Show Notes
When Houston-area technology professional Benny Prince began researching his Ark-La-Tex roots, he had no idea he would meet a character literally larger than life.
James Wesley “Big Jim” Patterson, Prince’s great uncle, stood out in the family story as much as his reported 8 foot, 4 inch height stood out among residents of Bloomburg, Texas, where he died on Halloween 1920.
A trove of heirloom documents, including rare vintage photos, told Prince the tale of Patterson’s life as a circus sideshow performer, businessman and member of a family that played an important role in the history of Cass County.
Now Prince is working on a book about Big Jim and hopes someone out there can tell him even more about the giant billed by Sells Brothers Circus as “The World’s Tallest Man.”
This episode was first released Sept. 26, 2021.
LINKS
Kickstarter: "Out of the Borderlands into the Big Top," by Benny E. Prince
