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Husband: Martin RINGO [I08010]
Born: 01 OCT 1819 in Kentucky 1
Married: 05 SEP 1848 in Clay Co., Missouri 11
Died: 30 JUL 1864 in Near Glenrock, Wyoming 2
Father: Peter RINGO
Mother: Margaret 'Peggy' HENDERSON
Spouses:
Wife: Mary PETERS [I08842]
Born: 13 NOV 1826 in Missouri 3
Died: 1876 in Santa Clara Co., California
Father: John R. PETERS
Mother: Frances A. SIMS
Spouses:
Children
01 (M): John 'Johnny' Peters RINGO [I08829]
Born: 03 MAY 1850 in Wayne Co., Indiana 4
Died: 13 JUL 1882 in Cochise Co., Arizona
Spouses:
02 (M): Martin Albert RINGO [I08827]
Born: 28 JAN 1854 in Wayne Co., Indiana 5
Died: UNKNOWN
Spouses:
03 (F): Fanny Fern RINGO [I08831]
Born: 20 JUL 1857 in Gallatin, Daviess Co., Missouri 6
Died: 13 MAY 1932 in Santa Clara Co., California 7
Spouses: Frank M. JACKSON
04 (F): Mary Enna RINGO [I08843]
Born: 02 MAY 1860 in Gallatin, Daviess Co., Missouri 8
Died: UNKNOWN
Spouses:
05 (F): Mattie Bell RINGO [I08832]
Born: 28 APR 1862 in Gallatin, Daviess Co., Missouri 9
Died: 20 MAY 1942 in Los Angeles, California 10
Spouses: William LeBaren CUSHING
Additional Information

Martin RINGO:

Buried: 30 JUL 1864, Two miles west of Glenrock, Wyoming

Notes:

In a letter dated August 1, 1864, written by a fellow traveler, William Davenport, to the "Tribune" in Liberty, Missouri describes the incident.
"Just after daylight on the morning of the 40th ult. Mr. Ringo stepped on top of the wagon, as I suppose, for the purpose of looking around to see if Indians were in sight, and his shot gun went off accidentally in his own hands, the load entering his right eye and coming out the top of his head. At the report of his gun I saw his hat blown up twenty feet in the air, and his brains were scatted in all directions"

This book also includes a photo of the native stone incised with the words, "M. Ringo" marking his grave. The location is reported to be two miles west of Glenrock, Wyoming, 150 feet north of the old U.S. Highway 26/27. In 1987 a new marker was set up by the Oregon-California Trails Association. It has a quote from William Davenport's letter to the "Tribune: "He was buried near the place he was shot, in as decent a manner as was possible with the facilities on the plains."

Mary PETERS:

Notes:

From a series of books devoted to diaries and letters of pioneer women Mary (Peters) Ringo's journal is included in one of the books. The Ringo family left Liberty, Missouri on May 18, 1864 on their way to California. The introduction to Mary's journal includes some genealogical info and places of residence, etc. It seems Mary was pregnant with her sixth child when they began the trip. The family members making this trip were: Martine and Mary Ringo and children: John Peters, Martin Albert, Fanny Fern, Mary Enna and Mattie Bell. The sixth child she was carrying during this trip was stillborn and described as being "severely disfigured from mother seeing father after he was shot".

Entry that Mary made in the journal on the day Martin died (accidentally by his own hand):

"July 30 Saturday. And now Oh God comes the saddest record of my life for this day my husband accidentally shot himself and was buried by the wayside and oh, my heart is breaking. If I had no children how gladly would I lay me down with my dear...but now Oh God I pray for strength to raise our precious children and oh..may no one ever suffer the anguish that is breaking my heart, my little children are crying all the time and I..oh what am I to do. Every one in camp is kind to us but God alone can heal the breaking heart. After buring my darling husband we hitch up and drive some 5 miles. Mr. Davenport drove my mules for me and Oh, the agony of parting from that grave, to go and leave him on that hillside where I shall never see it more but thank God tis only the body lying there and may we only meet in Heaven where there is no more death but only life eternally."

