KGC in Western Kentucky Marker Found?

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Tenderfoot
May 22, 2023
7
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So today I stopped at a little country grave yard, disappointed I didn’t find the particular grave I was searching for, as I was leaving I looked down and came across this stone. A little back story:

Two years ago, while researching my family tree I uncovered that my 3rd Great Granfather was an outlaw before becoming Legislator & farmer. The newspapers (Indiana Papers) stated that he was leader of the KU Klux Klan, they referred them as kluxes. In 1868 he supposedly murdered a man (him and several members of his gang), so a warrant was issued. The newspaper states that a US Marshal & 25 Union troops from Louisville was dispatched to arrest him, but says he got away. The farm he lived on is still in the family, so last fall, through old maps I was able to locate where his home once stood. So I went and metal detected the area, and was shocked to find evidence of a large gun fight. He went on the lamb, came back in 1874 purchased a farm for $2000 cash in hand, in 1874 the country was in a depression, no banks to borrow money from, and with inflation $2k would be over $50K today. He was found not guilty in 1879 of that murder, and soon after that he was elected to legislature. Most of the men who were named in that article went on to become senators, legislators, and other prominent positions. I think they realized infiltrating politics would give them the chance to control the narrative. And the lawyer who represented him, was a die-hard successionist, so much so Habeas Corpus was suspended, and he was thrown in jail, until after the 1865 election.



For the past year Ive started leaning towards him being KGC, not the klan, or the klan as we know it today. Through a couple of newspaper articles, Ive been able to put the james gang here numerous times, very near the family farm. And successfully linked John Jarrett to living here, his sister lives here with her confederate POW husband, as well as his daughter being born here.



For the past 2 years Ive accumulated a lot of diaries, letters, books, maps, and the more I dig, the more likely their paths crossed. And in those 2 years I have discovered a Confederate Spy Ring, that involved very prominent citizens that included Doctors, lawyers, and wealthy farmers. On top of that spy ring, I was able to locate the Confederate rendezvous point for rebel raiders.



The rendezvous point is 2.5 miles from this rock I located today (as the bird flies). When I seen the rock, and that JJ, I knew exactly what I was looking at. But I could tell there was some other writing on it, older more wore down. I knew it wasn’t a headstone, so as I thought about it I started figuring it out. You can make out 4041, so I said to myself perhaps it’s a property marker. Bingo that was it. As soon as I got home I pulled the old deed, and sure enough the property was 40 poles one way and 43 the other. Im not too sure how far a pole is, but that’s close enough for me!



I think Jesse knew that it was a property marker with 4041 on it and it would be highly unlikely that rock would ever move. The land was sold for 1 cent to erect a church and graveyard June 1888, so at the time Jesse stopped there it was not a graveyard.
There is so many stories about the James gang, you have try to filter out the B.S. I don’t know how much of this is true, everything stated there is a paper trail, so Im dependent on information to be accurate, information over 130 years old.
The obituary for my 3rd Great Grandfather states at the time of his death he was the oldest Master Freemasons in the area.

So what im asking is has anybody found a marker similar to this? (Not just KY)
Has anyone come across info about the KGC in the Western part of Kentucky?
Does this mean there is a possible cache near by?
Id love to hear some feedback
 

Last edited:
Great story, ght. It sounds highly likely you're on the right track, IMO. What that track might lead to, if anything, is unclear, but the JJ "anchor" symbol, by all accounts, allegedly ties the rock to the KGC, and your family history provides plenty of smoke for a possible fire somewhere in the vicinity.

The only help I can provide is that a "pole" is another word the old surveyors used for a "rod". When they used to measure land with chains, this was 16-1/2 feet per rod. Therefore, 40 poles equals (40)(16.5)=660 feet, a common length still used to create land parcels. A square parcel 660 feet on each side is exactly 10 acres. Your gggf's piece, at 40x43 poles, would measure 10.75 aces. The question, of course, is the "41" on the rock. This is 2 poles (33 feet) short of your deed description for two sides of the parcel. That's curious, as Masons love the number 33.

The other thing I would add is that the exact location and orientation of the rock is usually claimed to be very important, especially if is somehow tied into a map of additional clues, or a description of where to go next. Without a better idea to start with, I guess the first thing I would do is go back to where you found the rock (hopefully in the same spot it was originally placed), get a long measuring tape, spike the end where the rock was, and carefully swing a 33-foot circle and note if you cross anything of interest.
 

