Texas Jack Omohundro
Encyclopedia
John Baker Omohundro also known as "Texas Jack," was a frontier scout
, actor, and cowboy.
He was born at Pleasure Hill, near Palmyra, Virginia
, to John B. and Catherine Omohundro. In his early teens, he left home, made his way alone to Texas, and became a cowboy
. Unable to join the Confederate Army in 1861 because of his youth, he entered Confederate service as a courier and scout. In 1864, he enlisted in Gen. J.E.B. Stuart
's command as a courier and scout.
After the American Civil War
, Omohundro resumed his life as a Texas cowboy. He participated in early cattle drives, notably on the Chisholm Trail
. On one drive across Arkansas to meat-short Tennessee, grateful citizens nicknamed him "Texas Jack."
Shortly after the Civil War Omohundro adopted a five year old boy whose parents had been killed by Native Americans. He cared for him and called him Texas Jack Jr.
, since his real last name was unknown.
In 1869, he moved to Cottonwood Springs, Nebraska, near Fort McPherson
and became a scout and buffalo hunter. There he met William F. Buffalo Bill
Cody. Together, they participated in Indian skirmishes and buffalo hunts, acted as guides for notables such as the Earl of Dunraven
, and led the highly publicized royal hunt of 1872 with Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia
and a group of prominent American military figures.
Omohundro and Cody traveled to Chicago in December 1872 to debut in The Scouts of the Prairie, one of the original Wild West shows produced by Ned Buntline
. Critics described Omohundro as physically impressive and magnetic in personality. He was the first performer to introduce roping acts to the American stage. During the 1873-74 season, Omohundro and Cody invited their friend James Butler Wild Bill Hickok
to join them in a new play called Scouts of the Plains.
During the 1870s, Texas Jack divided his time between the Eastern stage circuit and the hunting ranges of the Great Plains. He guided hunting parties that included European nobility. On August 31, 1873, Omohundro married Giuseppina Morlacchi
, a dancer and actress from Milan
, Italy
, who starred with him in the Scouts of the Prairie and other shows.
He headed his own acting troupe in St. Louis in 1877. He also wrote articles about his hunting and scouting experiences, published in eastern newspapers and popular magazines. The Texas Jack legend grew in many dime novels, particularly those written by Col. Prentiss Ingraham
. In 1900, Joel Chandler Harris
featured Texas Jack in a series of fictional accounts of the Confederacy for the Saturday Evening Post.
Texas Jack died in 1880, of pneumonia, in Leadville, Colorado
, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery there. Texas Jack Jr. carried on in the wild west show business around the world, especially in South Africa.
In 1954 Herschel Logan, a gun collector who acquired a pistol belonging to Texas Jack, published the biography Buckskin and Satin. In 1980, the Texas Jack Association was formed to preserve and promote Texas Jack's memory.
In 1994, Texas Jack Omohundro was inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
in the Hall of Great Western Performers
.
Note: Many sources give Omohundro's middle name as Burwell, but the Omohundro family bible records his middle name as Baker.
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, actor, and cowboy.
He was born at Pleasure Hill, near Palmyra, Virginia
Palmyra, Virginia
Palmyra is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Fluvanna County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 104. Palmyra lies on the eastern bank of the Rivanna River along U.S. Route 15...
, to John B. and Catherine Omohundro. In his early teens, he left home, made his way alone to Texas, and became a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
. Unable to join the Confederate Army in 1861 because of his youth, he entered Confederate service as a courier and scout. In 1864, he enlisted in Gen. J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
's command as a courier and scout.
After the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Omohundro resumed his life as a Texas cowboy. He participated in early cattle drives, notably on the Chisholm Trail
Chisholm Trail
The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the late 19th century to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The portion of the trail marked by Jesse Chisholm went from his southern trading post near the Red River, to his northern trading post near Kansas City, Kansas...
. On one drive across Arkansas to meat-short Tennessee, grateful citizens nicknamed him "Texas Jack."
Shortly after the Civil War Omohundro adopted a five year old boy whose parents had been killed by Native Americans. He cared for him and called him Texas Jack Jr.
Texas Jack (South Africa)
Texas Jack Jr., , adopted son of Texas Jack Omohundro, is best known for running a Wild West show and circus where he gave Will Rogers his start as an entertainer....
, since his real last name was unknown.
In 1869, he moved to Cottonwood Springs, Nebraska, near Fort McPherson
Fort McPherson, Nebraska
Fort McPherson was originally called Cantonment McKean, and was popularly known as Fort Cottonwood. The Fort was an Indian Wars-era U.S...
and became a scout and buffalo hunter. There he met William F. Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
Cody. Together, they participated in Indian skirmishes and buffalo hunts, acted as guides for notables such as the Earl of Dunraven
Windham Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl
Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl KP PC , styled Viscount Adare between 1850 and 1871, was an Irish journalist, landowner, entrepreneur, sportsman and Conservative politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies under Lord Salisbury from 1885 to...
, and led the highly publicized royal hunt of 1872 with Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia was the sixth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna . Destined to a naval career, Alexei Alexandrovich started his military training at the age of 7...
and a group of prominent American military figures.
Omohundro and Cody traveled to Chicago in December 1872 to debut in The Scouts of the Prairie, one of the original Wild West shows produced by Ned Buntline
Ned Buntline
Ned Buntline , was a pseudonym of Edward Zane Carroll Judson , an American publisher, journalist, writer and publicist best known for his dime novels and the Colt Buntline Special he is alleged to have commissioned from Colt's Manufacturing Company.-Naval and military experience:Edward Judson was...
. Critics described Omohundro as physically impressive and magnetic in personality. He was the first performer to introduce roping acts to the American stage. During the 1873-74 season, Omohundro and Cody invited their friend James Butler Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
to join them in a new play called Scouts of the Plains.
Giuseppina Morlacchi
Giuseppina Morlacchi was an Italian American ballerina and dancer, who introduced the can-can to the American stage, and married the scout and actor Texas Jack Omohundro. She was born in Milan, and attended dance school at La Scala. She debuted on the stage in 1856 at Genoa. In short time she...
, a dancer and actress from Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, who starred with him in the Scouts of the Prairie and other shows.
He headed his own acting troupe in St. Louis in 1877. He also wrote articles about his hunting and scouting experiences, published in eastern newspapers and popular magazines. The Texas Jack legend grew in many dime novels, particularly those written by Col. Prentiss Ingraham
Prentiss Ingraham
Colonel Prentiss Ingraham was a Colonel in the Confederate Army, a professional military officer throughout the 1860s and a fiction writer.-Biography:...
. In 1900, Joel Chandler Harris
Joel Chandler Harris
Joel Chandler Harris was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Harris was born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his teenage years...
featured Texas Jack in a series of fictional accounts of the Confederacy for the Saturday Evening Post.
Texas Jack died in 1880, of pneumonia, in Leadville, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery there. Texas Jack Jr. carried on in the wild west show business around the world, especially in South Africa.
In 1954 Herschel Logan, a gun collector who acquired a pistol belonging to Texas Jack, published the biography Buckskin and Satin. In 1980, the Texas Jack Association was formed to preserve and promote Texas Jack's memory.
In 1994, Texas Jack Omohundro was inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
in the Hall of Great Western Performers
Hall of Great Western Performers
The Hall of Great Western Performers is a Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A. It is sometimes referred to as the "Western Performers Hall of Fame"...
.
Note: Many sources give Omohundro's middle name as Burwell, but the Omohundro family bible records his middle name as Baker.