Newman Haynes Clanton

Newman Haynes Clanton (c. 1816 – August 13, 1881), also known as "Old Man" Clanton, was a cattle rancher and father of four sons, one of whom was killed during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Two of his sons were involved in multiple conflicts in Cochise County, Arizona Territory including stagecoach robbery and cattle rustling. One witness identified his son Ike Clanton as a participant in the murder of Morgan Earp. Billy Clanton and Ike were at the O.K. Corral. "Old Man" Clanton was reportedly involved with stealing cattle from Mexican ranchers and re-selling them in the United States. Records indicate he participated in the Skeleton Canyon Massacre of Mexican smugglers. In retaliation, Mexican Rurales are reported to have ambushed and killed him and a crew of Cowboys in the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre.

Newman Clanton was born around 1816 in Davidson County, Tennessee, and married Mariah Sexton Kelso in Callaway County, Missouri on January 5, 1840. Newman and Mariah had five sons and two daughters: John Wesley, Phineas Fay, Joseph Isaac, Mary Elsie, Ester Ann, Peter Alonzo, and William "Billy" Harrison. Peter Alonzo died as an infant.

Newman Clanton had been a plantation owner and enslaver in Tennessee before moving the family to Missouri. Over the next 20 years, he moved the family across the west and southwest. He tried gold mining in California before relocating the family to Dallas, Texas around 1853, where they ran a ranch for a time and where their last two children, Ester and Alonzo were born. While in Texas, both Newman and his oldest son John enlisted in the Confederate Home Guard at the outbreak of the American Civil War. Newman was eventually released due to his age.

At the end of the war in 1865, Newman moved the family to Arizona Territory and settled for a time near Fort Bowie near Willcox, Arizona. In 1866, they moved to San Buenaventura, California, and after 26 years of marriage, his wife Mariah died. In 1871, he moved the family to Port Hueneme, California.

Newman returned to the Arizona Territory in 1873 to the Gila River valley, where he purchased or squatted on a large tract of land outside Camp Thomas. However, his plans for a new town failed to materialize. He resumed cattle ranching, and most of his children followed him to Arizona.

During these many moves, the Clantons had repeated scrapes with the law. Newman and his oldest son, John Wesley, were convicted of desertion during the Civil War. They developed a reputation for theft and thuggery that followed them to Arizona. Newman Clanton sold the ranch near Camp Thomas in 1877, but Billy Clanton often returned to visit the old homestead. Melvin Jones, whose father bought the ranch from Newman, wrote that Billy Clanton first met Frank and Tom McLaury at the ranch in 1878, at the time the McLaury brothers had located land for a cattle ranch in the Sulphur Springs Valley.

After leaving Camp Thomas, Newman Clanton bought land on the San Pedro River, in Lewis Springs, where he built a large adobe house. The home became the headquarters of the Clanton Ranch. Phin obtained work as a freight driver. In the same year prospector Ed Schieffelin discovered silver in the hills east of the San Pedro River on a plateau known as Goose Flats, less than 15 miles (24 km) from the Clanton ranch. The family was very well situated to meet the demands for beef from the booming town of Tombstone. From its founding in March 1879, Tombstone grew from 100 residents to upwards of 15,000 citizens at its peak less than a decade later.

The Tombstone Mill and Mining Company opened a stamping mill about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Clanton's ranch in 1879 to take advantage of the ready water supply. Another mill soon followed, and both began operations in 1879, The Clanton Ranch grew into a successful enterprise for many reasons. The Clantons also supplied beef to Bisbee and other nearby towns. During his testimony after the shootout at the O.K. Corral, Ike Clanton claimed to have raised and purchased about 700 head of cattle during the past year, and the Clanton ranch was one of the most profitable cattle ranches in that part of the country. However, the Clantons never registered a brand in either Cochise County or Pima County which was required to legally raise cattle.