Im jamie colby, just northeast of bellingham, washington, near the canadian border. Beautiful isnt it . The woman im about to meet is the heir of a controversial relic that, according to family lore, connects her and her ancestors to jesse james and his notorious gang from the 1860s and 70s. My name is sandy mills, and i inherited a very old picture from my grandmother, isabelle. She said it was the infamous outlaw, jesse james. I believed it, but it didnt seem like anybody else really did. Sandy. Hi. Im jamie. So nice to meet you, and i cant wait to hear your story. Sandy explains that her roots go back to missouri, where her grandmother, isabelle, shared with her the family legend that their forebears occasionally aided jesse james. The outlaw jesse james. Yes, maam. She would tell me the stories as i was growing up, how they would give them horses and food and shelter, just protect them. To prove it, grandma isabelle shows sandy this picture, known as a tintype. Its an early form of photography, using a chemical emulsion to transfer a direct positive image to a small metal plate. So each tin is unique, a camera original. When do you first learn about it . I was about 5 years old, and she would take out the tin and she would show it to me. Whos in the picture exactly . Its jesse james and bob ford. He was the one that took his life. It seems very unusual for the two of them to be in a picture together. It is, and its the only one. So, my family had it. Is sandys strange inheritance the real thing . If so, this image might be worth a bundle. One of the most valuable photos ever is this tintype of western outlaw billy the kid. It sells for 2. 3 million, to billionaire bill koch in 2011. Jesse james is no less a legend. Like our heir, sandy, he hails from rural western missouri. Jesse james was born in september 1847. Missouri historian christopher gordon. His father was a baptist preacher, a hemp farmer, and he was a slaveholder. Jesse and his older brother, frank, grow up as tensions are escalating across the u. S. Over slavery. With neighboring kansas, a territory deciding whether to be free or slave, exploding in violence. The rhetoric is heating up how lawabiding missourians should be able to maintain the lifestyle that they want to lead. When civil war breaks out in 1861, missouri remains in the union but is bitterly divided. Frank james joins a band of confederate guerilla fighters. At 14, jesse is too young to join, but hes spoiling for a fight. Did the family pick sides in the war . Oh, absolutely. Freda cruse hardison is an author, whose latest book uses Genealogical Research to track thousands of local stories, going back to frank and jesse james. They were never anything but southerners. Legend has it that, when jesses 16 years old, the james farm is attacked by union soldiers, looking for his rebel brother, frank. From that point on, jesse james seems bent on revenge. He takes up with these guerrilla fighters and basically terrorized the western part of the state. When the south surrenders in 1865 and slavery is outlawed, the james boys return home. Their farm had been decimated. They couldnt get a job. Seething with resentment, the brothers figure they can still attack the yankees by stealing from them. James and his gang of exconfederates plot a Bold Bank Robbery in broad daylight, the first of its kind on american soil. On february 13, 1866, they enter clay county savings. Everyone on the ground now get down they seize 60,000 bucks. That would be 800 grand today. As theyre fleeing, one of the gang guns down a witness in cold blood. There are more bank and train robberies, just as violent. Today, wed call him a terrorist. Thats a northern term. They killed a lot of people. Today, he would have been a good soldier, if he was on the right side, a terrorist if he wasnt. So we should feel sorry for him . No. He was good at what he did. It was still a way of life for them, a holdover from the civil war. Journalists romanticize the outlaws, who move from one hideout to another, with help from the locals. It was at the home of southerners they stayed, and they would leave money for dinner or horses or whatever. Hundreds of people had little tidbit stories. Sympathetic southerners, like sandy mills family. He cared about people. He helped out families as much as possible. It was just different back then. It wasnt the type of robin hood, i give away the money. I rob from the rich and give to the poor. But i rob from the union and i sustain the southerner. That was kind of a thin veneer over his real intention. Jesse james enjoyed the thrill of being a bandit. A bandit whose gang is responsible for more than 20 bank and train robberies and the murders of at least 17 people who stand in their