Legendary Lawman Morgan Earp | Officer.com Legendary Lawman Morgan Earp by Charles Bennett On Sep 28, 2011 Legendary Lawman Morgan Earp The gravestone of Morgan Earp Photo credit: Charles Bennett | Share | Share Coming from a family of lawmen is never easy. Being the younger brother of Virgil and Wyatt Earp could only have been stifling. Having seen depictions of Morgan Earp in movies (never the most accurate accounts) and reading of him in The Earp Brothers of Tombstone, supposedly written by Virgil Earp's wife Allie, I was compelled to find out more about this little known Earp brother. Morgan was born in Pella, Marion County, Iowa on April 24, 1851 to Nicholas Porter Earp (1813–1907), a farmer and cooper (or barrel maker), and his second wife Virginia Ann Cooksey (1821–1893). The youngest of the Earp brothers, Wyatt and Morgan stayed behind to tend the farm when Newton, James and Virgil went off to the Civil War.

I’m sure that staying behind didn’t sit too well with these teenagers as they both hated farming and soon set out west. Some accounts show the Earp family living in Wichita, Kansas while others claim the family moved to San Bernardino, California in 1864. As famous as this family was there is an enormous amount of conflicting reports surrounding the early years. 1874 found Morgan working as a police officer in Butte, Montana. According to legend, Morgan killed his first man there in Butte. The former Marshal of Dodge City, Billy Brooks came to Butte expecting to become their next marshal. When Morgan was appointed instead Brooks apparently took umbrage and called Morgan into the street. With two shots fired, Morgan was wounded in the shoulder and Brooks was shot fatally in the stomach. This account, like all early western stories lacks some documentation and should be taken with a grain of salt… as usual. In 1875 Morgan married Luisa Houston (some accounts claim she was his common-law wife) and they settled down in Butte until 1879. At the time he and brother Wyatt were working as shotgun messengers (security) for the Wells Fargo stage coach.

In early 1880 Morgan and his three brothers, James, Virgil and Wyatt, would move to Tombstone with their families. By this time Wyatt had quite a reputation as a lawman (and gun fighter) and older brother Virgil became the City Marshal. Wyatt and Morgan were appointed “special deputies” shortly thereafter. There was apparently a great deal of bad blood between the Earps and other local families, the Clantons and the McLaurys. I won’t go into detail regarding the reasons for this conflict (the opinions are too varied anyway) but suffice to say that Virgil thought both families were involved in horse thieving in Mexico and Wyatt accused the Clantons of stealing one of his horses. There was also a love triangle between Wyatt, Josephine Sarah Marcus and John Behan, the Cochise County Sheriff. Josephine would eventually become Wyatt’s third wife, but that’s another story. Take all this bad blood and throw the Earp’s good friend Doc Holliday into the mix and you’ve got a gunfight waiting to happen. On October 25th, 1881 Ike Canton and Tom McLaury would arrive in Tombstone.

Doc Holliday would eventually have words with Ike in the Alhambra Saloon and invite Ike outside to settle the matter. Ike refused and walked away. Clanton and McLaury were arrested by Virgil Earp the following day for disobeying the city ordinance of no firearms within the city limits. Having been disarmed and released, Ike and Tom met up with Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury at the OK Corral on Fremont Street. In the ensuing gunfight Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were all wounded but continued to fire. There is some disagreement as to who shot Frank McLaury - Doc Holliday or Morgan. The Earps were arrested for the killings and eventually released after a thirty day trial. I’m not saying they were guilty of anything but the presiding judge, Wells Spicer, was a relative and determined that the shooting was justified. All this violence left the townspeople with a real distaste for the Earp family and on December 28th Virgil Earp was shot and seriously wounded in the left arm. Most of the family decided it was time to depart Tombstone but Morgan and Wyatt were determined to stick around to take care of Virgil during his recovery.

On Saturday March 18th, 1882 at approximately 10:00 PM while playing billiards with Bob Hatch (one of the proprietors) in the Campbell & Hatch's Billiard parlor, Morgan was gunned down through a glass door. A second shot was fired and lodged in the wall above the head of Wyatt Earp who was watching the game. Morgan’s injury was to his spinal cord and he would only last an hour. Morgan Earp was 30 years of age. He was transported to his parent’s estate in Colton, California where his wife awaited his arrival. Pete Spence turned himself in because he feared retribution as his wife was going to testify that he, Frank Stilwell, "Indian Charlie" Cruz, Frederick Bode, and a “half-breed” named Fries were in their home bragging about the shooting an hour afterwards. Witnesses claimed they saw Frank Stilwell flee the scene following the shooting. Although nothing was ever proven, it is believed that Wyatt took it upon himself to find justice for Morgan’s death. Three days later Frank Stilwell was found dead.

