for the book. Below is her review in its entirety, or DOWNLOAD THE REVIEW. Book Review: Jesse James Soul Liberty Vol. 1: Behind the Family Wall of Stigma & Silence By Eric F. James (Cashel Cadence House… (more…)

How can you tell a blood relative of Jesse James? Just look at the ears. Every few weeks I receive photographic images that are claimed to be of Jesse James, or Frank James, or of the two together. More often, they are pictures of some claimed relative to the James. Most every image can be promptly dismissed. But sometimes, when… (more…)

If the overused and undervalued word “awesome” is applicable today, it is regarding the people of Boston. In their cradle of America’s democracy, we witnessed in them the self-reliance patriots dreamed of. Faced with terror and death, there were no calls to arm each and every person with guns. No citizens grabbed for the weapons of war. There were no… (more…)

Watching the uncle of the Boston Marathon bombers defend his family’s honor in the face of the heinous acts of two of his family’s own represents to me a 21st century recreation of what the Jesse James family was faced with 150 years ago. As my book Jesse James Soul Liberty depicts, such stigma can last ad infinitum beyond a… (more…)

It appears the cable channel formerly known as the History Channel is not about to give up manufacturing bogus Jesse James history. This week I was contacted by a production company seeking to associate Jesse James with the Knights of the Golden Circle. My response was, “Good luck in finding something that doesn’t exist.” I then directed the production company… (more…)

Yesterday the Neosho Daily News, south the Kansas City in Missouri, ran a blog on its web site asking, “Why the acclaim for Jesse James?” The blog had some nice things to say about the James family’s web site Stray Leaves. But I felt the blog missed the point in answering the question. So I posted a rather lengthy response,… (more…)

The book jacket for Jesse James Soul Liberty asks, “Think you know Jesse James? Wait until you meet his family.” Readers of this book easily can grasp why the Jesse James family is excited about Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit, who now is Pope Francis I.   Jesuits teach and practice a street-savvy concern for the disadvantaged and the poor. That not only… (more…)

  John J. “Jack” Koblas died on March 8, 2013 in Minneapolis at age 70. He was a native of Minnesota and spent most of his life in that state. He is survived by children Stacy, Stephanie, John and Sarah; six grandchildren; one great-grandchild and close friend, Janet Goodman. Jack suffered for some years from Parkinson’s Disease. His death followed… (more…)

I got a sneak preview of the book review for Jesse James Soul Liberty back on January 7, but had to wait patiently until it was published in the James Younger Gang Journal. Now that it’s been published in the Journal, as our James cousin Jacqueline Simmonds, who is also an author & publisher, would say…  SQUEEE! Jesse James Soul Liberty… (more…)

Two days ago on my blog at True West magazine, I wrote about the passing of my good friend Jack Koblas, who finally succumbed to his three year battle with Parkinsons. Jack did not go without a fight. Most people who know Jack’s books about Jesse James don’t know he was a prodigious author outside the Jess James genre. In… (more…)

MORE GOOD NEWS…Jesse James Soul Liberty has received its second book award nomination. Previously, the book was nominated for the Spur Award, given by the Western Writers of America. See the previous announcement. This nomination  is for the best non-fiction biography, given by the Wild West History Association. Television viewers are well acquainted with WWHA’s members. Many of them are… (more…)