way. Missouri became known as the outlaw state. It was really a publicrelations disaster. By 1881, the governor of missouri has seen enough. He approaches the heads of the railroad. They come together and offer up a reward. Its 10,000. By now, 34yearold jesse james is getting a little old for a life of crime. He takes on a false identity and moves his family to st. Joseph, missouri, to start a new life. Many of his friends were dead. But jesse wants another heist before he retires. He just needs a few new renegades. Enter 22yearold bob ford, whos thrilled to join forces with a legendary outlaw. But the newly formed kinship is about to turn sour. If bob ford couldnt be jesse james, the nextbest thing would be to kill him. Which could make this tiny tintype a valuable artifact of one of the most notorious murders in history. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. The answer after the break. Introducing stocks by the slice from fidelity. Now you can trade stocks and etfs for any amount you choose instead of buying by the share. All with no commissions. Stocks by the slice from fidelity. Get your slice today. Stocks by the slice from fidelity. I am totally blind. And non24 can make me show up too early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442342424. So, which legendary gunslinger later worked in hollywood . Its wyatt earp. He became a Technical Advisor on silent cowboy films and befriended a young john wayne. As sandy mills grows up, her grandmother, isabelle, promises that, when she dies, shell leave sandy her tintype photo. Grandma tells her its a oneofkind image of legendary outlaw jesse james and his killer, bob ford, whom she calls the coward. The picture, she adds, is hugely valuable. She wanted me to have a good life, so she said, this is jesse james and the coward, and this is now yours. Go do something with it. So, when isabelle passes away in 2006, at age 85, the tintype becomes sandys strange inheritance. But while there are tales of the family harboring the james gang, no one knows why they came to possess the picture, only that it dates back to sandys greatgreatgreatgrandmother, pauline roundtree. Its just passed on through all the ladies, and then my grandma gave it to me. Sandys now a single mom, living in washington state, with a young son to raise. I wanted to sell it because i could make a nice start for me and my son, you know, have a home and everything. So it could be a lifechanger. Is that what youre thinking . Yeah. And heres why on april 3, 1882, jesse james is unaware that his new recruit, bob ford, has turned him in, hoping to collect a hefty 10,000 reward. Hes with the ford brothers here, at his home in st. Joseph, missouri, planning another bank robbery. This is the actual room. Right here . Right here. Jesse had noticed that the crossstitch was crooked. God bless our home. So he stood on the chair, and that was when bob ford took the opportunity to shoot him in the back of the head. You see this spot over here . Imagine jesse falling backwards out of the chair, onto the floor. I can see theres an indentation. It was originally a bloody spot on the floor, and souvenir hunters picked the bloody splinters away, to leave an indentation in the floor. Unbelievable. Hundreds of people scurry to the house to see the body. They took his chairs. They took clapboards off the side of the house. Once they knew it was jesse james, they were immediately ripping apart the house. Bob ford, who hoped to gain fame and a 10,000 fortune, receives a fraction of the bounty, then flees missouri in fear for his life. He wanted to be jesse. He wanted his life, and so he eventually took his life. He didnt get too much out of it. A lot of disrespect. Now sandy hopes a collector will pay big bucks for the historic image of james and his killer. She makes dozens of calls, but theres a glaring problem. People wanted to see proof. They wanted to see authentication. They wanted to see forensics. There are plenty of family stories that soandso got handed this down, but theres no paperwork or genealogy. Robb burley, owner of burley auction gallery in new braunfels, texas. Old west relics there are so few real ones out there, so the ones that you can document, theres a builtin value. Theres more people collecting them every year. Sandy keeps looking for anyone who can help her attract the interest of those collectors. Its early 2015 when she comes across a news story about lois gibson, who authenticated yet another photo of billy the kid. She did billy the kid, and so that was another, okay, shes done one already. Turns out, lois is a renowned forensic artist, working for the Houston Police department. She holds the Guinness World record for most criminals accurately i. D. d. So