In a letter dated August 1, 1864, written by a fellow traveler, William Davenport, to the "Tribune" in Liberty, Missouri describes the incident. (See "Notes" for Martin Ringo)

The journal of Mary (Peters) Ringo includes entries on the everyday life on the trail from May 18, 1864 to October 8, 1864. An entry written by Mattie Bell (Ringo) Cushing sums up the remainder of the trip from Austin, NV to CA after Mary stopped witting in the journal on Oct 8, 1864.

According to various sources Mary and her children arrived in San Jose, Santa Clara Co. CA and lived for a while with her sister, Agusta (Peters) Younger and her husband, Coleman Younger, on their ranch.

1870 Santa Clara Co., CA - US Fed. Census
Roll M593_88, p 251, City of San Jose, 1st Ward, 25 July
Dwelling 440, Family 435
Ringo Mary, age 43, F/W, Keeping House, $2000, $400, b. MO
" John, age 20, M/W, b. IN
" Albert, age 16, M/W, Printer, b. IN
" Fannie, age 13, F/W, b. MO
" Enna, age 10, F/W, b. MO
" Mattie, age 8, F/W. b. MO

(01) John 'Johnny' Peters RINGO:

Notes:

Some sources give John Ringo's birth as May 3, 1850. According to the 1850 Wayne Co., IN Census dated 26 September John is listed as age 2/12. (2 months)
-----
John Ringo, though not a direct relative of the Younger brothers, was connected to them by his aunt's marriage. His mother's sister, Augusta Peters, married Col. Coleman Younger. Coleman Younger was an uncle to the Younger brothers.

Ironically, John Ringo was also connected to Jesse and Frank James in a similar manner. Benjamin Simms, an uncle on Ringo's mother's side of the family, married the James' widowed mother prior to the Civil War. Ref: "The Simms Family of Stafford County Virginia", privately printed, page 41

Some writers say that the family of Martin Ringo moved to Missouri in 1856. Martin Ringo and Mary Peters were married 5 September 1848 in Clay Co., MO. The family then appears in the 1850 census of Clay Township, Wayne Co., IN. In the 1860 census the family is living in Daviees Co., MO.

Some writers, based on hearsay, old timer recollections and unsupported claims, have declared that Ringo was an adolescent drunk and juvenile delinquent that left his family in 1869 (8). Yet, no evidence of this has ever been found. John Ringo was listed in the household of his mother and sisters in the 1870 Santa Clara Co., CA Fed. Census. Clearly, he did not leave San Jose until after 1870.
(See 1870 Census below):

1870 Santa Clara Co., CA - US Fed. Census
Roll M593_88, p 251, City of San Jose, 1st Ward, 25 July
Dwelling 440, Family 435
Ringo Mary, age 43, F/W, Keeping House, $2000, $400, b. MO
" John, age 20, M/W, b. IN
" Albert, age 16, M/W, Printer, b. IN
" Fannie, age 13, F/W, b. MO
" Enna, age 10, F/W, b. MO
" Mattie, age 8, F/W. b. MO
(BJC)

8. Burrows, Jack. John Ringo: The Gunfighter Who Never Was (1987), page 129. Burrows, relying on hearsay and unsupported statements made decades later by Charles Ringo, a distant relative of the Ringo family, who had no personal knowledge of the facts, helped to promote this folklore. Charles Ringo's claims, as one would expect from someone simply repeating stories told and retold years later, have proven to be error prone. Nonetheless, the story that Ringo was a adolescent drunk and troublemaker, who left California in 1869, had been repeated often by writers that made no effort to look into the matter.
Ref: http://www.johnnyringo.com/jrbelife.html

Footnotes
  1. 1860 Daviess Co., MO - US Fed. Census [269].
  2. Mary (Peters) Ringo's Journal, Covered Wagon Women, Vol. 8 [1695] (University of Nesbraska Press, Lincoln and London).
  3. 1860 Daviess Co., MO - US Fed. Census [269].
  4. 1850 Wayne Co., IN - US Fed. Census [229].
  5. 1860 Daviess Co., MO - US Fed. Census [269].
  6. Ibid.
  7. California Death Index - 1905 to 1929 [1217].
  8. 1870 Santa Clara Co., CA - US Fed. Census [427].
  9. Ibid.
  10. State of California Dept. of Health Services, California Death Index, 1940-1997 [2118] (Sacramento, CA).
  11. Dodd, Jordan R., et al., Early American Marriages - MO to 1850 [1361] (Bountiful, Ut).
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