More about John Peters Ringo, AKA Johnny Ringo

I just wanted to add a few more notes about Johnny Ringo.

There are several websites that are devoted to the life of Johnny Ringo and others that contain some notes regarding his life. A word of caution. When you visit these websites, take whatever you read with a grain of salt.

I came across websites that try to analyze why John Peters Ringo became an outlaw. Most of what is said is speculation and some of the speculation is based on leaps of faith. In particular, those sites that try to connect Johnny Ringo's behavior to a loose connection with the Younger and James brothers.

John Ringo witnessed his father's death when he was 14. This may have contributed to his having trouble with the law. However, other young people throughout history have witnessed such tragedies without turning to the life that Johnny Ringo led.

The influence of the James and Younger brothers on Johnny Ringo's life seems to be a great stretch.

Martin Ringo was a soldier in the Mexican-American War. After his discharge in New Orleans, Martin married Mary Peters in Clay County, Missouri. The two of them returned to Indiana where Martin resided prior to his enlistment. Their first born was John Peters Ringo who was born in Indiana in 1850. In 1850, Martin and Mary were living in Wayne Co., Indiana. The family moved to Missouri. In 1860 the family was living in Gallatin, Daviess County, where Martin was a merchant.

The Younger Connection

In 1864, Martin started out with his family to California to meet with his wife's sister and her husband, Augusta Peters and Coleman Younger, who were living in San Jose.

Mary Peter's sister Augusta, a widow, married Coleman Purcell Younger in Clay Co., MO in 1853 and that same year she went to San Jose, California where he had a home. Colonel Younger had moved to California in 1851.

Col. Coleman Younger's brother, Henry Washington Younger, had a son who was born in 1844 and was named Thomas Coleman Younger. Following the Civil War, this Thomas (Cole) and his brothers, James (Jim), John and Robert (Bob), formed the James-Younger gang with Jesse and Frank James.

Henry Younger and his family lived in Clay County, Missouri in 1840 and had moved to Jackson County, Missouri before 1850. Jackson County is just south of Clay County. Before 1860, the family moved south to Harrisonville, Cass County, Missouri where Henry Younger was mayor from 1859 to 1860. Henry Younger was killed in 1862. In 1870, his widow, Thomas (Cole), John, James, Robert and two daughters are living in Dallas County, Texas.

Daviess County is in the western part of Missouri a bit below the Iowa state line. Clay, Jackson and Cass counties on the western edge of the state and south of Daviess Co. It is not evident to me that Johnny Ringo had any contact with his uncles' nephews, the Younger brothers. By 1864, Johnny was in California with his mother and siblings.

The James Connection

After the death of Rev. Robert James in 1850, Zerelda Cole James married Benjamin Simms. The marriage was brief as he died in January 1854. Zerelda was the mother of Jesse and Frank James. Benjamin Simms was the brother of Frances A. Simms who married John R. Peters, Mary and Augusta Peters' father.

Coleman and Augusta Peters Younger were living in California only a few years after John Peters Ringo was born.

The James-Younger gang was formed after the Civil War. In 1864, Martin and Mary Peters Ringo moved to California where Augusta Peters Younger was living.

John Peters Ringo's family lived in Indiana and briefly in Daviess County, Missouri before moving to California.

I really don't have any evidence that there was contact between Johnny Ringo and the James-Younger gang.

Looking back at the norms of the times, in my opinion, Jesse James and cohorts were criminals. Johnny Ringo was someone who was frequently in trouble with the law and made some enemies.

Myths Related to Johnny Ringo

In my blog yesterday, I briefly mentioned the tragedy of Martin Ringo and of Mary Peters Ringo's journal. Today, I add more to the story.

Martin and Mary Ringo left Missouri in 1864 with their five children with the intent of moving to San Jose, California. Mary's sister and brother-in-law, Colonel Coleman and Augusta Peters Younger had resided there for quite some time. Colonel Younger is considered a Santa Clara County pioneer. Mary continued onto to California after the tragic death of her husband. Their eldest son, John Peters Ringo was only 14 years old when he witnessed the death of his father. John has become known as the infamous Johnny Ringo who was killed or committed suicide near Tombstone, Arizona. Looking at the stories associated with Johnny Ringo, I found that there is much speculation about his life and death. I also know that in looking at many of the accounts of his life that much of it is flawed. I would like to put a few things straight. Colonel Younger was not part of the Younger gang. He was just a relative, a man who was well regarded by his contemporaries in San Jose. He was not Johnny Ringo's grandfather as was claimed in some accounts. Some seemed to have confused him with his relative Thomas Coleman Younger. Johnny Ringo spent most of his teenage and young adult years in California. He was still living in San Jose in 1870. Some time after 1870 he left San Jose and appears to have been involved in the range wars in Texas. Some accounts of his life believe that the because he has a distant relationship with the James and Dalton families and the fact that his uncle by marriage is an uncle to the Younger brothers, that he was destined to become an outlaw. As far as I can tell there is no connection. If you are interested in a photo of Martin Ringo's grave, you should visit the Oregon-California Trails Association or the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office.

A word of caution, both sites include some incorrect information. The Oregon-California Trail site starts out stating that Martin and Mary Ringo left Missouri headed for San Jose, California. However in the paragraph under the title, "Additional Information," implies that the family had intended to go to Oregon but when Martin accidentally shot himself to death, Mary decided to go to California. It also claims that a few years after arriving in San Jose that Mary and her family moved to Oregon where she is buried. Mary Ringo was living in San Jose in 1870 a few years before she died. Her daughters, who married, are also found in the various census from 1870 on still living in the San Jose. The Wyoming State Preservation Office site states that Mary's brother-in-law was a member of the James Gang and Quantrill's Raiders. Simply not true! It is really disappointing when organizations that claim to be preserving history don't get the facts right.