Jerry Tarbot

American conman

Jerry Tarbot was an American conman who claimed he was an amnesia victim of World War I.[1] On April 10, 1926 The Healdsburg Tribune published on article/photograph on Tarbot calling him the "sliding ghost" of World War I.[2]

Jerry Tarbot
Alexander Dubois Jr aka "Jerry Tarbot"
Born
Alexander Dubois Jr.

(1882-05-31)May 31, 1882
New York City, New York, United States
DiedJanuary 4, 1972(1972-01-04) (aged 89)
San Diego, California, United States
NationalityNorth American
Other namesHoward Francis Noble;
Howard Noble;
Blake;
Jerry Tarbot;
The Sliding Ghost
Jerry J. Martin
Occupation(s)factory worker; bigamist; car thief;confidence man;
Known forImposter

Timeline

change

In March 1927 Congressman Royal Johnson of South Dakota Chairman of the Veterans Committee claimed what was the real story of "Tarbot":

  • His real name was Alexander Dubois, jr. the son of a chef in a Cuban hotel and Mary Richards Riley and had a Aunt in New York named Riley.
  • He had 20 alias.
  • He was a draft dodger.[3]
  • In January 1913 under the alias of "Howard Francis Noble" he applied for a job with General Electric Company in Erie, Pa[4]
  • In 1915 and 1916 he was known as "Howard Noble" and resided in Sharon Pa from June 1916 to July 1917.[5] and was working at the Briggs Seabury Company.[6] ^
  • In 1916 he was working in the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co at Akron, Ohio.[7]
  • He had married at least twice:
    • In Schenectady, New York to a first wife.
    • That after working in the American Car and Foundry Company in Detroit, Michigan he meet Flora Lange and that he married her under the name "Harold Noble" in Toledo, Ohio December 22, 1917. And that after living in Erie, Pennsylvania there was a divorce after domestic trouble and that she last heard from "Noble" in 1918 when he claimed not to be responsible for her debts. They were divorced in January 1918[8]
  • In 1922 he was arrested in San Francisco for auto theft under the alias of "Blake".[9] ^; that his attorneys had him declared insane and placed in a asylum where he posed as a amnesic war veteran[10] ^
  • In 1928 he published his alleged life story: Jerry Tarbot The Living Unknown Soldier.[11]
  • In 1932 Tarbot was a resident of Santa Rosa, California[12]
  • In January 1956 Tarbot renewed the copyright of “Jerry Tarbot The Living Unknown Soldier” under the name Jerry J Martin[13]
  • In 1972 still using the alias of Tarbot, he died in Califorina[14]

References

change
  1. "Jerry Tarbot Continues a Mystery Man". Lewiston Evening Journal. AP. October 16, 1926. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  2. Healdsburg Tribune 10 April 1926
  3. The Pittsburgh Press March 2, 1927
  4. The Spokesman-review March 2, 1927
  5. Pittsburg Press March 2, 1927
  6. Healdsburg Tribune March 2, 1927
  7. Pittsburg Press March 2, 1927
  8. Cornell Daily Sun March 3, 1927
  9. Pittsburgh Press March 2, 1927
  10. Spokesman review March 2, 1927
  11. Online Library archive
  12. Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar, Number 46, 12 May 1932
  13. US Catalog of Copyright Entries(Renewals)Books from 1928 Titles starting with H, I & J
  14. "California Death Index Record". familysearch.org. Retrieved 2017-08-08.