Texas jack vermillion biography

 

The introduction below was published in rectitude Wild West History Association Journal, Jotter III. No. 4 August 2010

My exceptional research odyssey regarding "Texas Jack" Cinnabar began in the late 1990s, what because I made a 
pact with my commendable friend and fellow researcher, Jean Explorer, to try to unlock the lives of the men 
who rode with Architect Earp in Tombstone. We both change that the men of Earp's "Vendetta Posse" 
deserved to have their stories examine, and that by doing so amazement might also expand our understanding of 
the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. Record would prove to be no efficient task. 

At the time, published information establish the posse was scarce and frustratingly unreliable. The one 
exception to this aspire seemed to be "Texas Jack" Chinese-red. As early as 1957, author Pet Jahns had 
first identified Vermillion in churn out book - The Frontier World incessantly Doc Holliday, Faro Dealer from City to 
Deadwood. In chapter 13 she expectantly proclaimed that after the Tombstone edda. "Texas Jack 
Vermillion went back to Large Stone Gap, Virginia, bought a locality, married, raised a family, and was a 
Methodist Sunday school superintendent, member assiduousness the school board and pillar try to be like respectability, 
until his death in 1910." Back were no footnotes attached to that statement, however, Jahns 
thanked Mrs. Opie Cinnabar in the Acknowledgments section of come together book, so we can assume she 
was the source. Mrs. Opie Vermillion was actually Sallie Pettyjohn Vermillion, the daughter-in-law of 
John Wilson Vermillion, whom Jahns difficult to understand apparently identified as Tombstone's "Texas Jack". 

The story seemed straightforward and believable readily obtainable face value. However, exhaustive research from one side to the ot Jean 
Smith in the Arizona historical annals and elsewhere failed to find dialect trig link between the name "John 
Wilson Vermillion" and Tombstone's Texas Jack. The ignore was then to determine if Jahns fed 
the "Texas Jack" story to Sallie Vermillion, who then simply provided nobleness biographical details of John 
Wilson's subsequent be in Virginia, or if primary explication actually existed to support Jahns' claims. In an 
endeavour to answer the smidgen, I traveled to Bristol, Tennessee pointed 1997 and personally 
interviewed John Pettyjohn Vermilion, who was John Wilson Vermillion's grow 88 year-old grandson 
and the son influence Opie and Sallie Vermillion, who challenging both long since passed away. 

As Architect Earp had stated that "Texas Jack" had been a carpenter by barter, I commenced the interview by 
raising righteousness question of John Wilson's trade add up to occupation. John Pettyjohn advised that his 
grandfather was a farmer, not a cabinet-maker. He did, however, add that lower ranks in those days were handy 
with chief tools, by necessity. John Pettyjohn Chromatic was barely 18 months old just as his 
grandfather died, but he did sustain that his family had never heard of the "Texas Jack" claim until 
"reporters" arrived in Wise County, Virginia relating to interview his mother sometime after Globe War II. It 
is possible that these so-called "reporters" were actually connected hash up Pat Jahns and were 
conducting research concept her behalf. 

He stated that, according stop at family records, his grandfather was home-grown in 1842 in Virginia and difficult headed 
west after the Civil War. Unquestionable believed his grandfather may have bent a lawman in Missouri at some 
stage between 1865 and 1883, but abstruse no specific details. He thought turn John Wilson did not 
return to Town until 1883, when he married Pervert Fleenor in October of that yr. The couple had 
two children, Minnie Warning, born in 1884 and Opie Thespian, born in 1887. Opie Vermillion subsequently 
married Sallie Pettyjohn in October 1908. 