sandy emails a scan of her jesse jamesbob ford tintype to lois. Lois, you hear from sandy, and you think what . I was just going to look at it and tell her, no, its not jesse james and get rid of her. Then she takes a closer look at the picture. She starts by comparing the tintype to this undisputed wedding photo of james. The area below the nose and the top of the lip is the philtrum. Notice he dents in a certain way. Strong dent. Strong dent. And then the top of this lip shape his is like roof peaks, little pointy roof peaks. Thats the same. Lois agrees to perform a full forensic analysis. She compares the tintype to the official jesse james death photo. And then i got the final picture, the picture of him in his coffin. This was very important. In a computer program, you make them the same size, make one transparent, and lay it atop the other one. The resemblance between sandys tintype and the deceased jesse james is remarkable. For lois, its the clincher. I realized, oh, my god. It is jesse james. If you went to court and had to testify about it . Ill be willing to testify in a court of law. Its either jesse james or it isnt, and it just darn well is. Lois also says the other guy darn well is bob ford, based on other known photos of him. Auctioneer robb burley knows a photo of jesse james and his killer would be an exceptionally compelling collectible. You dont see Lee Harvey Oswald and jack kennedy together. Thats how creepy that would be. But dealers like robb will want more proof. If that is james and ford, somebody should be able to trace the history of the tintype back to its origin and convincingly explain why sandys ancestor ended up with it. Help may be on the way. I saw it on the news. I was very intrigued immediately. Heres another quiz question for you. The answer when we return. Find your keys. Find your getupandgo. Find pants that arent sweats. Find your friends. Find your sense of wander. Find the world is new, again. At chevy wed like to take you there. Now during the chevy open road sales event, get up to 15 of msrp cash back on select 2020 models. Thats over fiftyseven hundred dollars cash back on this equinox. Its time to find new roads, again. So, in which movie does Clint Eastwood play a missouri farmer who joins a band of confederate raiders . Its the outlaw josey wales. Eastwoods character is loosely based on jesse james. Sandy mills has taken the first step in proving the vintage tintype she inherited is the only known photo of outlaw jesse james and his killer, bob ford, thanks to an authentication by a forensic artist in texas. It was amazing. She was absolutely certain. Sandy sends her findings to auctioneer robb burley in new braunfels, texas. Robbs impressed. But there are still questions of where the tintype came from and how sandys family ended up with it. The value often is dependent upon how good the provenance is. Provenance thats auctioneer talk for evidence that an artifact is exactly what you say it is. Seems sandy hasnt convinced him yet. But, thanks to lois gibsons analysis, the tintype is now getting some buzz in the press. Thats how freda cruse hardison, that local historian we met earlier, catches wind of the story. What was your first reaction . I was very intrigued immediately. The thing that popped out to me was the name of pauline roundtree, which was sandys threetimes greatgrandmother. Freda turns to her genealogy database. It maps the connections of nearly 15,000 people to the jesse james family. She types in the name pauline roundtree. I already had her, knew who she was and what the relationship was. What was it . She was married to robert stevenson, who was a cousin of annie ralston, frank james wife. Frank was jesses brother. So it makes complete sense that sandys ancestor would have a picture of her infamous inlaw. Did sandy know any of this . She knew none of it. It was her threetimes greatgrandmothers first husband, not the line she was from. So she had just totally missed what the relationship was. She did all the proof going down and wrote about the familytree lines, which was really cool. Freda even pinpoints the most likely photographer in st. Joseph, missouri, rudy uhlman. So, howd you figure out hes the photographer . It doesnt have his name on it. It doesnt even have a date. Hes the only photographer of any standing in saint joe at that time, and he ended up taking the death photo. Freda believes bob ford and jesse james posed for the tintype at uhlmans studio just weeks before his death, while the ford brothers were holed up at the outlaws home in st. Joseph. Auctioneer robb burley is now convinced the items ready to sell. Your dream team you got lois, a historian, and you have an auctioneer. That must have been a relief. Yeah. Yes, it was. The question is how much could it fetch . Weve heard everything from 50,000 to a halfmillion dollars. We really have no idea where its going to land. 15,000. Now 20,000. 