Very interesting. I’m not well versed on everything KGC. Why is the JJ anchor indicative of KGC? Maybe the property was actually 41x43 poles, but the 41 denotes the distance to something specific within those boundaries. Would 40 14 mean anything in your opinion? I’m using the dual J anchor as if it is a clue to interpretation of the numbers. The first (40) would be normal the second (41) would then need to be reversed like the right side of the anchor. If you didn’t know the encoding of the anchor, you’d look at the wrong spot.
Possibly 445.5 feet too far. Interestingly, 14 rod would equal 231 feet or 77 yards. Double 7s could be coincidental, numerology being what it is, but A LOT of folks have used 7 as lucky for ages. “X marks the spot” may be the only indicator more popular than 7, 77 and 777. Good luck with your pursuit.
 

View attachment 2085195
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So today I stopped at a little country grave yard, disappointed I didn’t find the particular grave I was searching for, as I was leaving I looked down and came across this stone. A little back story:

Two years ago, while researching my family tree I uncovered that my 3rd Great Granfather was an outlaw before becoming Legislator & farmer. The newspapers (Indiana Papers) stated that he was leader of the KU Klux Klan, they referred them as kluxes. In 1868 he supposedly murdered a man (him and several members of his gang), so a warrant was issued. The newspaper states that a US Marshal & 25 Union troops from Louisville was dispatched to arrest him, but says he got away. The farm he lived on is still in the family, so last fall, through old maps I was able to locate where his home once stood. So I went and metal detected the area, and was shocked to find evidence of a large gun fight. He went on the lamb, came back in 1874 purchased a farm for $2000 cash in hand, in 1874 the country was in a depression, no banks to borrow money from, and with inflation $2k would be over $50K today. He was found not guilty in 1879 of that murder, and soon after that he was elected to legislature. Most of the men who were named in that article went on to become senators, legislators, and other prominent positions. I think they realized infiltrating politics would give them the chance to control the narrative. And the lawyer who represented him, was a die-hard successionist, so much so Habeas Corpus was suspended, and he was thrown in jail, until after the 1865 election.



For the past year Ive started leaning towards him being KGC, not the klan, or the klan as we know it today. Through a couple of newspaper articles, Ive been able to put the james gang here numerous times, very near the family farm. And successfully linked John Jarrett to living here, his sister lives here with her confederate POW husband, as well as his daughter being born here.



For the past 2 years Ive accumulated a lot of diaries, letters, books, maps, and the more I dig, the more likely their paths crossed. And in those 2 years I have discovered a Confederate Spy Ring, that involved very prominent citizens that included Doctors, lawyers, and wealthy farmers. On top of that spy ring, I was able to locate the Confederate rendezvous point for rebel raiders.



The rendezvous point is 2.5 miles from this rock I located today (as the bird flies). When I seen the rock, and that JJ, I knew exactly what I was looking at. But I could tell there was some other writing on it, older more wore down. I knew it wasn’t a headstone, so as I thought about it I started figuring it out. You can make out 4041, so I said to myself perhaps it’s a property marker. Bingo that was it. As soon as I got home I pulled the old deed, and sure enough the property was 40 poles one way and 43 the other. Im not too sure how far a pole is, but that’s close enough for me!



I think Jesse knew that it was a property marker with 4041 on it and it would be highly unlikely that rock would ever move. The land was sold for 1 cent to erect a church and graveyard June 1888, so at the time Jesse stopped there it was not a graveyard.
There is so many stories about the James gang, you have try to filter out the B.S. I don’t know how much of this is true, everything stated there is a paper trail, so Im dependent on information to be accurate, information over 130 years old.
The obituary for my 3rd Great Grandfather states at the time of his death he was the oldest Master Freemasons in the area.

So what im asking is has anybody found a marker similar to this? (Not just KY)
Has anyone come across info about the KGC in the Western part of Kentucky?
Does this mean there is a possible cache near by?
Id love to hear some feedback
I know where a anchor carved just like that one is where i live. I will go take a pic of it n post it soon as i can. Im from Alabama
 

Great story, ght. It sounds highly likely you're on the right track, IMO. What that track might lead to, if anything, is unclear, but the JJ "anchor" symbol, by all accounts, allegedly ties the rock to the KGC, and your family history provides plenty of smoke for a possible fire somewhere in the vicinity.

