Talk:Texas Jack Omohundro

May 2017

I expanded the article quite a bit and added new sources. If anyone has any issues let me know.

Also I read some accounts that Texas Jack lived in Philadelphia in '76 and performed at the Centennial Expo ceremonies but can't find a solid reference. Does anyone know more about it? BaomoVW (talk) 23:15, 18 May 2017 (UTC)

He did live in Philadelphia with Morlacchi for part of 1876, and maintained an address there afterwards. I believe he intended to have a larger role at the Centennial, but was called to work as a scout in Montana following Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn. I have written a biography of Jack, and am currently seeking publication. He's a fascinating guy, and hopefully my research will shed a little more light on his contribution to American history.KidCharlem (talk) 15:47, 22 May 2017 (UTC)

That makes sense, it seemed like he had setup in Philadelphia specifically for the Expo. I did see a few articles where he commented on Custer in the days after Little Bighorn and his desire to help out if needed, so he must have only been in town for the opening ceremonies.

There is a lot of conflicting information on Jack out there. For example several bio's claim he left home at 14 and moved to Texas before coming back to Virginia for the War, but the Fluvanna County Historical Society points out that he was present in their Census count during those years. I've also read an account that claims he was part of Harper's Guerrillas in Gallatin, Tennessee and Lebanon, Kentucky which doesn't appear right. I also find his relationship with Texas Jack Jr interesting – I had heard the story but never thought much of it since I've never seen an account from Texas Jack about it. I'm under the impression he found the children and took them straight to authorities in Ft. Worth opposed keeping them in his tutelage for the short time until he moved on from Texas. It's a shame that Jack and Mlle died so young they never really got a chance to set the record or write their autobiography like Cody did. BaomoVW (talk) 05:50, 23 May 2017 (UTC)

Several account have Jack west before the Civil War, but its really hard to ascertain details. Prentiss Ingraham and Ned Buntline both wrote stories with Jack in Texas before the war, and both were friends of his, and may have based their stories on Jack's own recollections. Herschel Logan's biography of Jack, Buckskin and Satin, puts Jack in Texas as well, though Logan merely places Jack there without context or further illumination of his time out west prior to the War. Malvern Omohundro's huge family history, The Omohundro Genealogical Record, includes lots about Jack, but no mention of early travels. I'll look back on my notes and check if Jack himself ever referred to it.

The account that places him in Harper's Guerrillas is a remembrance after Jack's death by a guy who called himself Comanche George. It would be easy for me to ignore it, but Logue mentions meeting Jack at the home of a Doctor Logue where they were introduced by Logue's daughter Betty. There was a Bettie Logue, daughter of Doctor John Logue, in Wilson County, Tennessee, and two of her sisters married two of Jack's brothers, so the story does seem plausible, if impossible to prove.

As far as Jack Junior, his own writings suggest Jack saved him and two girls in the aftermath of a Comanche attack on a wagon train. Jack did not adopt the child, as has been suggested, but it appears he sold a few Comanche ponies gathered when he rescued the children and sold them to fund an education and orphanage stay in Fort Worth. All of this comes as secondary information, but according to my sources, Jack Junior showed up at the Omohundro farm a number of years after Jack's death and told the Omohundro family his story of being rescued by Texas Jack. The family supposedly believed it and gave Jack Junior their blessing to use the name Texas Jack in his act.

The story of the rescue doesn't seem too far beyond the kind of exploits that are better documented, though the possibility remains that Jack Junior was just looking for a quick way to establish his identity in the competitive world of Wild West shows. Kit Carson Junior, who toured with Buffalo Bill while Texas Jack was on the trail with Earl Dunraven, essentially did the same thing. He wasn't really related to the famous scout Kit Carson.

A huge hurdle in finding information about Jack is that he died so far from home, Morlacchi was the last living member of the family, they had no close friends or family living in Lowell or Billerica, where they kept their homes, and the Billerica farm burned down a few years after Morlacchi's death. I would love to find more letters or artifacts from Jack...but I think four letters are all that remain, in various collections across the country.KidCharlem (talk) 14:07, 23 May 2017 (UTC)