About The Author: Charles Bennett was born in our Nation's Capital and grew up in the Maryland suburbs. Mr. Bennett has been working in all aspects of the publishing industry since the late 1980s primarily in the fields of commercial photography and magazine production. Moving to California in 1992 to attend college resulted in B.F.A and Masters degrees. California also supplied Mr. Bennett with his wife. The two of them are avid sports persons and participate in shooting, scuba diving, surfing, running and bicycling. As a long time hobby Mr. Bennett has studied the legends of American law enforcement which led to his writing these columns. Continue Reading Tombstone History - The Earps and "Doc" Holliday PROFILES OF THE EARPS AND "DOC" HOLLIDAY WYATT EARP is best known as the fearless frontier lawman of Wichita and Dodge City, Kansas, and as principal survivor of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. But the Marshall Earp of legend accounted for only about 5 years of Wyatt's long and eventful life.

Wyatt spent most of his years traveling and living in the deserts of the Southwest with his four brothers Virgil, Morgan, James and Warren, as well as his wife Josie. His lifelong passion for mining, gambling and sports led him from one boomtown to another across the span of the western frontier and into the 20th century. Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was born in Monmouth, Illinois on March 19, 1848. In 1864 he moved with his parents to Colton, California near San Bernardino, where he was employed as a teamster and railroad worker. Wyatt returned east and married in 1870, but after the sudden death of his new bride, he drifted the Indian Territory working as a buffalo hunter and stagecoach driver. In 1875 he arrived in Wichita, Kansas where he joined the police force. In 1876, he moved to Dodge City, Kansas where he became a faro dealer at the at the famous Long Branch Saloon and assistant marshal. It was here he met and became lifelong friends with Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday, as well as establishing his reputation as a notable lawman and gambler.

The photo at left comes from the National Archives of the United States. Taken around 1890, the picture posed past and present "Peace Commissioners" of Dodge City (Kansas). Left to right: Charles Bassett, W.H. Harris, Wyatt Earp, Luke Short, L. McLean, Bat Masterson, and Neal Brown. Masterson was a close friend of Wyatt and spent much time in Tombstone before returning to Kansas in 1882. Luke Short, another friend, and part-time lawman and part-time gambler, spent time in Tombstone and left a victim in Boothill. Leaving Dodge City with his second wife, Mattie Blaylock, in 1878, Wyatt traveled to New Mexico and California, working for a time as a Wells Fargo agent. In 1879 he assembled with his brothers and their wives in the new silver mining town of Tombstone, Arizona. Wyatt planned to establish a stage line here, but upon discovering that there were already two in town, he acquired the gambling concession at the Oriental Saloon. His brother VIRGIL (photo left) became town marshal, while Morgan took a job with the police department.

It was here that Wyatt met his third wife JOSIE (Josephine Marcus Earp - photo right), who remained with him until his death. On October 26, 1881, a feud that had developed between the Earp brothers and a gang led by Ike Clanton culminated in the most celebrated gun-fight in western folklore -- the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Three of the Clanton gang were killed, while Ike and another wounded member escaped. The three Earp brothers -- Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan -- along with Doc Holliday survived. Both Morgan and Virgil were wounded, and Virgil was later terminated as marshal for his role in the homicides. In March, 1882 MORGAN EARP (photo right) was gunned down by unknown assassins. Wyatt, along with his brother Warren and some friends, embarked on a vendetta during which all four suspects were eventually killed. After being accused of these murders, Wyatt and Josie fled Arizona to Colorado. then made the rounds of western mining camps over the next few years.

They turned up in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho and in 1886, settled briefly in booming San Diego, where Wyatt gambled and invested in real estate and saloons. In 1897 Wyatt and Josie headed for Nome Alaska where they operated a saloon during the height of the Alaska Gold Rush. They returned to the states in 1901 with an estimated $80,000 and immediately headed for the gold strike in Tonopah, Nevada, where his saloon, gambling and mining interests once again proved profitable. Thereafter, Wyatt took up prospecting in earnest, staking claims just outside Death Valley and elsewhere in the Mojave Desert. In 1906 he discovered several veins that contained gold and copper near Vidal, California on the Colorado River and filed numerous claims there at the base of the Whipple Mountains. Wyatt spent the winters of his final years working these claims in the Mojave Desert and living with Josie in their Vidal cottage. He and Josie summered in Los Angeles, where they befriended early Hollywood actors and lived off real estate and mining investments. On Jan.

13, 1929 Wyatt Earp died in Los Angeles at the age of 80. Cowboy actors Tom Mix and William S. Hart were among his pallbearers. Wyatt's cremated ashes were buried in Josie's family plot in Colma, California, just south of San Francisco. When Josie died in 1944 at the age of 75, she was buried there beside him. "THE LIFE OF DOC HOLLIDAY" Dr. John Henry Holliday began his career as a Dentist in the south in the 1870's. After discovering he had tuberculosis and no one would visit his practice in fear that he might break into a horrific cough, "Doc" decided to come west. The Doctors had told John that the drier air of the west would be good for his disease. He was only given one year to live. After discovering his natural instincts for the game of poker, he had found a new way to live. However, gambling in the west was nothing to mess with. Doc carried a six gun on his hip and one on his shoulder along with a knife and used them at will.