The only help I can provide is that a "pole" is another word the old surveyors used for a "rod". When they used to measure land with chains, this was 16-1/2 feet per rod. Therefore, 40 poles equals (40)(16.5)=660 feet, a common length still used to create land parcels. A square parcel 660 feet on each side is exactly 10 acres. Your gggf's piece, at 40x43 poles, would measure 10.75 aces. The question, of course, is the "41" on the rock. This is 2 poles (33 feet) short of your deed description for two sides of the parcel. That's curious, as Masons love the number 33.

The other thing I would add is that the exact location and orientation of the rock is usually claimed to be very important, especially if is somehow tied into a map of additional clues, or a description of where to go next. Without a better idea to start with, I guess the first thing I would do is go back to where you found the rock (hopefully in the same spot it was originally placed), get a long measuring tape, spike the end where the rock was, and carefully swing a 33-foot circle and note if you cross anything of interest.
 

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So today I stopped at a little country grave yard, disappointed I didn’t find the particular grave I was searching for, as I was leaving I looked down and came across this stone. A little back story:

Two years ago, while researching my family tree I uncovered that my 3rd Great Granfather was an outlaw before becoming Legislator & farmer. The newspapers (Indiana Papers) stated that he was leader of the KU Klux Klan, they referred them as kluxes. In 1868 he supposedly murdered a man (him and several members of his gang), so a warrant was issued. The newspaper states that a US Marshal & 25 Union troops from Louisville was dispatched to arrest him, but says he got away. The farm he lived on is still in the family, so last fall, through old maps I was able to locate where his home once stood. So I went and metal detected the area, and was shocked to find evidence of a large gun fight. He went on the lamb, came back in 1874 purchased a farm for $2000 cash in hand, in 1874 the country was in a depression, no banks to borrow money from, and with inflation $2k would be over $50K today. He was found not guilty in 1879 of that murder, and soon after that he was elected to legislature. Most of the men who were named in that article went on to become senators, legislators, and other prominent positions. I think they realized infiltrating politics would give them the chance to control the narrative. And the lawyer who represented him, was a die-hard successionist, so much so Habeas Corpus was suspended, and he was thrown in jail, until after the 1865 election.



For the past year Ive started leaning towards him being KGC, not the klan, or the klan as we know it today. Through a couple of newspaper articles, Ive been able to put the james gang here numerous times, very near the family farm. And successfully linked John Jarrett to living here, his sister lives here with her confederate POW husband, as well as his daughter being born here.



For the past 2 years Ive accumulated a lot of diaries, letters, books, maps, and the more I dig, the more likely their paths crossed. And in those 2 years I have discovered a Confederate Spy Ring, that involved very prominent citizens that included Doctors, lawyers, and wealthy farmers. On top of that spy ring, I was able to locate the Confederate rendezvous point for rebel raiders.



The rendezvous point is 2.5 miles from this rock I located today (as the bird flies). When I seen the rock, and that JJ, I knew exactly what I was looking at. But I could tell there was some other writing on it, older more wore down. I knew it wasn’t a headstone, so as I thought about it I started figuring it out. You can make out 4041, so I said to myself perhaps it’s a property marker. Bingo that was it. As soon as I got home I pulled the old deed, and sure enough the property was 40 poles one way and 43 the other. Im not too sure how far a pole is, but that’s close enough for me!



I think Jesse knew that it was a property marker with 4041 on it and it would be highly unlikely that rock would ever move. The land was sold for 1 cent to erect a church and graveyard June 1888, so at the time Jesse stopped there it was not a graveyard.
There is so many stories about the James gang, you have try to filter out the B.S. I don’t know how much of this is true, everything stated there is a paper trail, so Im dependent on information to be accurate, information over 130 years old.
The obituary for my 3rd Great Grandfather states at the time of his death he was the oldest Master Freemasons in the area.

