J. Frank Dalton

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John Frank Dalton (March 8, 1848 – August 15, 1951) was an American impostor and centenarian who drew notice late in life by successively claiming to be two long-dead famous Western historical figures, lawman Frank Dalton and outlaw Jesse James. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, J. Frank Dalton attracted considerable attention by telling tales of being Deputy U.S. Marshal Frank Dalton (1859–1887). After historians confronted him with compelling evidence to the effect that he definitely could not be the same man as Marshal Frank Dalton, starting in April 1948 in Lawton, Oklahoma, he took up claiming to be Jesse James (1847–1882) instead. J. Frank Dalton was allegedly over 100 years old at the time of his first public appearance as Jesse James at Lawton, claiming in an affidavit that he had been a member of Quantrill's guerrillas during the Civil War. Though he convinced several people of note, such as journalist/novelist Robert Ruark, extensive research by historians has never been able...

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