A long-standing mystery of the identity of J E Sackett, found in numerous newspaper stories in the 1880s as the proprietor of the Dime Museum in Minneapolis, has been solved. Despite his obvious gift for self-promotion, he was only ever referred to by his initials.
It had been assumed that a bizarre marriage announcement in New Zealand, “Married. Sackett–Brewer—Mr. J. E. Sackett, Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A., to Miss Margaret Brewer, Melbourne, Victoria. No cards. No cake. Nobody’s business.” also referred to the same man.
Recent research findings, in particular a divorce in Denver, Colorado, and the 1896 will of Orsemus Sackett, have established that J E was Jacob Edwin Sackett, a son of Orsemus. Father and son were not close—indeed, Orsemus was not close to any of his sons, cutting off all three of them (Jacob, Henry, and Fitch) with a derisory $1 inheritance each.