The Other Clanton

John Wesley Clanton kept his hands on the plow, not the gun.

He’s the forgotten Clanton—John Wesley Clanton, the oldest son of Newman “Old Man” Clanton and brother to Phin, Ike and Billy. Born in 1841, John Wesley served in the Texas Cavalry during the Civil War. Then he became a farmer. When his clan moved to Arizona in 1873, John Wesley and his family accompanied them. But farming in the area wasn’t good, so the oldest Clanton went to California.

He farmed land around Santa Rosa, where he died at the age of 74 in 1916. As far as we know, he never pulled a gun in anger.