BOOK REVIEW: Duke, Daniel J., Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure: Secret Diaries, Coded Maps, and the Knights of the Golden Circle (Rochester, VT, Destiny Books, 2019) 148 pp, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, softcover, $16.99.
Daniel J. Duke, is the son of Betty Dorsett Duke. Those who follow Jesse James’ literature will likely remember that Betty wrote three books. She claimed Jesse James was not killed by Bob Ford and that her grandfather James L. Courtney was actually Jesse James. This book continues along that same line and repeats the claims that James L. Courtney was really Jesse James.
The title of the book, however, is very misleading
The title of the book, however, is very misleading. There is little in this book about the real Jesse James and very little about James L. Courtney. There is also little discussion of the Knights of the Golden Circle. The book is a complete leap into the world of esoteric legends and myths concerning the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Masons, and other such groups.
The book is a complete leap into the world of esoteric legends and myths
The author tosses out the names of many famous people and expects us to believe that such historical figures as Francis Bacon, Sir Christopher Wren, John Dee, and a host of others somehow obtained information about the vast wealth of the Knights Templar and passed this knowledge down to people who survive today. The author’s great-grandfather, James L. Courtney, was one of the chosen few who obtained the knowledge of some of this immense treasurer buried in various locations in the United States.
The book is replete with lots of diagrams, overlays, secret symbols, etc. etc. etc. Various works of art are also presented and these too contain secret symbols relating to vast hordes of treasure.
The Knights Templar came into being during the crusades. They developed an extensive banking system and acquired sizeable amounts of assets. In the early 1300s the King of France, who owed vast amounts of money to the Templars, decided to destroy the order. According to the author, the Templars were able to assemble a fleet of ships and take their treasures to the new world. The plan was to build a new and more perfect society at some future date.
claims that vast amounts of treasure are to be found in Victorio Peak (now within the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico) and a secret vault under Burton Chapel on the campus of William and Mary College in Virginia
Mr. Duke claims that vast amounts of treasure are to be found in Victorio Peak (now within the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico) and a secret vault under Burton Chapel on the campus of William and Mary College in Virginia, There are also various other sites around the United States that contain an untold amount of Templar treasure. The author presents overlays, secret numbers, etc. etc. to make his case.
take a pass on this one.
In summary, if you like fantastic tales of buried treasure, you might enjoy this book. If you are looking for information about Jesse James take a pass on this one.
RELATED: Murder & Betty Dorsett Duke
Betty demands blood from a great-grandson of Jesse James
Betty’s true biological family refutes her claims
Betty claims Eric F. James & others are out to kill her
Stalkers of Famous & Infamous Families (posted July 28, 2010)
Old Jesse James Con Artists Never Die. They Just Propagate the Next Generation
WHY STRAY LEAVES NEVER WILL RUN OUT OF STORIES...The ancestry of many people in SL's genealogy database can be traced back to 99 generations. Some, even more. Imagine the bounty of stories yet to be discovered, yet to be told.
Color restoration to images originally created in black and white is a current fashion in genealogy circles. Oddly, the current rage is not producing the brouhaha that arose decades ago when Ted Turner purchased MGM Studios and began a program of colorizing old black and white movies. The most outrage surfaced when Turner colorized the film Gone with the Wind. Historians argued that colorization was a violation of artistic intent.
Today, artistic intent is not a consideration when it comes to old family photos, although the argument certainly would apply to such art images as those made by famed Yosemite photographer Ansel Adams. If anything, colorization appears to increase the authenticity of a family photo, as shown in the image below of the family of Nicholas Knaff & Theresa Tholl, taken as their son Aloysius departs for World War I. The richness of post-Edwardian color produces a vivacity in the image that was not evident or even present in the original and same black and white image.
For the James descendants of Anna Emalen Knaff, standing at the right end of the second row, the dimension of color restores the warmth she was known to possess and project.
J. Mark Beamis makes his 14th triple platelets donation of 2020. Mark is a great-grandson of Drury Woodson James & son of Joan Malley Beamis, author of Background of a Bandit.
Platelets are cells that help blood clot and support the immune system. During a platelet donation, you give up to six times the amount of platelets contained in a whole blood donation, and your fluids, plasma, and red cells are returned to your body. Not only do platelet donors provide more of the life-saving platelets patients need, they also help limit how many donors a patient is exposed to.
Donated platelets have a shelf-life of 5 days. Platelet donors are constantly needed, especially on weekends and during holidays, to keep the supply stable.
Blood types most needed: A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-
The old distillery of Taylor William "T.W." Samuels in Kentucky is about to undergo some historic preservation. T.W. Samuels is the brother of Dr. Reuben Samuels, a step-father of Frank & Jesse James. This distillery is different than the other Samuels distillery known today as Maker's Mark.
spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2020/08/08/old-sam-distillery?cid=id-app15_m-share_s-web_cmp...
T.W. Distillery in Nelson County is now Old Samuels Distillery
spectrumnews1.com
Distillery to offer tourism, restaurant & lodging experience