Running from the law, Doc found himself in towns all over the west. His reputation was growing. Many believed that Doc liked to kill but this was not true. Doc ran into a Lady friend who he had on and off affairs with throughout his life. "Big Nose" Kate, broke him out of jail and he felt he owed her for all of her help. So, he married her. He ventured from Dodge City to Tombstone and through Colorado on several occasions. Many times running into people that wanted to prove themselves by taking him down. The price on his head was large and carried a big reputation. He had a strong relationship with Wyatt Earp. Wyatt and Doc would become friends after Doc shot down the two men who had planned to hang him. They later would become most famous for their showdown at the O.K. Corral. Wyatt said of Doc, "He was the most skillful gambler and the nerviest, fastest, deadliest man with a six-gun I ever saw." No one succeeded in killing Doc in all his years including the law. Although he claimed that he almost lost his life nine times, four attempts to hang and ambushed five others.

After a long battle with Tuberculosis, Doc decided to go to Glenwood Springs, CO, to try the sulfur vapors. He spent his last fifty-seven days in bed. On November 8, 1887, he awoke and asked for a glass of whiskey. It was given to him and he drank it down with enjoyment. Then he said, "This is funny", and died. He was buried in Glenwood Springs, Colorado at Pioneer Cemetery. National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: Important Dates in Law Enforcement History The City of Boston hires the first full-time, paid law enforcement officers in the 13 colonies. September 24, 1789 The United States Congress creates the first Federal law enforcement officer, the United States Marshal. Thirteen U.S. Marshals were appointed by President George Washington. October 22, 1791 Sheriff Cornelius Hogeboom of Hudson, New York, was shot as he attempted to serve a writ of ejectment becoming the first known law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty. 1800s 1835 Texas creates what was later to become the Texas Rangers, the oldest statewide law enforcement agency in America.

1858 Police departments in Boston and Chicago issue uniforms to their officers. 1863 The City of Boston becomes the first police department to issue pistols to their officers. April 14, 1865 On the day he was shot by the assassin John Wilkes Booth, President Abraham Lincoln approves the formation of what is now the United States Secret Service. April 12, 1870 Jacksonville, Florida, Officer William Johnson becomes the first African American police officer to be killed in the line of duty. November 2, 1870 Thomas J. Smith, of Abilene, Kansas, becomes the first of more than 585 Police Chiefs to die in the line of duty. April 1, 1878- April 28, 1881 Notorious outlaw Billy the Kid kills six law enforcement officers in New Mexico: Deputy James W. Bell, Sheriff William Brady, Deputy James Carlysle, Deputy George Hindman, Deputy Marshal Robert Olinger and Deputy Robert Beckwith.

October 26, 1881 Legendary Lawman Wyatt Earp, along with his brothers Virgil and Morgan and John Henry "Doc" Holliday, win the Wild West era's most famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. May 6, 1886 Eight Chicago, Illinois Police Officers were mortally wounded during a labor dispute that became known as the Haymarket Riot.: Mathias Degan, John Barrett, Timothy O'Sullivan, Timothy Flavin, Thomas Redden, Nels Hansen, George Miller, and Michael Sheehan. December 15, 1890 Six officers with the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs are killed attempting to arrest the Sioux Indian leader, Sitting Bull: Sergeant James Little Eagle, Sergeant Charles Shavehead, Private Paul Akicitah, Officer John Armstrong, Officer David Hawkman and Lieutenant Henry Bullhead. December 16, 1891 City Health Dept. Inspector Marie Owens is appointed to the Chicago Police Department as a police officer assigned to the Detective Bureau, becoming the nation’s earliest-known female sworn law enforcement officer.

1893 The first national police group is formed, the National Chiefs of Police Union, which would later become the International Association of Chiefs of Police. For the first time, police leaders met regularly to share ideas. 1895 Future President Theodore Roosevelt begins his three-year term of Police Commissioner in New York City. 1900s Fingerprinting is first used in the United States by law enforcement. 1910 The last year in United States history in which fewer than 100 police officers were killed in the line of duty. Ninety-eight officers made the ultimate sacrifice in 1910. 1914 The Berkeley (CA) Police Department becomes the country's first agency to have all patrol officers using automobiles. 1916 Anna Hart, a jail matron for the Hamilton County (OH) Sheriff's Office, becomes the first female law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.

1929 Federal Agent Eliot Ness begins his legendary law enforcement career and is picked to lead a group of agents nicknamed "The Untouchables" — Marty Lahart, Sam Seager, Barney Cloonan, Lyle Chapman, Tom Friel, Joe Leeson, Paul Robsky, Mike King, Bill Gardner, Al 'Wallpaper' Wolff and two other associates, Frank Basile and Jim Seeley. October 3, 1929 Eight Correctional Officers are killed at the Colorado State Penitentiary — the most ever to die in one incident at a correctional institution: Raymond Brown, John Eeles, E G Erwin, J W McClelland, C Walter Rinker, Charles Shepherd, Robert Wiggins and Myron Goodwin. 1930 The single deadliest year in law enforcement history, with 304 officers killed. January 2, 1932 Six lawmen were killed as they attempted to apprehend two suspects wanted in the murder of Greene County Marshal Mark Noe: Greene County Sheriff Marcell Hendrix, Deputy Ollie Crosswhite, Deputy Wiley Mashburn, Springfield Police Chief Detective Tony Oliver, Detective Sidney Meadows and Officer Charley Houser.