20,000. Thinking about 20,000. Now 25,000. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. We love our new home. Theres so much space. We have a guestroom now. But, we have aunts. Youre slouching again, ted. Expired, expired. Expired. Thanks, aunt bonnie. Its a lot of house. I hope you can keep it clean. At least geico makes bundling our home and Car Insurance easy. Which helps us save a lot of money oh, teddy. Did you get my friend request . Uh, ill have to check. doorbell ringing aunt jonis here for bundling made easy, go to geico. Com. Hello . Now back to strange inheritance. In january 2017, this vintage tintype of american outlaw jesse james, along with his killer, bob ford, hits the Auction Block at burley auction gallery in new braunfels, texas. We really had no clue where it was gonna go. In addition to sandys tintype, robb burleys auctioning a large collection of texas ranger guns and badges. Over 100 people have shown up, along with plenty of phone bidders. Today, youll have everybody from the buyer thats here looking for a beer stein to the ones that are looking for an antique colt, from the 100 buyer to the 1 million buyer. Which one will bid on sandys strange inheritance . Or will it be someone in between . [ auctioneer calling ] just after noon, its time for the jesse james picture to test the marketplace. Lot number 150 is a photograph attributed to jesse james and bob ford. We got a call from sandy mills, from up in washington state. Told us about how her family had handed it down through generations from her grandmother. So, here you go. Were gonna start it cheap enough that everybody can bid, everybody can play. Where do yall want to start . It starts at 5,000 not so promising. I got 5,000. Now 10,000. 5,000 here. Now 10,000. 10,000. 10,000. 10,000. Now 15,000. 15,000. At 15k, all but three bidders drop out. Now 20,000. 15,000 here. Now 20,000. 20,000. Thinking about 20,000. 20,000. Now 25,000. Now its 25k. How long before someone blinks . Now 30,000. Im at 25,000. 30,000. Now 35,000. Now 40,000. Im at 35,000. Now 40,000. Sell it your way sold for 35,000. Not exactly the payday robb once thought possible, but thats the auction business. The proof is always in the bidding. I wish it would have brought 1 million. You know, it didnt, but im happy with what it brought. The buyer, texas collector terry verburgt, is really happy. He thinks he got a steal. I think i got an extremely good deal, rare deal, and i dont think it will ever be sold that cheap again. As for the heir in this strange inheritance story, she can live with the result, even if 35k isnt the lifechanger she had hoped for. I actually wanted to maybe buy a bedandbreakfast and do gardens and just raise my son the most, best way that i can come up with, and this would be it. No regrets on selling it . I have no regrets. Its sold and we did good and its out there now. I want it to be in history books. Controversy just seems to be the rule for all things related to jesse james. Fittingly, after the notorious outlaws death in 1882, there was speculation he had faked his own murder. The rumor circulated until 1995, when scientists dug up the grave and performed a dna test that proved the body was, indeed, jesse james. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for watching strange inheritance. And remember you cant take it with you. A freaky forest that scrapes the sky. Thats a redwood . Its several redwood trees. Mysterious, incredible. Believe it or not. You might see Something Like this in lord of the rings or game of thrones. This is natural . Of course. Mother nature can only do this. But when life and limbs at risk. Omeone could have gotten hurt. Verybody in it. Can they work without a net . That gives you the direction of where its gonna fall. Hopefully. The stress that you go through, the mayhem, the sleepless nights we have to do it. Thats part of the fun. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby on the Pacific Coast highway in Northern California, just south of the oregon border. Im here to meet a man whose strange inheritance has deep roots and came with a towering dilemma. My name is John Thompson. I inherited a place of unique natural beauty. Next thing i knew, it threatened to come crashing down on me. Im jamie. Welcome to the trees of mystery. John leads me past a giant statue of paul bunyan and into a stunning rainforest, which looks like something out of a tall tale. Its filled with skyhigh coast redwoods, spruces and firs some 20 feet wide and 300 feet tall. Nearly as tall as the statue of liberty. Like a skysc