John Baker Omohundro (July 27, 1846 – June 28, 1880), also known as "Texas Jack", was an American frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. Born in rural Virginia, he served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He later served as a civilian scout for the US Army during the American Indian Wars. Before his untimely death, Texas Jack became a legendary figure in the American Old West as a Western showman performing dramas on the stage throughout the country, and was immortalized in dime novels published around the world.
Interesting piece of history thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHeard of him, but never did any research. Muchas gracies.
ReplyDeleteI see he died young. When I first read Baker in Va I thought, I bet he died of a heart attack. I knew a lot of Baker boys in the Shenandoah. Damn near all of them died young of heart attacks. Bad tickers ran in that family. The Bakers I knew were a last of their breed. They were rough and tough southern boys. I always heard in the fifties you didn't venture up on Ridge Rd unless you had a good reason. Like to buy shine. Otherwise you could expect an unfavorable encounter. By the seventies they were calmed down quite a bit. Warren, Jake and Big Steve I worked with and all died of heart attacks. The Cash family were related somehow and that family had the bad ticker too. Harry, Pete and Don all died young of heart attacks. I worked with those boys too.
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