Wyatt Earp

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Wyatt Earp
Information, Biography, and more.......
By Alison Bos
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Early Life
Wyatt Earp was born in Monmouth, Illinois on
March 19, 1849. He had 8 total brothers and
sisters and his parents names were Nicholas
Porter Earp and Virginia Ann Cooksey Earp. They
named Wyatt after a famous commanding officer
named Wyatt Berry Stapp who served in the
Mexican-American War. The Earp family did quite
a bit of moving throughout Wyatts child years.
After moving to Pella, Iowa, Civil War broke out.
Wyatts brothers, Newton, James, and Virgil,
joined the war. Wyatt wanted to join, but he was
too young. He frequently tried to run away, but
his father always caught him and brought him
home. All of Wyatts brothers who left for War,
returned home. On May 12, 1864, the Earps joined
a wagon train bound for California.
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Life in California
After moving to California, Wyatt and his
brother, Virgil, found a common occupation as
stagecoach drivers. In the spring of 1866, Wyatt
became a teamster, transporting cargo for Chris
Taylor. He transported cargo from California to
the Arizona Territory. He also worked a route
from California to Las Vegas then to Salt Lake
City. In the spring of 1868, Wyatt was hired to
transport supplies for the upcoming Pacific
Railroad. It was through this job that he married
his first wife in Lamar, Missouri. Her name was
Urilla Sutherland and she died a few months after
they married to the typhus disease. Some believed
that she died having a child, but nobody knows
for sure. Back in California, the rest of the
earp family decided to move back to the midwest.
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Disappearance Return
For years, nobody knew of Wyatt Earps
whereabouts. After being in trouble with the law
by being accused of horse theft and other crimes,
Wyatt disappeared. After many years. Wyatt was
discovered in Wichita, Kansas. Many believe that
Earp was buffalo hunting in the years that he was
missing. On April 21, 1875, Wyatt Earp
joined the Wichitas Marshal Office. One
newspaper report exists referring to Earp as
Officer Earp prior to is official hiring. His
exact role as an officer during 1874 is unclear
because of this. He likely served in an
unofficial paid role. While in Wichita, Earp
received many public acclamations. He caught a
horse thief, being involved in the stopping of
many rebelling cowboys, and many other heroic
incidents. People began calling him a great
officer. Wyatts role of being a Wichita Deputy
ended suddenly when he was accused of using his
office to get his brothers hired. He beat the
current Marshall up, and was automatically fired.
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Earp in Kansas and Texas
Wyatt Earp was Assistant Marshall in Dodge City,
Kansas in 1876. Dodge City was a major terminal
for cattle drives going to and traveling from
Texas. In 1877, Earp left Dodge City to gamble
throughout Texas. He stopped at Fort Griffin,
Texas, where he met a young, card-playing,
dentist, known as Doc Holliday. Earp returned to
Dodge City, Kansas in 1878, to once again become
the Assistant Marshall. Holliday moved to Dodge
City a little while after Earp. Holliday later
saved Earps life. He prevented a cowboy from
shooting Earp, while Earp was trying to break up
a bar room brawl.
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George Hoy Shooting
In the summer of 1878, Texas cowboy George Hoy
returned to Wyatts area in Texas after a
disagreement with Wyatt. He returned with
friends and fired into the Comique variety hall.
Wyatt Earp and Jim Masterson were outside of the
hall when they fired. Inside, a great number of
.45 bullets penetrated the plank building easily,
sending Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Eddie Froy
and many others instantly to the floor. No one
was hurt. The lawmen, both inside and outside of
the building, instantly fired back. Hoy was shot
from his horse with a severe arm wound. He died
about a month later. Nobody knows for sure who
fired the shot the mortally wounded Hoy, but
Wyatt Earp claims that he in fact, downed Hoy.
The Dodge City Peace Commision
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Moving to Tombstone
Wyatt and his older brothers James (Jim) and
Virgil moved to silver-mining boomtown Tombstone,
in the Arizona Territory, in December 1879. Wyatt
brought a wagon that he planned to convert into a
stagecoach, but on arrival he found two
established stage lines already running. Jim
worked as a barkeep. Virgil was appointed deputy
U.S. marshal, just prior to arriving in
Tombstone. (The U.S. marshal for the Arizona
Territory, C.P. Dake, was based in Prescott 280
miles about 450 km away, so the deputy U.S.
marshal job in Tombstone represented federal
authority in the southwest area of the
territory.) In Tombstone, the Earps staked mining
claims. Wyatt also went to work for Wells Fargo,
riding shotgun for their stagecoaches when they
held strongboxes. Eventually, in the summer of
1880, younger brothers Morgan and Warren Earp
moved to Tombstone as well, and in September, Doc
Holliday arrived.