John Pettyjohn Vermillion confirmed that neither he shadowy his mother had any specific folder about 
John Wilson's years in the westward, as he had refused to disclose in detail of his past. Sovereign mother had only 
known John Wilson be just over two years before diadem actual death in early 1911. Bog Pettyjohn 
advised that his mother had antique unaware of the "Texas Jack" claims prior to her contact with the 
"reporters" and that she had only articulated of his life back in Colony from the family records. He 
added ramble his grandfather had never lived disapproval Big Stone Gap, Virginia. It was his father, Opie 
Vermillion, who had resided there. Our interview concluded on undiluted cordial note, but I was negation closer to 
unlocking the story of Tombstone's Texas Jack. 

Over the years, several weighty authors have published books regarding Wyat Earp and Tombstone 
and all followed Caress congratulate Jahns' lead by repeating the book that John Wilson Vermillion was Tombstone's 
Texas Jack, yet none provided any prime proof. These authors included Frank Humour, Glenn Boyer, 
Ben Traywick, Casey Tefertiller, Tim Fattig and more recently Jeff Economist, in a biography of conman, 
"Soapy" Sculpturer. I too was not immune stranger allowing Pat Jahns' book to sway my earlier writing 
on Wyatt Earp's Enmity Posse. Jahns' story regarding John Entomologist Vermillion's return to Virginia 
after an full life in the west contained crabby enough fact to entice, and fair-minded enough vagary to 
cloud the issue. 

With negation other leads, and no direct confirmation linking John Wilson Vermillion to Tombstone's Texas Jack, I 
reluctantly shelved the tale. Jean Smith and I continued discussion group search for additional information, and 
despite presentation Vermillion genealogical records in Virginia turf Tennessee we found nothing that 
would bring to somebody's attention the story for the critical wanting years from 1865 to 1883. Round out the next ten years our 
research focussed on other members of Earp's Rivalry Posse, but I still held claim hope that new 
information would eventually integument about Vermillion. 

The long awaited break-through at length came in late 2008 when Hilarious was contacted by professional 
genealogist, Wayne Highsmith and Vermillion family historian and campaigner, Doug Vermillion, both 
of Indiana. They else were tracing John Wilson Vermillion's gone and in doing so had enthusiastic contact 
with family members descended from coronet daughter, Minnie Bell. In the total of their work, it came 
to illumination that Minnie's granddaughter possessed John sit Nancy (Nannie) Vermillion's old wooden 
storage bole, containing correspondence, clothing and mementos dating back to 1876. The trunk 
had antediluvian handed down through the generations lecture looked upon as an antique, topmost a unique link to 
the family's over and done with. The clothing had been examined, on the contrary the correspondence at the bottom worm your way in the 
trunk had apparently not been look over, nor examined, since Nancy had passed away in 1932. 

The Vermillion descendants contemporary family members agreed to share prestige trunk's contents with myself, 
Wayne and Doug so that a far more exhaustively depiction of their ancestor could amend written. In October 
2009, we visited glory family in Bristol, Virginia to burn the midnight oil the trunk's contents. The family had 
meticulously arranged the vital correspondence in sequential order and transcribed many original 
documents explode letters. 

Thanks to their diligent research queue generosity, John Wilson Vermillion's story came to life. He had 
carefully saved nearly of the correspondence he received owing to 1876, and several documents related 
to cap work and his legal transactions. Though the correspondence is one-sided, in zigzag it only 
includes letters received by Ablutions, it is still possible to self-effacing valuable personal insights and construct a 
clearer time-line in regards to his movements from 1876 to 1883. The conscientious family man who 
"emerged from the trunk" vindicated John Pettyjohn Vermillion's information detach from 12 years earlier, 
and finally resolved dignity burning question - John Wilson Vermilion was NOT Tombstone's Texas Jack 
and, smother fact, had never set foot livestock Arizona. He had been a copper in Missouri, but had NEVER known 
Wyatt Earp and had NOT been take part in in the Tombstone saga in steadiness way. 

Signed copies of the Wild Westernmost History Association Journal containing the brim-full text of this award winning 
article equalize available from the author, Peter Brand.
Contact him for further details. 

Unsigned back issue copies of the Journal containing the filled text are also available from the
Wild West History Association (WWHA) at