This incident became known as the Young Brothers Massacre. 1932-1934 John Dillinger and his gang murdered ten law enforcement officers — more than any other outlaw. They were responsible for the deaths of Officer Howard Wagner, Trooper Eugene Teague, Sheriff Jesse Sarber, Sergeant William Shanley, Patrolman William O'Malley, Patrolman Martin O'Brien, Officer Francis Mulvihill, Chief Franklin Culp, Detective Henry Perrow and Undersheriff Charles Cavanagh. November 22, 1963 Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit is shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald after Oswald assassinates President John F. Kennedy. September 1968 Betty Blankenship and Elizabeth Robinson of the Indianapolis (IN) Police Department become the first female police officers in the United States to work as patrol officers on the street. The pair are transferred from administrative assignments after meeting with Chief of Police Winston Churchill and asking to be put on street patrols. April 6, 1970 Four California Highway Patrolmen, James Pence, Roger Gore, Walt Frago and George Alleyn died in a 4 minute gun battle with two heavily-armed suspects.

The Newhall Incident, as it became known, reverberated throughout the law enforcement community and led to major reforms in training procedures, firearms use, and arrest techniques. September 1971 Seven Correctional Officers were killed during the riots at the Attica State Prison in upstate New York: William Quinn, Edward Cunningham, John D'Archangelo Jr, Richard Lewis, Carl Valone, Ronald Werner and Harrison Whalen. 1974 Police start wearing soft body armor to protect themselves against handgun assaults. September 20, 1974 Officer Gail Cobb of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., is shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a robbery suspect. Officer Cobb is the first of 55 African-American female officers to be killed in the line of duty. October 19, 1984 President Ronald Reagan signs Public Law 98-534, authorizing the Law Enforcement Officers Fund to establish a Memorial in Washington, D.C. to honor law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. October 15, 1991 The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

February 28, 1993 Four Special Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) were killed attempting to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas: Todd McKeehan, Robert J Williams, Conway LeBleu, and Steven Willis. September 13, 1994 Public Law 103-322 authorizing American Flag to be flown at half-staff on May 15, Peace Officers Memorial Day, was enacted into law. April 19, 1995 Timothy McVeigh explodes a truck bomb that destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The blast kills 168 people, including eight Federal law enforcement officers: Agents Cynthia Brown, Paul Broxterman, Paul Ice, Donald Leonard, Mickey Maroney, Kenneth McCullough, Claude Medearis and Alan Whicher. 2000s November 9, 2000 President William Jefferson Clinton signs into law Public Law 106-492, authorizing the NLEOMF to build the National Law Enforcement Museum. The bill was sponsored by U.S.

Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) and U.S. Representative Joel Hefley (R-CO). September 11, 2001 The deadliest day in law enforcement history occurred when 72 officers were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on America. 2002 The Department of Homeland Security is formed to lead the unified national effort to secure America. (Source: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Washington, D.C.) Updated April 14, 2014 The Best Lawmen from the Old West - 1723 Articles - A Barrel Full of Trivia A Barrel Full of Trivia Weird The Best Lawmen from the Old West The Old West was a lawless place that has been romanticized in the movies and dime novels. At first, there was no law. But as families moved West looking to settle down, the need for order was required and brave Marshal’s and Rangers answered the call. Here are five of the best known and famous of the lawmen and some interesting facts you might not know.

Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) Possibly the best-known lawmen of the era, Wyatt Earp is most famous for the Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona where he and his brothers- Virgil and Morgan- along with Doc Holliday stood against the Clanton-McLaury gang and the resulting Earp Vendetta that followed. He is known for the many stories, television shows and movies that have continued his legend. In all, Earp probably killed about 8 men throughout his entire career, however, some estimate the total as high as 30. The truth, as with most stories of the West, probably lies somewhere in the middle. Earp was famous for his Colt Buntline Special – a pistol with a 12” barrel that Earp liked to “buffalo” (hit lawbreakers over the head) with. He kept it in a specially made pocket in his overcoat that was waxed to give him extra speed on the draw. What you didn’t know: Two of Earp’s most famous kills – “Curly Bill” Brocious and Johnny Ringo – might never have happened.

Historians claim that Brocious was living in Texas during the 1890s (ten years after Earp claimed to have killed him) and the coroner’s report stated Johnny Ringo committed suicide. Wyatt Earp, despite all of his gunfights, was never wounded. He died in his sleep in Los Angeles, California. Wild Bill Hickok (1837-1876) A famous gunfighter, lawman, and Civil War scout, Hickok gained his reputation in Kansas and Nebraska during the early years of the Old West. Wild Bill is the epitome of the “quick-draw gunfighter. His reputation began with his first kill – a man by the name of David McCanles. According to the legend, McCanles had called Wild Bill out to duel. Hickok walked out into the street and fired one shot – at a distance of 75 yards – killing McCanles instantly. Hickok later went on to be a scout for General George Armstrong Custer and most famously, as the lawman of Deadwood, South Dakota. He was also friends with fellow scout (and prostitute) Martha Jane Cannary-Burke, better known as Calamity Jane.