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the earp's and the mclaury's
On July 25, 1880, U.S. Deputy Marshal Virgil Earp
accused Frank McLaury, a "Cowboy", (often
capitalized in papers as a local term for a
cattle-dealer that often was synonymous with
rustler) of taking part in the stealing of six
Army mules from Camp Rucker. This was a federal
matter because the animals were federal property.
The McLaurys were caught changing the "U.S."
brand to "D.8." by the Army representative and
Earp. However, to avoid a fight, the posse
withdrew on the understanding that the mules
would be returned. They were not. In response,
the Army's representative published an account in
the papers, damaging Frank McLaury's reputation.
This incident marked the beginning of animosity
between the McLaurys and the Earps. About the
same time, Wyatt was appointed deputy sheriff for
the southern part of Pima County, which was at
that time the surrounding county containing
Tombstone. Wyatt served in the office only three
months.
Tombstone
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Wyatt Earp resigned as deputy sheriff of Pima
County on November 9, 1880 (just twelve days
after the White shooting), because of an election
vote-counting dispute. Wyatt favored the
Republican challenger Bob Paul, rather than his
current boss, Pima Sheriff Charlie Shibell.
Democrat Shibell was re-elected after what was
later found to be ballot-box stuffing by area
cowboys. He appointed Democrat Johnny Behan as
the new undersheriff for the south Pima area to
replace Earp. Several months later, when the
southern portion of Pima County was split off
into Cochise County, both Earp and Behan were
applicants to be appointed to fill the new
position. Wyatt, as former undersheriff and a
Republican in the same party as Territorial
Governor Fremont, assumed he had a good chance at
appointment, but he also knew current
undersheriff Behan had political influence in
Prescott. Earp later testified that he made a
deal with Behan that if he (Earp) withdrew his
application, Behan would name Earp as
undersheriff if he won. Behan testified there was
never any such deal, but that he had indeed
promised Wyatt the job if Behan won. However,
after Behan gained appointment as sheriff of the
new Cochise County in February 1881, he chose
Harry Woods (a prominent Democrat) to be the
undersheriff. This left Wyatt Earp without a job
in Tombstone, even after Wyatt's friend Bob Paul
won the disputed Pima sheriff election. However,
about this time all the Earps were beginning to
make some money on their mining claims in the
Tombstone area.
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The Earp's and the Clanton's
Wyatt had one of his branded horses stolen in
late 1879, shortly after he arrived in Tombstone.
More than a year later, after the election
dispute court hearings began (probably in
December 1880 or early January 1881), Wyatt heard
that the horse was in the possession of Ike
Clanton and Billy Clanton, who had a ranch near
Charleston. Earp (a private citizen) and Holliday
rode to Charleston (passing Deputy Sheriff Behan
in a wagon with two other men, who were heading
to serve an election-hearing subpoena on Ike
Clanton) and recovered the horse. Wyatt testified
later in disgust at the Spicer hearing that Billy
Clanton had given up the horse even before being
presented with ownership papers, showing that he
knew it was stolen. The incident, while
nonviolent, damaged the Clantons' reputations and
convinced the Earps that the Clantons were horse
thieves.
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Tension Continues
Tensions between the Earps and both the Clantons
and McLaurys increased through 1881. In March
1881, three cowboys attempted an unsuccessful
stagecoach holdup near Benson, during which the
driver and passenger were murdered in the
gunfire. There were rumors that Doc Holliday (who
was a known friend of one of the suspects) had
been involved, though the formal accusation of
Doc's involvement was started by Doc's drunken
companion Big Nose Kate after a quarrel, and she
later recanted after she sobered. Wyatt later
testified that in order to help clear Doc's name
and to help himself win the next sheriff's
election, he went to Ike Clanton and Frank
McLaury and offered to give him all the reward
money for information leading to capture of
robbers. According to Earp, both Frank McLaury
and Ike Clanton agreed to provide information for
the capture, knowing that if word got out to the
cowboys that he had double-crossed them, that the
lives of Frank and Ike would be worth little.
Tension increased even more after more stage
coach robberies that involved Frank and Ike.
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Gunfight at OK Corral
Virgil Earp requested that Wyatt Earp and Doc
Holliday support him and Morgan Earp in
preparation for the gunfight. They were both
deputized for the occasion. Wyatt spoke of his
brothers Virgil and Morgan as the "marshals"
while he acted as "deputy." Wyatt's testimony at
the Spicer indictment hearing was in writing (as
was permitted by law, which allowed statements
without cross-examination at pre-trial hearings)
and Wyatt therefore was not cross-examined. Wyatt
testified that he and Billy Clanton began the
fight after Clanton and Frank McLaury drew their
pistols, and Wyatt shot Frank in the stomach
while Billy shot at Wyatt and missed. The unarmed
Ike Clanton escaped the fight unwounded, as did
the unarmed Billy Claiborne. Wyatt was not hit in
the fight, while Doc Holliday, Virgil Earp, and
Morgan Earp were wounded. Billy Clanton, Tom
McLaury, and Frank McLaury were killed. Billy
Clanton and Frank McLaury were openly armed with
pistols in gunbelts and holsters, and used them
to wound Virgil, Morgan and Doc Holliday. Whether
Tom McLaury was armed during the fight is
unknown, but preponderance of evidence is that he
was not armed. In his testimony, Wyatt stated
that he believed Tom McLaury was armed with a
pistol, but his language contains equivocation.
