The biography of John W Wagnon is mostly from Wagnon family tradition He left very few footprints in his life.
John was the youngest son of Perry Wagnon and Elizabeth Easley. He was born in Washington county, Arkansas, but following the death of his father, the family went to Comanche county, Texas soon after the Civil War.
In the year 1886, when he was a young man, he -along with his brothers - was involved in an incident with cattle and horse thieves in Comanche county. The Wagnon brothers were said to have been part of a vigilante posse who tracked three horse thieves to a place called Cottonwood Springs north of Comanche county. There they found the thieves and hanged three men to a limb of a cottonwood tree. During the proceedings, someone other than a posse member -who were evidently all masked- heard the name "Wagnon" called out. Thus, when the Texas Rangers came to investigate the hangings, they were given the name "Wagnon". Since John was the only Wagnon brother not yet married, it was decided that John would publically announce that he was the Wagnon at the hangings. This he did, and his brother Bob gave him a good horse and saddle and $100.00, and John rode off just ahead of the Rangers, never to be seen or heard from again.
The only clue the family had that John was alive was a letter his brother Thomas Allen Wagnon received from him about 1903. At the time John was in the Northwest, either Washington or Oregon. We do not know if John changed his name, but we have found no evidence of him in the Northwestern states. He supposedly spent his life as a wanted man in Texas, although by all family accounts he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
John was the youngest son of Perry Wagnon and Elizabeth Easley. He was born in Washington county, Arkansas, but following the death of his father, the family went to Comanche county, Texas soon after the Civil War.
In the year 1886, when he was a young man, he -along with his brothers - was involved in an incident with cattle and horse thieves in Comanche county. The Wagnon brothers were said to have been part of a vigilante posse who tracked three horse thieves to a place called Cottonwood Springs north of Comanche county. There they found the thieves and hanged three men to a limb of a cottonwood tree. During the proceedings, someone other than a posse member -who were evidently all masked- heard the name "Wagnon" called out. Thus, when the Texas Rangers came to investigate the hangings, they were given the name "Wagnon". Since John was the only Wagnon brother not yet married, it was decided that John would publically announce that he was the Wagnon at the hangings. This he did, and his brother Bob gave him a good horse and saddle and $100.00, and John rode off just ahead of the Rangers, never to be seen or heard from again.
The only clue the family had that John was alive was a letter his brother Thomas Allen Wagnon received from him about 1903. At the time John was in the Northwest, either Washington or Oregon. We do not know if John changed his name, but we have found no evidence of him in the Northwestern states. He supposedly spent his life as a wanted man in Texas, although by all family accounts he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
The biography of John W Wagnon is mostly from Wagnon family tradition He left very few footprints in his life.
John was the youngest son of Perry Wagnon and Elizabeth Easley. He was born in Washington county, Arkansas, but following the death of his father, the family went to Comanche county, Texas soon after the Civil War.
In the year 1886, when he was a young man, he -along with his brothers - was involved in an incident with cattle and horse thieves in Comanche county. The Wagnon brothers were said to have been part of a vigilante posse who tracked three horse thieves to a place called Cottonwood Springs north of Comanche county. There they found the thieves and hanged three men to a limb of a cottonwood tree. During the proceedings, someone other than a posse member -who were evidently all masked- heard the name "Wagnon" called out. Thus, when the Texas Rangers came to investigate the hangings, they were given the name "Wagnon". Since John was the only Wagnon brother not yet married, it was decided that John would publically announce that he was the Wagnon at the hangings. This he did, and his brother Bob gave him a good horse and saddle and $100.00, and John rode off just ahead of the Rangers, never to be seen or heard from again.
The only clue the family had that John was alive was a letter his brother Thomas Allen Wagnon received from him about 1903. At the time John was in the Northwest, either Washington or Oregon. We do not know if John changed his name, but we have found no evidence of him in the Northwestern states. He supposedly spent his life as a wanted man in Texas, although by all family accounts he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
John was the youngest son of Perry Wagnon and Elizabeth Easley. He was born in Washington county, Arkansas, but following the death of his father, the family went to Comanche county, Texas soon after the Civil War.
In the year 1886, when he was a young man, he -along with his brothers - was involved in an incident with cattle and horse thieves in Comanche county. The Wagnon brothers were said to have been part of a vigilante posse who tracked three horse thieves to a place called Cottonwood Springs north of Comanche county. There they found the thieves and hanged three men to a limb of a cottonwood tree. During the proceedings, someone other than a posse member -who were evidently all masked- heard the name "Wagnon" called out. Thus, when the Texas Rangers came to investigate the hangings, they were given the name "Wagnon". Since John was the only Wagnon brother not yet married, it was decided that John would publically announce that he was the Wagnon at the hangings. This he did, and his brother Bob gave him a good horse and saddle and $100.00, and John rode off just ahead of the Rangers, never to be seen or heard from again.
The only clue the family had that John was alive was a letter his brother Thomas Allen Wagnon received from him about 1903. At the time John was in the Northwest, either Washington or Oregon. We do not know if John changed his name, but we have found no evidence of him in the Northwestern states. He supposedly spent his life as a wanted man in Texas, although by all family accounts he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
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