William Jesse Ramey

William Jesse Ramey (January 28, 1891 – May 26, 1963) was an American vintage master carver of fish decoys. His work is sometimes attributed to "Jess Ramey", though he was known to his friends as Jesse (his actual middle name). His work, along with Oscar W. Peterson's, formed the basis of what is now considered the "Cadillac style".

His pieces have been seen in the following museum exhibits: “Fishing for Art, an Exhibition of the Implements and Art of Angling” American Museum of Fly Fishing at the Addison Gallery of American Art, 3/17/1984 - 4/15/1984 “Gone Fishin ... an Exhibition of the Art & Artifacts of Angling” - Leelanau Historical Museum 6/11/1989-1/29/1990. “Hooked on Wood, The Allure of the Fish Decoy” The Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia PA 5/12/2012 - 7/21/2012.

Personal life

William Jesse Ramey was born January 28, 1891, to Fleming Ramey and Latisha E Musser Ramey in Greenup County, Kentucky. and Delbert Edwards are all related to Jesse so his influence was probably unavoidable.

It has been said that Jesse Ramey may have been influential to Oscar W. Peterson's work. In describing some of the Ramey decoys in his book, Steven Michaan states:

Regardless of the amount of influence, there is no doubt that Jesse Ramey was critical in the development of the "Cadillac Style" of fish decoy carving.