(The following information has been extracted from a longer work titled, "Who was Texas Jack Vermillion?" by Peter Brand © 2006 .  The entire article will hopefully be published at some stage in the near future.)

By far, one of the hardest Earp Vendetta riders to research has been "Texas Jack" Vermillion. The common consensus among several Earp researchers is that his real name was John Wilson Vermillion of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. In order to verify this information, it is necessary to determine the original source of these claims.

The first time that John Wilson Vermillion was identified as 'Texas Jack" of Tombstone fame, was in The Frontier World of Doc Holliday, Faro dealer from Dallas to Deadwood by Pat Jahns, published in 1957. In Chapter 13 of her book, she states that at the conclusion of the Earp Vendetta. "Texas Jack Vermillion went back to Big Stone Gap, Virginia, bought a farm, married, raised a family, and was a Methodist Sunday school superintendent, member of the school board and pillar of respectability, until his death in 1910." There were no footnotes attached to this statement, however, Jahns thanked Mrs. Opie Vermillion in her Acknowledgments section of the book, so we can assume she was the source. Mrs. Opie Vermillion was John Wilson Vermillion's daughter-in-law and the statements regarding John Wilson are mostly correct, except for his date of death, which was actually January 7, 1911 and his residence, which was not Big Stone Gap.

The challenge, however, was to determine if Jahns fed the "Texas Jack" story to Mrs Vermillion, who then simply provided the biographical details of John Wilson's subsequent life in Virginia, or if primary proof actually existed to support the story. In an endeavour to answer the question, I traveled to Bristol, Tennessee in 1997 and personally interviewed John Pettyjohn Vermillion, who was John Wilson Vermillion's 88 year-old grandson and the son of Mrs. Opie (Sallie) Vermillion, who had long since passed away.  I arrived in Bristol in April 1997 and contacted John Pettyjohn by phone. As I was unfamiliar with the area, he agreed to drive to a local shopping mall, where we met and I then followed him to his home.

As Wyatt Earp had stated that "Texas Jack" had been a carpenter by trade, I commenced the interview by raising the question of John Wilson's trade or occupation. John Pettyjohn advised that his grandfather was a farmer, not a carpenter. He did, however, add that men in those days were handy with most tools, by necessity.  John Pettyjohn Vermillion was a charming host and told several tales of his past. He was barely 18 months old when his grandfather died, but he did confirm that his family had never heard of the "Texas Jack" claim until "reporters" arrived in Wise County to interview his mother some time after World War II.

He confirmed that, according to family records, his grandfather was born in 1842 in Virginia and had headed west after the Civil War. He believed his grandfather may have been a lawman in Missouri at some stage between 1865 and 1883, but had no specific details. This story had come from his cousin, Champ Vermillion. John Wilson did not return to Virginia until 1883, when he married Nannie Fleenor in October of that year. The couple had two children, Minnie Belle, born in 1884 and Opie Martin, born in 1887. Opie Vermillion then married Sallie Pettyjohn in October 1908.

John Pettyjohn Vermillion was particularly close to his mother (Sallie) and confirmed that neither of them had any specific information about John Wilson's years in the west, as he refused to speak of his past. His mother had only known John Wilson for just over 2 years before his death in 1911. John Pettyjohn advised that his mother was also unaware of the "Texas Jack" claims prior to her contact with the "reporters" and that she had only spoken of his life back in Virginia from the family records.

He added that his grandfather had never lived at Big Stone Gap, Virginia. It was his father, Opie Vermillion, who had resided there. John Wilson Vermillion left no notes, letters, diaries or memoirs. Our interview concluded with John Pettyjohn proudly showing me the original Civil War photo of John Wilson enclosed in a small folding brass frame. We then had afternoon tea and I thanked he and his wife for their hospitality. It is important to note that John Pettyjohn was extremely lucid, his memory was sharp and he spoke openly and, I believe, honestly about his mother, and his grandfather.