Hickok’s weapon of choice were two Colt 1851 .36 Navy Model revolvers with silver plating and ivory handles with the engraving “J.B. Hickok-1869”. He wore them backwards in his sash, cavalry style. Wild Bill was shot in the back of the head by 24-year old Jack McCall after Hickok was condescending to him after he lost at poker to the famous gunman. Hickok died at the poker table holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights – forever known as the “Deadman’s Hand”. What you didn’t know: At the time of his death, Hickok was suffering from glaucoma and trachoma. Some historians speculate that he was suffering from venereal disease which was causing his blindness, but this has never been proven. Bat Masterson (1853-1921) Buffalo hunter, scout, lawman, and newspaper columnist, Bat Masterson, short for Bartholomew, was at the center stage of Dodge City gunfights. He was a deputy for both Wyatt Earp and his brother, Ed, who was killed by Jack Wagner in 1878.

Unlike the movies you might have seen, it is believed that Bat killed Wagner that same night. After the famous (yet bloodless) Dodge City War, Masterson started to migrate throughout the west in Colorado, Arizona, and other locales, while he gambled and promoted prize fights. While famous for his gunfights, historians believe he only pulled his gun and killed people on six different occasions (other than Indian fighting). He walked with a cane for most of his life due to an injury he received in his very first fight. His notoriety actually came from an exaggeration by a doctor who told a reporter that Bat had killed 26 men in gunfights. The story was written and circulated throughout the country. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt made Masterson a U.S. Deputy for southern New York and took him out of the west. What you didn’t know: This gunfighter wasn’t born in the U.S. – he was from Quebec. Bat Masterson never went back to being a lawman after he was removed from the U.S. Deputy position by William H. Taft.

He turned to sports writing for the New York Telegraph and died from a heart attack at his desk at the age of 67. Bill Tilghman (1854-1924) A contemporary to several other men on this list, Tilghman was a buffalo hunter, scout and lawmen in Dodge City, Kansas and in Oklahoma. While he fought alongside the likes of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson, Tilghman’s claim to fame comes as one of the Three Guardsman (made up of himself, Chris Madsen, and Heck Thomas) who were responsible for taking down the Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin-Dalton Gang. Tilghman went on to be an Oklahoma State Senator and then returned to being a lawman at the age of 70. He was murdered by a corrupt (and drunk) Prohibition Agent by the name of Wiley Lynn in 1924 following several arguments. Wynn was acquitted for the killing in what appeared to be a questionable trial. What you didn’t know: Tilghman was once called, “The greatest of us all.” by Bat Masterson.

Pat Garrett (1850-1908) Although, Pat Garrett was known as a saloon keeper through part of his earlier life, but his reputation as a gunslinger made him perfect for the job of sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico. This was thrust upon him after the previous sheriff resigned during what was known as the Lincoln County War. The governor of the New Mexico, Lew Wallace, charged Garrett with the duty of tracking down and bringing to justice a murderer named Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid. The Kid was rumored to have killed twenty-one men, though this was likely exaggerated. Billy the Kid was a friend of Pat Garrett who used to frequent his saloon. While Garrett captured the Kid and some of his gang, Billy was able to escape after killing two guards. Pat Garrett chased him down to Fort Sumner, New Mexico and then proceeded to kill him, possibly by ambush. What you didn’t know: Garrett was friends with President Theodore Roosevelt who appointed him as a custom’s agent. He lost the position after publicly embarrassing Roosevelt by allowing a criminal and gambler by the name of Tom Powers. Garrett was murdered in 1908 over a land dispute.

Be the first to comment - What do you think? Posted by Jimm Fowler - September 14, 2009 at 8:07 am Wyatt Earp - The Wild West Wyatt Earp Wild West Outlaws and Lawmen Wyatt Earp Lawman Wyatt Earp was born Wyatt Berry Strapp Earp in Monmouth, Illinois in 1848. He was, perhaps, the west's most celebrated lawman even though only six of his 80 years were spent in that capacity. He stood over six feet tall and was blond and blue-eyed. An impeccable dresser, he was known to never have left his house without coat and tie. His first law-related job was in Lamar, Missouri in 1870 when he was appointed constable. But he left town in 1871 after his first wife, Urilla Sutherland, died of typhoid fever. He traveled to Kansas, Texas and New Mexico where he earned his living as a gambler, teamster, buffalo hunter, a section hand on the Union Pacific Railroad and, of course, lawman.

He served as a policeman in Wichita, Kansas in 1875 and then in 1878 he became assistant city marshal in Dodge City, where he met Bat Masterson and John "Doc" Holliday. He also met his second wife there, Cecelia "Mattie" Blaylock. This is how Bat Masterson described Wyatt: "one of the few men I personally knew in the West in the early days whom I regarded as absolutely destitute of physical fear ... a quiet unassuming man, not given to brag or bluster, but at all times and under all circumstances, a loyal friend and an equally dangerous enemy." He and his wife traveled to Tombstone, Arizona in December of 1879. It was a mining boomtown back then and he was eventually joined by his brothers Virgil, Morgan, James and Warren. His brother Virgil was appointed town marshal in 1880 while Wyatt worked at the Oriental Saloon on the faro concession and sometimes for Wells Fargo as a stagecoach guard. He also filled in occasionally as Virgil's deputy.

