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John Frank Dalton (March 8, 1848August 15, 1951)〔Dalton's birthdate has not been definitively established at this time. Some sources claim he was born on April 17, 1844 (either in or near Lexington, Kentucky - somewhere in Frankfort, Kentucky - or someplace in Scott County, Kentucky), while other sources claim he was born on March 8, 1848 at Goliad, Goliad County, Texas.〕〔Dalton contributed about 20 pages of material to ''The Crittenden Memoirs'' (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1936), a book compiled by Henry Huston Crittenden (1859-1943). The section of the book written by Dalton is titled "Outlawry - Frank Dalton's Pen Pictures" ( comprising pages 355-374 of the book). Dalton's material in ''The Crittenden Memoirs'' consists primarily of articles and letters he had written previously to 1936, most of which had already been published in various newspapers (notably in two Texas newspapers: ''The Gladewater Times'' and ''The Henderson Times'') prior to their publication in the book. Dalton himself states, at two different places in this material (on pages 363 and 372 of the book), that he was born on March 8, 1848.〕〔Dalton applied for a Confederate veteran pension from the state of Texas. His application was filed on March 19, 1947, and it was approved on August 19, 1947. There is contradictory information on his birth date in this pension file. One letter in the file states that according to a "notice" filed with his pension application, Dalton was born in April 1844, while other paperwork in the file states Dalton was born on March 8, 1848.〕 was a man who, in the last few years (1948-1951) of his long life, publicly claimed to be the famous outlaw Jesse James.〔Jesse Woodson James (Sept. 5, 1847 - April 3, 1882)〕 Contrary to his claim, most historians believe that Dalton was merely a Jesse James impostor, and that the real Jesse James was killed by Robert "Bob" Ford〔Robert Newton "Bob" Ford (Jan. 31, 1862 - June 8, 1892)〕 on April 3, 1882, in Jesse's home at 1318 Lafayette Street in St. Joseph, Missouri. Dalton was allegedly 100 years old at the time of his first public appearance as Jesse James - at Lawton, Oklahoma in April–May, 1948. Like the real Jesse James, Dalton apparently had been a pro-Confederate guerrilla in Missouri during the Civil War. However, Dalton's account of himself as Jesse James did not hold up under questioning from Jesse James' surviving relatives.〔Walker, Dale L. ''Legends and Lies: Great Mysteries of the American West''. New York, NY: Forge Books, 1997. pp. 87-110. ISBN 0-312-86848-0.〕 Nevertheless, several people of note, such as journalist/novelist Robert Ruark,〔Robert Chester Ruark, Jr. (Dec. 29, 1915 - July 1, 1965) - In 1949 Dalton was living in a cabin on the grounds of Meramec Caverns (near Stanton, Missouri), courtesy of Lester B. Dill, who owned the caverns. Ruark interviewed Dalton there, and on the basis of what he learned during the interview, Ruark wrote 3 articles about Dalton, which were published in various newspapers across the United States (published in early July 1949). It appears that each newspaper in which they were published gave the articles a different title, but the actual content of the articles was kept the same nationwide. Some of the titles of these articles are as follows: "Evidence Supports Story That Jesse James is Alive" (''Herald-Journal'' of Spartanburg, South Carolina, July 6, 1949, p. 3), "Is Jesse James Still Alive?" (''The Evening Independent'' of St. Petersburg, Florida, July 7, 1949, p. 14), "He's Bandit - Case Airtight" (''Salt Lake Tribune'' of Salt Lake City, Utah, July 7, 1949, p. 12), and "Uncle Jesse Looks and Acts Like Real James" (''The Evening Independent'' of St. Petersburg, Florida, July 9, 1949, p. 10).〕 were convinced that J. Frank Dalton actually was the famous outlaw Jesse Woodson James. To many people's surprise, Dalton did appear to have many of the unique body marks/body features which the real Jesse James was rumored to have. These body features included: seven bullet wounds, a rope burn around his neck, a collapsed lung, a damaged fingertip, and severely burned feet. On September 5, 1949, Rudi Turilli〔Rudolph Oswald "Rudy" Turilli (March 17, 1919 - July 19, 1972)〕 and Lester B. Dill〔Lester Benton Dill (Nov. 28, 1898 - Aug. 13, 1980)〕 (the general manager and owner, respectively, of Meramec Caverns, near Stanton, Missouri) hosted a reunion at Meramec Caverns for Dalton and his last-remaining old-time friends, in celebration of Dalton's/Jesse James' supposed 102nd birthday.〔Rudy Turilli - ''I Knew Jesse James'' (Stanton, MO: Rudy Turilli, 1966), pp. 11-69.〕 J. Frank Dalton died on August 15, 1951, in Granbury, Texas, and his death certificate was recorded with the name of the man he claimed to be.〔Texas Death Index, Name: Jesse () Woodson () James (), Date: Aug. 15, 1951, County: Hood, Cert. No.: 42235.〕 His gravestone in Granbury Cemetery also has that claimed identity recorded on it. ==Possibility of the name "J. Frank Dalton" being an alias== Considerable evidence exists that the name "J. Frank Dalton" (in full: John Frank Dalton) was itself just an alias that this man used.〔''Jesse James Was One of His Names - The Greatest Cover Up in History by the Famous Outlaw Who Lived 73 Incredible Lives'' (Arcadia, CA: Santa Anita Press, 1975) - by Del Schrader (1917-1982) and Jesse James III (Orvus Lee Howk) (1905-1984)〕 While a resident of the Roper Hotel in Marble Falls, Texas, in the 1940s, J. Frank Dalton claimed to be the presumed dead Frank Dalton, a U.S. Marshall for the Oklahoma Territory under Judge Isaac Charles Parker. The original Frank Dalton was the older brother to the infamous Dalton Gang members and a touring member of Wild Bill Hickok’s Wild West show. The real Frank Dalton was believed to have died Nov. 27, 1887 while in the line of duty.〔“Who was that tall, bearded stranger?” - McNabb, Betty. The Highlander, November 30, 1978.〕 The strong coincidence of the name "Frank Dalton" and Jesse James' relationship to that man is at a minimum quite noteworthy since "Frank Dalton" is not a common name. The original Frank Dalton was a nephew of the Youngers from Jesse's James-Younger Gang, and he was an older brother to the four Dalton brothers of the infamous Dalton Gang and an older brother to William M. Dalton ("Bill"), co-leader of the Wild Bunch Gang. It is also notable that Frank Dalton's brother Bob boasted that he would "beat anything Jesse James ever did—rob two banks at once, in broad daylight", during which attempt two Dalton boys (including Bob) were killed in October 5 1892. Such associations would have brought J. Frank Dalton attention, notoriety and association with the historical figure of Jesse James that he was presumably trying to otherwise avoid. Presuming that J. Frank Dalton was Jesse James then stealing the identity of someone that might bring him unwanted attention seems foolhardy, but could have had to do with wanting to be the good guy, as Jesse James reportedly intended to change his ways while planning one last robbery around the time of his murder. It seems the Dalton boys held Jesse James in honor (as among thieves), so this theory suggests that upon being flattered by such respect Jesse assumed the identity of the most honorable and reputable of the Dalton boys, Frank Dalton. It would have been an aspiration he kept mostly to himself for 50 years since that's how long it took until J. Frank Dalton claimed to be the original Frank Dalton from whom he assumed the name. If neither J. Frank Dalton nor Jesse James is the true identity of this man then his real name and family background are still mysteries which no one, to date, has been able to discover or document. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「J. 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