So what im asking is has anybody found a marker similar to this? (Not just KY)
Has anyone come across info about the KGC in the Western part of Kentucky?
Does this mean there is a possible cache near by?
Id love to hear some feedback
 

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To answer 1 of your questions. Yes Jessie james was in Kentucky after the war. For 2 years after the war he was known to use an alias and lived near the tennessee, kentucky line. I have been researching him on a treasure I believe is in the area .
 

View attachment 2085195
View attachment 2085200
View attachment 2085201


So today I stopped at a little country grave yard, disappointed I didn’t find the particular grave I was searching for, as I was leaving I looked down and came across this stone. A little back story:

Two years ago, while researching my family tree I uncovered that my 3rd Great Granfather was an outlaw before becoming Legislator & farmer. The newspapers (Indiana Papers) stated that he was leader of the KU Klux Klan, they referred them as kluxes. In 1868 he supposedly murdered a man (him and several members of his gang), so a warrant was issued. The newspaper states that a US Marshal & 25 Union troops from Louisville was dispatched to arrest him, but says he got away. The farm he lived on is still in the family, so last fall, through old maps I was able to locate where his home once stood. So I went and metal detected the area, and was shocked to find evidence of a large gun fight. He went on the lamb, came back in 1874 purchased a farm for $2000 cash in hand, in 1874 the country was in a depression, no banks to borrow money from, and with inflation $2k would be over $50K today. He was found not guilty in 1879 of that murder, and soon after that he was elected to legislature. Most of the men who were named in that article went on to become senators, legislators, and other prominent positions. I think they realized infiltrating politics would give them the chance to control the narrative. And the lawyer who represented him, was a die-hard successionist, so much so Habeas Corpus was suspended, and he was thrown in jail, until after the 1865 election.



For the past year Ive started leaning towards him being KGC, not the klan, or the klan as we know it today. Through a couple of newspaper articles, Ive been able to put the james gang here numerous times, very near the family farm. And successfully linked John Jarrett to living here, his sister lives here with her confederate POW husband, as well as his daughter being born here.



For the past 2 years Ive accumulated a lot of diaries, letters, books, maps, and the more I dig, the more likely their paths crossed. And in those 2 years I have discovered a Confederate Spy Ring, that involved very prominent citizens that included Doctors, lawyers, and wealthy farmers. On top of that spy ring, I was able to locate the Confederate rendezvous point for rebel raiders.



The rendezvous point is 2.5 miles from this rock I located today (as the bird flies). When I seen the rock, and that JJ, I knew exactly what I was looking at. But I could tell there was some other writing on it, older more wore down. I knew it wasn’t a headstone, so as I thought about it I started figuring it out. You can make out 4041, so I said to myself perhaps it’s a property marker. Bingo that was it. As soon as I got home I pulled the old deed, and sure enough the property was 40 poles one way and 43 the other. Im not too sure how far a pole is, but that’s close enough for me!



I think Jesse knew that it was a property marker with 4041 on it and it would be highly unlikely that rock would ever move. The land was sold for 1 cent to erect a church and graveyard June 1888, so at the time Jesse stopped there it was not a graveyard.
There is so many stories about the James gang, you have try to filter out the B.S. I don’t know how much of this is true, everything stated there is a paper trail, so Im dependent on information to be accurate, information over 130 years old.
The obituary for my 3rd Great Grandfather states at the time of his death he was the oldest Master Freemasons in the area.

So what im asking is has anybody found a marker similar to this? (Not just KY)
Has anyone come across info about the KGC in the Western part of Kentucky?
Does this mean there is a possible cache near by?
Id love to hear some feedback
Tha 4041 - Looks to me actually as 40041.. but the 2nd 0 is smaller.
 

To answer 1 of your questions. Yes Jessie james was in Kentucky after the war. For 2 years after the war he was known to use an alias and lived near the tennessee, kentucky line. I have been researching him on a treasure I believe is in the area .
Interesting, what 2 years might that be?
Wasn’t that his brothers farm?
Before or after Minnesota blotched bank Robbery
 

Interesting, what 2 years might that be?
Wasn’t that his brothers farm?
Before or after Minnesota blotched bank Robbery
Sorry its been a while since I have been online. Before any robberies were linked to him. No it wasnt his brothers farm. While his family was in Nashville his brother frank and another man Moved in the area under assumed names. I plan to spend time their as soon as it gets warm.
 

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