The same is true of Virgil Earp's testimony. Both
Earp brothers left themselves room for
contradiction on this point, but neither one was
equivocal about the fact that Tom had been killed
by Holliday with a shotgun.
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From Heroes to Possible Murderers
Ike Clanton filed murder charges against Wyatt
Earp and all those other lawmen involved at the
Gunfight at OK Corral. Wyatt, Holliday, and the
others were arrested and brought before Justice
of the Peace, Wells Spicer. Bail was set at
10,000 a piece. Behan and Billy Allen were the
first witnesses of the trial. They both stated
that the cowboys did not want to fight and that
the Earps abused them and bullied them. These
views turned the public against the Earps. It
was Ike Clanton who came to the rescue for the
Earps. After being cross-examined, the events
leading up to the gunfight in Clantons point of
view didnt make sense. Wyatt Earp was brought
before the court and explained why they wanted to
disarm the cowboys. The judge later ruled that
the Earps and Holliday acted with the law and
their charges were dropped. Even though they
were now free, their reputation was tarnished. A
very small group of supporters for the cowboys
believed that the Earps and Holliday were nothing
but murderers.
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Cowboys Get Revenge
In December, Clanton once again had charges filed
against the Earps for murder. The Earps and
Holliday had to be escorted by large posses in
fear of an ambush by the cowboys. On December
28th, Virgil Earp was attacked by a group of
gunmen. Virgil lost his shoulder and arm in the
gunfight. Ike Clantons hat was found where the
gunshots came from. Later, on March 19th, Morgan
Earp was assassinated by gunmen fired from a dark
alley. Morgan was hit in the lower back. A
bullet barely missed Wyatts head. The assassins
escaped in the dark.
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Life After Tombstone
After the killing of Curley Bill, the Earps left
Arizona and headed to Colorado. In a stop over in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wyatt and Holliday had a
falling out but remained on fairly good terms.
The group split up after that, with Holliday
heading to Pueblo and then Denver. The Earps and
Texas Jack set up camp on the outskirts of
Gunnison, Colorado, where they remained quiet at
first, rarely going into town for supplies.
Eventually, Wyatt took over a faro game at a
local saloon. Slowly all of the Earp assets in
Tombstone were sold to pay for taxes, and the
stake the family had amassed eroded. Wyatt and
Warren joined Virgil in San Francisco in late
1882. While there, Wyatt rekindled a romance with
Josie Marcus, Behan's one-time fiancée. His
common-law wife, Mattie, waited for him in Colton
but eventually realized Wyatt was not coming back
(Wyatt had left Mattie the house when he left
Tombstone. She later committed suicide.). Earp
left San Francisco with Josie in 1883, and she
became his companion for the next forty-six years
(no marriage certificate has been found). Earp
and Marcus returned to Gunnison where they
settled down, and Earp continued to run a faro
bank.
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Earps Final Years
Wyatt Earp spent the rest of his life mainly in
Alaska and California. He returned to Dodge City
only once to try and help settle a dispute known
as the Dodge City War. Earp then moved to San
Francisco so that he could be closer to his job
and that Josie could be closer to her family.
There Earp refereed a boxing match between Bob
Fitzimmons and Tom Sharkley. Fitzimmons was
clearly the winner, but Earp declared Sharkley
the winner. He was later accused of fraud. He
and Josie then moved to Alaska and ran saloons in
the city of Nome. He was arrested there many
times for minor crimes. Earp eventually moved
back to Hollywood, California. He met John Wayne
and other famous actors on many movie sets. In
the early 1920s Earp served as deputy sheriff in
San Bernardino. Wyatt Earp died in his Los
Angeles apartment of chronic cystitis on January
13, 1929 at the age of 80. Western actors
William Hart and Tom Mix were pallbearers at his
funeral. Josie had his remains cremated and
buried his ashes at the Marcus Family plot at the
Hills of Eternity. When Josie died in 1944, she
was buried right beside Wyatt. In 1957, the
original grave marker was stolen and was
replaced.
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Earp's Influence in Entertainment

• Many movies have been made that involved Wyatt
  Earp. They include
• Frontier Marshall
• TombstoneThe Town Too Tough To Die
• My Darling Clementine
• Wichita
• The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
• Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
• Doc
• Tombstone
• Wyatt Earp

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Wyatt Earp 1849-1929