Ringo or Ringgold?

[Bungalo Bill]

I know that Wyatt Earp wrote out Johnny Ringo's surname as Ringgold, but I have seen copies of signed documents in which Johnny signed his name as Ringo, the more commonly seen version. I also believe his sisters in California also used the name of Ringo.

Does anyone know whether or not the family name was actually Ringgold at one time, and then changed? Aside from nitpicking historical tidbits, it might be important if we want to know the true history of Johnny, including his Texas days.

[Gay Mathis]

Martin Ringo listed under the Ringo spelling of his last name for his marriage to Mary Peters (Johnny's parents)..Census and land records used the Ringo spelling..

[C. F. 'Charley' Eckhardt]

Johnny Ringo claimed to have been involved in the Hoodoo war in Mason County, Texas, in the 1870s. There was a family named 'Ringgold' in the Mason County area at that time. A John Ringgold was indicted for his part in the Mason County war. He was tried, convicted, & sentenced tto 50 yrs. I can't find any trace of 'John Ringgold' after that.

Jim Gillette was a Texas ranger corporal in Mason County during that range war. He arrested or was in on the arrest of 'John Ringgold.' Several years later, he was Sheriff of El Paso County. In his book, SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS, he mentions missing arresting Curly Bill by a matter of minutes, but he makes no mention of Johnny Ringo.

The Johnny Ringo who was in Tombstone was really 'Johnny Ringo.' That was his actual name. A distant cousin of his did an article about the two movies Tombstone & Wyatt Earp in ROUNDUP magazine, the house mag of Western Writers of America, talking about all the different ways his distant cousin has been killed in the many movies about the Earp/Cowboy confrontation in Tombstone.

Was Johnny Ringo of Tombstone fame the 'John Ringgold' of the Hoodoo war? Personally, I don't think so. He may have been in Texas & he may have been a minor outlaw here--there were a pair of Brocius brothers involved in outlawry around Fort Stockton & Fort Davis in the early to mid 1870s & he may have been associated with them. They pulled stakes & headed west to avoid going to prison in Texas.