Daniel J. Duke - 9 July

For my late mother, mentor, and favorite author, Betty Dorsett Duke.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank God and my mother for all of their assistance. I would like to express my most profound gratitude to my literary agent, Fiona Spencer Thomas. I also thank my sister, Teresa Duke, my father, Joe Duke, and my brother, John Duke, for the help and tremendous support they have provided. Much appreciation and thanks to my friend author Phillipa (Faulks) Lee for her invaluable assistance. I would also like to express my profound gratitude to my editor, Kayla Toher, for the invaluable help and advice.

JESSE JAMES
AND THE
LOST TEMPLAR TREASURE

Daniel J. Duke has successfully cracked open part of the mystery surrounding Templar treasure from Jerusalem that had been moved to the Americas to help establish a free nation. Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure goes beyond just theorizing that treasure was moved to the Americas and in fact demonstrates the connections and methods utilized to hide certain treasures. There have always been those who have sought to shape history to ensure that freedoms and artifacts could be preserved in the Americas. Daniel J. Dukes book is on the cutting edge of revealing some of what has remained hidden. Anybody who is interested in the Templar legacy and their connection with the Americas will find true gems in this book!

TIMOTHY W. HOGAN, TEMPLAR GRAND MASTER, AUTHOR, AND LECTURER

Having inadvertently fallen down one of the many hidden wells of esoteric knowledge dotted across the North American landscape, author Daniel J. Dukethe great-great-grandson of the outlaw Jesse Jamesweaves a wonderful tale of Southern intrigue and mysterious treasure. His familial connection enables him to explore the ancient mysteries within the Tree of Life and Veil templates and their connections over time to the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, the Knights of the Golden Circle, Francis Bacon and the Rosicrucians, and Sovereign Grand Commander Albert Pike. Where he travels next on his personal journey of discovery will be the key.

WILLIAM F. MANN, AUTHOR OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR IN THE NEW WORLD, THE TEMPLAR MERIDIANS, AND TEMPLAR SANCTUARIES IN NORTH AMERICA

He, that concealed things will find, must look before him, and behind.

GEORGE WITHER, A COLLECTION OF EMBLEMS ANCIENT AND MODERN

Everyone is free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound. It is only required of him that he shall weigh what is taught, and give it a fair hearing and unprejudiced judgement.

ALBERT PIKE, MORALS AND DOGMA OF THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY

INTRODUCTION

THE HUNT FOR TRUTH AND TREASURE

Y ou, dear reader, are invited to come along with me on one of the greatest treasure hunts in American history, if not the world. Treasures that took centuries to amass and at least that long to hide. Treasures made up not just of gold, silver, and gems but also of knowledge. When we are done, you may decide these treasures are best left where they are for now, and you can walk away with a wealth of knowledge and the satisfaction that you know who was involved, what they hid, and why something like this had to remain hidden for so long.

The entire journey leading me to this point has been an exciting one, and I believe this is an appropriate place to give you a little background into how I stumbled onto this story. In 1995, I was in Houston, Texas, just out of college and working for an engineering company. My mother, Betty Dorsett Duke, called me at the office and told me she had some news. As she told me, my memory of all the stories I had heard growing up came to mind. I could tell Mom was excited, and when she finished telling her news, I was excited too.

Jesse James was our ancestor. The outlaw Jesse James. Mom, my sister, Teresa, and I thought the world would be excited as well, not because Jesse was our ancestor, but because he did not die as history had stated. Americas Robin Hood faked his death in 1882 and lived the remainder of his long life in Blevins, Texas, under the alias of James Lafayette Courtney. Mom contacted the James Farm and Museum in Kearney, Missouri, and much to our surprise, they were not happy at all; in fact, they were quite rude about our discovery, and that experience would be the first of many rude encounters.

Wemy mother, sister, and Icontinued the research. Instead of relying just on our word and on family stories, my mother took our family photos to the experts. By experts, I dont mean someone who paints for a hobby or has read a few books about photo identification. Mom went to the forensics lab of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the forensic photographic expert for the Austin Police Department, and a company called Visionics (world leaders in facial recognition technology, later purchased by Identix). All three verified that our family photographs and tintypes of my great-great-grandfather, who lived under the alias of James Lafayette Courtney, matched the image of the famous (or infamous) outlaw Jesse James. Not only did the photos of our ancestor match the historically accepted photos of Jesse James, but photos of his mother matched Jesses mother, down to the very dress she wore. Other family photos matched those of Jesses family as well.

Combing through my great-great-grandfathers diary revealed even more about him. Not only did he list known James Gang members, but he even signed the entries by his name, Jesse James. Census records, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other official documents, combined with newspaper articles and history books, just added to our findings.

The James Farm and Museum and some of those connected to it claimed they had DNA proving that Jesse died as history stated. My mother disproved that claim as well. She shot their story down, and did it in as polite and professional a manner as a person could, proving that the 1995 exhumation of the alleged grave of Jesse James, upon which they placed so much confidence, was a farce. Stephen Caruso, the deputy counselor for Clay County, Missouri, at the time of the 1995 exhumation and DNA testing of the reported grave of Jesse James, told the Kearney Courier the whole thing was phony. They [the James Farm and Museum] tried to do DNA testing on remains that werent Jesse James, Caruso said. He claimed that someone lost Jesses hair that was to be tested, but then it suddenly turned up. He also claimed that someone submitted their own hair in place of the lost hair. He told me and my mother, in his office, who that someone was and exactly how and why it was done.

Shortly after Mom had proven the DNA findings to be false, the rude behavior turned into harassment and even death threats, which were quickly taken care of, with many thanks to the FBI. My mother knew she was right, and she was not going to stop. She never did stop. She was honest, professional, and courteous and lived by an old Texas Ranger quote she loved: No man (or woman) in the wrong can stand up against a fellow (or lady) thats in the right and keeps on a-comin. Sadly, on August 29, 2015, our mother passed away. She never gave up and she always fought for the truth. She taught us to do the same. She had proven with photos and records that Jesse James did not die as history states, but rather faked his death in 1882 and lived the remainder of his life in Texas under the alias of James Lafayette Courtney. My sister, Teresa, and I are honored to follow in her footsteps, and we fully intend to follow through with what our mother started.