John Wilson Vermillion died at his farm in Mendota, Virginia on January 7, 1911. I located his obituary in the Bristol Evening News on January 13, 1911, but it made no mention of his years in the west. -

Mendota, VA Jan. 12 - The town was shocked Saturday when the news spread that John Vermillion was dead. He died about 1 o'clock Saturday morning. Mr.Vermillion was one of the best citizens here, and will be sadly missed. H leaves a wife, one daughter and one son. The funeral was conducted by Rev. Mr. McConnell of Bloomingdale. A large crowd attended.

Next, I tried to determine if Pat Jahns was one of the "reporters" who had contacted Mrs. Opie Vermillion after World War II. With the assistance of Lee Silva, I wrote to Pat Jahns in 1997 and asked her how she had determined that Mrs Opie Vermillion was related to "Texas Jack" of Tombstone fame, but she did not reply to my letter.

I then examined the information Pat Jahns had provided regarding the other Earp Vendetta riders in Chapter 13 of her Doc Holliday book. The findings were not encouraging. Jahns claimed that Dan Tipton had been killed shortly after the Vendetta. This was completely false. She also claimed that Johnson and McMaster had been killed in the Texas Panhandle after the Vendetta. This claim was pure speculation and totally without a source.

In recent years I have corresponded with noted "Doc" Holliday author Gary Roberts. Gary has informed me that 40 years ago he followed Pat Jahns' clues, and in the 1960s located and corresponded with Mrs. Opie Vermillion. According to Gary, Mrs. Vermillion did confirm her belief that her father-in-law was the famed gunfighter, "Texas Jack". Unfortunately, Gary is no longer in possession of the letters from Mrs. Vermillion, and we are left to ponder their exact wording and whether her letters contained any further clues to the puzzle and whether her opinion was influenced by Pat Jahns.

Several current day authors and researchers have followed Pat Jahns' lead and repeated the claim that John Wilson Vermillion was "Texas Jack". These include,

Casey Tefertiller, in his acclaimed book, Wyatt Earp, The Life behind the Legend, (1997); Tefertiller contacted John Pettyjohn, via his cousin, Champ Vermillion, and obtained a wonderful photo of John Wilson Vermillion taken at the time of the Civil War. (A copy of this photo is posted above.)

Glenn Boyer in his booklet Curly Bill Has Been Killed At Last, Volume IV, Wyatt Earp, Family, Friends and Foes, (1997); In his haste to scoop Tefertiller on the publication of the Civil War photo, Boyer incorrectly labelled the photo as "Turkey Creek Jack" Vermillion. He had obtained the photo from Ben Traywick, but curiously, Boyer claimed in his previous book, Wyatt Earp's Tombstone Vendetta, (1993), he had obtained information about "Texas Jack" from a so-called grandnephew, Ed Godbey or Godby. John Pettyjohn Vermillion had extensive genealogical records of his family and confirmed that, to the best of his knowledge, no such person existed in his family tree.

Ben Traywick in his book, Wyatt Earp's Thirteen Dead Men, (1998); Traywick relied on another researcher named Pete Hosey for his information on Vermillion. Hosey had corresponded with me in 1997 and also visited with John Pettyjohn Vermillion, but had no additional information to add to the story. Traywick therefore basically repeated the statements contained in Pat Jahns' book.

Since 1997 I have, with the assistance of researcher, Jean Smith, tried to discover any primary source that could confirm John Wilson Vermillion was "Texas Jack". To date, not one single primary source has been located that confirms the story. We are still searching, but I challenge any researcher or reader to provide a primary source to substantiate the claim that John Wilson Vermillion and "Texas Jack" Vermillion were the same man.

John Pettyjohn Vermillion passed away in Bristol, Tennessee, on May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. His wife had died the previous year. He was a gracious and generous man who was pleased to meet an Australian, and was happy to pass on whatever information he had. I will remember him and his wife fondly.