‘Texas Jack’ May Be A Virginian

In the Kurt Russell movie “Tombstone,” there’s a brief mention of a guy named “Texas Jack.”
This character charges through the Wild West, riding on a rampage with Wyatt Earp – played by Russell – as part of a vendetta posse. Through the hills and through the woods, these guys – and two more, including the famous gambler Doc Holliday – take charge with their pistols.
The movie credits list Peter Sherayko as the actor who plays “Texas Jack” Vermillion.
But wait. This isn’t just the tale of a movie. And Texas Jack wasn’t from Texas.
As it turns out, Texas Jack was actually a Virginian, born somewhere in Russell County, Va. in 1842, according to Honaker historian Janice Busic.
Vermillion’s name is listed on an 1850 census from Russell County. “But,” Busic cautioned, “they haven’t found a record of his birth.”
John Wilson Vermillion – the man believed to be “Texas Jack” – is buried at the Mendota Cemetery behind the Mendota Post Office in Washington County, Va., Busic said.
Only, Vermillion wasn’t called “Texas Jack” when he lived at Mendota, Busic said, and he acted far from a gunslinger or gambler.
Here, Vermillion was a leader in a local church.
“He did not want to be known at the end of his life as ‘Texas Jack,’ ” Busic said. “He was just a family man who wanted to remain anonymous.”
Why was this man called Texas Jack? “Because I’m a Virginian,” he would say.
“But,” Busic quickly offered, “the real reason he was called ‘Texas Jack’ is because he preferred horses from Texas.”
A Confederate Army veteran, Texas Jack fought with Earp at Tombstone, Ariz., in 1882.
“He was just dumb-brave,” said Doug Vermillion, 60, a distant relative of Texas Jack’s and a family researcher from Anderson, Ind. “He was the kind of guy who would stand up in a gunfight and keep shooting, instead of running for cover.”
For a few years, Texas Jack lived in the late 1800s at Big Stone Gap, Va., then later settled at Mendota. He died in 1911.
On Nov. 16, Busic plans to pay tribute to Texas Jack by placing an iron cross at his gravesite in Mendota in a 3 p.m. ceremony, sponsored by the Henry Carter Stuart Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans John F. McElhenny Camp.
Several of the Vermillion family members are invited. So is the general public. 
Still, Busic said, a bit of mystery remains: Can this man really be Texas Jack?
“I don’t think we’ll ever know with 100 percent accuracy,” Busic said. “But we can look at the evidence and know that his name pops up at all these places.”
A convoy of travelers is meeting at New People’s Bank in Honaker, Va. at 1 p.m. Nov. 16 to travel to the cemetery. Call (276) 873-6065.