One factor that precipitated the famed hatred between the Earps and the Clantons, (eventually leading to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral) was Wyatt's involvement with a San Francisco actress named Josephine Sarah Marcus, who arrived in Tombstone to perform Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore". Marcus had been the girlfriend of a pro-Clanton sheriff of Cochise County, by the name of John Harris "Johnny Behan. She and Wyatt remained close and when Wyatt's wife died, he and Josie were married. The shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone occurred on October 26, 1881 between the Earps, the Clantons (Newman or "Old Man Clanton" and his sons Ike, Phin and Billy) and the McLaury brothers (Tom and Frank) who were known cattle rustlers. It resulted in the deaths of the McLaury's and Billy Clanton and the woundings of Virgil and Morgan Earp. Morgan was killed on March 28, 1882 while playing billiards in a Tombstone saloon.

Wyatt and Josie traveled throughout the west on gambling and mining ventures and from 1906 until 1929, they traveled from their Los Angeles home to mining claims in the Mojave Desert and Arizona. While in Los Angeles, Earp became friends with movie actors William S. Hart and Tom Mix (a fellow lawman who had, in fact, been a marshal in Colorado and Oklahoma. Wyatt Earp died on January 13, 1929. Books prevailed about his life. In 1931 there was a pro-Earp book written by Stuart Lake called "Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal. Then came a number of anti-Earp books in which he was portrayed as a paid killer, claim jumper and card sharp, among other distasteful credits. Copyright © 1999-2016 thewildwest.org. Legendary Lawman Wyatt Earp | Officer.com Legendary Lawman Wyatt Earp O.com Editor On Sep 2, 2008 Wyatt Earp | Share | Share This month Officer.com kicks off a new column about Legendary Lawmen.

Each month we'll present a short story about a different "legendary lawman" as accurate as we can make based on research information available. Some of these lawmen you will no doubt recognize by name - such as Wyatt Earp. Others may not be as well known to the general public but should be well known within the law enforcement profession. Either way, their history and accomplishments will be documented, at least in brief, so that our law enforcement professionals today can set their own goals accordingly. Wyatt Earp was chosen as our first subject simply because when ten random people were asked to name a famous lawman, eight said, "Wyatt Earp." For the record, the other two replied, "Eliott Ness" and "J. Edgar Hoover" respectively. Eliott Ness will be the topic of next month's column. For now, let's take a look at what is known about Wyatt Earp; what is true; what is fiction, and what made him a "legendary lawman." Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was born in Monmouth, Illinois on March 19, 1848. He was the third son of Nicholas and Victoria Ann Earp.

Shortly after his birth, the Earp family moved to Iowa where they settled on 160 acres that Nicholas Earp received as a land grant for his service during the Mexican War. In fact, Wyatt was named after Nicholas' commanding officer in that war, Wyatt Berry Stapp. Critical to the legends around Wyatt Earp are his brothers: the two older, James and Virgil, and the two younger, Morgan and Warren. Virgil and Morgan Earp also became well known lawmen in their own right, but little is ever said about the Earp SISTERS. Martha only lived to the age of ten. There was also Virginia and Adelia. Both James and Virgil Earp served with the Union Army during the Civil War and some believe that Wyatt was eager to follow in the footsteps of his older brothers. November of 1869 found the Earp family living in Lamar, Missouri where Nicholas Earp served as Constable. On November 17, 1869 Nicholas tendered his resignation from the post of Contable and was appointed Justice of the Peace.

On the same day, Wyatt Earp - just 21 years old at the time - was appointed as Lamar's Constable; his first law enforcement job and following in his father's footsteps. Even with such a potentially illustrious start in the law enforcement profession, Wyatt hit a few stumbling blocks. In April of 1871 he was accused of horse theft in Indian Territory. He was actually arrested and captured with a bond set at $500. He escaped and the warrant was eventually dismissed for lack of service. Although few facts are known about the events surrounding these charges, one of Wyatt's accused accomplices was tried and acquitted of the charges. Research shows that during that same time frame a number of lawsuits were filed against Wyatt Earp in Lamar bringing into question the integrity and legality of his actions during the early years he was involved in law enforcement. This doesn't sound like the beginning of a legendary lawman's career, does it? It gets worse. In 1872 Wyatt and his brother Morgan were arrested for "Keeping and Being Found In A House of Ill-Fame" in Peoria, Illinois.

Virgil was working in that town as a saloonkeeper and it's a commonly accepted bit of trivia that at least two of the Earp brothers' wives were "working girls" that eventually settled down with Earp men. Wyatt and Morgan were both fined $20 for their involvement in the prostitution trade in Peoria. With his luck being what it was in Peoria Wyatt headed out for Kansas getting there sometime before 1875. There he became friends with Bat Masterson. Wyatt's presence in Wichita in 1874 is documented by articles in the local papers at that time. On April 21, 1875 Wyatt Earp was appointed to the Wichita Police force. His salary was a whopping $60 per month and all indications are that he performed his duties well. Can you imagine? An accused horse-thief and convicted pimp becoming a police officer. Who would think? On May 24, 1876 it was reported that Wyatt Earp had been put on the police force at Dodge City.

In 1876 and 1877 Wyatt was listed as a deputy marshal in Dodge City, but by April, 1877 he was no longer listed as serving that police agency. There appears to be some thought that Wyatt went to South Dakota at that time, but in July of 1877 he was re-appointed to the Dodge City police force and newspaper reports reflect that he was both respected and effective at that time. In January 1878 it was reported that Wyatt was in Ft. Clark, Texas, but then again in May 1878 he was back in Dodge City on the police force. One can only wonder what would have him traveling like that and then going back again. In today's world we all know that no police agency would hire, release, hire, release and then rehire a police officer again in such spurts. In July 1878 Wyatt Earp was credited with killing his first man: a cowboy named George Hoy who had come into town and was shooting his revolver. Wyatt Earp responded with Officer Jim Masterson and they chased Hoy out of town.

As he was on his way out Earp and Masterson fired at him and one of them hit him. He died a bit later from complications related to the gunshot wound. Whether it was Earp's or Masterson's bullet that hit him is unknown, but Earp is generally "credited" with the kill. During the time Wyatt was with Dodge City, Bat Masterson was the Sheriff in Ford County. They sometimes worked together on posses and in solving crimes or tracking down criminals. Wyatt Earp worked as the Assistant Marshal in Dodge City until September of 1879. Records indicate that Earp was in Las Vegas, Nevada in October that year, but by November he was in Arizona. July of 1880 found him being appointed as a deputy sheriff in Pima County, Arizona. Not far from the the famous Tombstone which is in Cochise County, Arizona, this is where Wyatt Earp began to truly build a name for himself; a name which included arguing with judges whom he thought weren't doing the right and/or legal thing. October, 1880 showed the beginnings of the tale that led to the famous OK Corral shoot out.

Just after midnight on October 28, 1880, William "Curly Bill" Brocius shot Sheriff Fred White and was promptly arrested by Deputy Sheriff Wyatt Earp. Curly Bill was part of the "Texas Cowboys" and his friends weren't at all too pleased with Wyatt's arrest of their friend. What does this have to do with the OK Corral? Apparently, the Clantons and McLaurys at least had a casual friendship with the Texas Cowboys and so weren't feeling very charitable toward Wyatt Earp either. On October 26, 1881 the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral occurred. On the "law" side were Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp accompanied by Doc Holliday. On the "bad guy" side were Ike and Billy Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Frank and Tom McLaury. Allegedly unarmed, Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne escaped the fight uninjured. Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury were killed. After his adventures in Tombstone, Wyatt Earp made his way to Colorado, then California and eventually Alaska.

After a few years there he headed back to California - specifically to Los Angeles. While he was there he met a young extra and prop man who would eventually become well known as John Wayne. John Wayne once commented that he based much of his portrayal of western lawmen on his conversations with Wyatt Earp. Wyatt Earp died on January 13, 1929, was cremated and buried in Colma, California. So far, have you read anything that would justify him being such a well known and highly revered lawman? He obviously spent quite a bit of time doing the work and was involved in some incidents that most of us would be happy not to walk into. However, what really propelled Wyatt Earp to Legendary Lawman status was what happened after he died. From 1934 to 1994 there were twelve movies made about Wyatt Earp. Twenty-one other movies or television series refer to Wyatt Earp and comment on, or use as a basis for some action, his legendary lawman status. Don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to hurt the Wyatt Earp image.

In fact, I've got a lot of respect for a man who can overcome those who acuse him of being less than perfect (God forbid a police officer or deputy actually be HUMAN) and continue to do the job with as much conviction as he actually carried. Having spent 80 years of life in this world, Wyatt Earp - either before or after his death - became an example of how some things should be done and how others shouldn't. His name has become synonymous with the image of a western sheriff or cattle town marshal. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral will live in infamy. Attached to that is the reality that the Texas Cowboys - as western and country as they could be - have come to represent the worst and perhaps first "gang" in our country's documented history. We tip our hat to Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp - Officer.com's first legendary lawman. Continue Reading 6/12/2006 • Personalities , Wild West Wyatt Earp has received far more attention than his older brother Virgil Walter Earp, yet Virgil also served as a frontier lawman, and was, in fact, the city marshal at the time of the so-called Gunfight at the O.K.

Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Wyatt was acting as Virgil’s deputy on October 26, 1881, when the two brothers were joined by a third Earp, Morgan, and dentist-turned-gambler Doc Holliday for a dramatic walk to a vacant lot where the Clantons and McLaurys were waiting. Virgil was wounded that day, but it took a more serious gunshot wound two months later — during an ambush outside the Oriental Saloon — to knock Virgil out of the bloody Tombstone picture once and for all. Even though his left arm had been rendered useless, Virgil Earp would become a special railroad agent in southern California less than two years later and after that would serve as a lawman in Colton, California. By 1890, his lawmen days were almost over, but not so his adventures. Like brother Wyatt, Virgil occupied his time with travel, gambling, fight promoting and mining.

And just as Wyatt had a steadfast woman companion, Josephine Sarah (Sadie Marcus) Earp, from 1883 till his death in 1929, Virgil had his own constant companion, Alvira (‘Allie) Earp, from 1873 to his death in 1905, even though they may never have been formally married. Virgil had been married twice before, however, and one of his more interesting late-life adventures involved an 1899 reunion with his first ex-wife and daughter, neither of whom he had seen in 37 years. Virgil Walter Earp, born on July 18, 1843, in Ohio County, Ky., was the second child (after James Cooksey, born on June 28, 1841) of Nicholas Earp and Nick’s second wife, Virginia Ann Cooksey Earp. The fourth child, Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp, wasn’t born until March 19, 1848, in Monmouth, Ill. Two other brothers followed, Morgan in 1851 and Warren in 1855.

Nick Earp and his family were living in Pella, Iowa, when 17-year-old Virgil met Ellen Rysdam. Because the young couple’s parents opposed their marriage, Virgil and Ellen ran off to Knoxville, Iowa, to get secretly hitched on September 21, 1861. A child, Nellie Jane, was born in July 1862, just two weeks before Virgil enlisted in the Illinois Volunteer Infantry for three years. The next year, Ellen was told that her husband had died in the Civil War. She married John Van Rossem, and went off to start a new life in Washington Territory with her daughter and second husband. By the time Virgil Earp was mustered out of the Army on June 24, 1865, the Earp family had moved to San Bernardino, Calif. Virgil joined them there one year later. He probably learned from friends where Ellen had gone, but he apparently did not go looking for her. Ellen continued to have bad luck with marriage. Her second husband soon died, and apparently John Van Rossem’s death was a real one.

Ellen married Thomas Eaton in Walla Walla, Washington Territory, in 1867. In 1868, Nicholas Earp took his family east again, eventually settling in Lamar, Mo., where Virgil helped him farm and operate a grocery store. On May 30, 1870, Virgil married again, this time to Rosilla Draggoo, who was about 10 years younger. Nick Earp was the justice of the peace who performed the marriage ceremony. Perhaps the bride’s parents objected again, because Rosilla Earp soon disappeared from the scene forever. Exactly what happened to her is uncertain. Not long after that, Virgil Earp left Lamar, and in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1873, he met waitress Alvira (Allie) Sullivan. They hit it off so well that Earp must have forgotten all about wives Ellen and Rosilla…or maybe not entirely, if he never officially married Allie. In any case, Virgil and Allie would stick together come hell or high water right into the next century. The couple lived a nomadic existence for many years. Exactly when and where Virgil first wore a badge is not certain.

Don Chaput, the author of Virgil Earp: Western Peace Officer, raises the possibility that Virgil served briefly with brother Wyatt on the Wichita police force in the mid-1870s. Wyatt Earp is known to have joined the Dodge City police force after that and to have been appointed assistant marshal in the Kansas cow town in May 1876. Virgil Earp was also in Dodge City, but whether he ever served as a peace officer is debatable. From Dodge, Virgil and Allie moved to Prescott, the territorial capital of Arizona. There, in October 1877, Virgil Earp was quickly deputized by Yavapai County Sheriff Ed Bowers during a street fight and helped several lawmen shoot down two hard cases. In 1878, Virgil served in Prescott as a village night watchman for a couple of months and was elected a constable. On November 27, 1879, he was appointed a U.S. deputy marshal in Arizona Territory. The next month he came to Tombstone.

After the shooting death of the town’s marshal, Fred White, in October 1880 (see The Winding Trail of Curly Bill in the October 2001 Wild West), Virgil Earp was appointed acting marshal. He only served until November 12, when he lost a special election to Ben Sippy. After Tombstone achieved city status in January 1881, the incumbent Sippy defeated Virgil Earp in another election. But on June 6, 1881, Mayor John Clum appointed Earp city marshal after Sippy abandoned his badge. Marshal Earp, who doubled as U.S. deputy marshal, was busy that summer arresting citizens for mostly minor offenses, but when he arrested Frank Stilwell and Pete Spence for stage robbery, bitterness between the so-called Cowboys and the Earp faction grew. Marshal Earp and his three deputies came out on top in the famous shootout that October — Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were killed — but Virgil was suspended from his job, and then on December 28, three concealed men shot him down. It was unclear whether Virgil would survive his wounds. Ike Clanton, who had survived the O.K.

Corral shootout by running away, was a suspect, as were Stilwell, Spence and John Ringo. Virgil did not die, but he lost the use of his left arm. After brother Morgan was gunned down on March 18, 1882, Wyatt made sure that Virgil, Allie and other family members accompanied Morgan’s coffin to Nicholas Earp’s home in Colton, Calif. At the train station in Tucson on March 20, the Earps spotted Stilwell and killed him. Crippled Virgil could not help Wyatt seek further vengeance against the Cowboys in Arizona Territory, but in California the former marshal did not stay out of action for long. In 1883, there was a railroad fight in the Colton area, some 60 miles east of Los Angeles. The old Southern Pacific Railroad line was trying to hold back the upstart California Southern, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.

Intent on connecting railroad-starved San Diego with the main line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe tracks at Waterman Junction (later called Barstow), California Southern workers laid tracks north and east until they approached the Southern Pacific tracks in Colton that August. The older railroad company refused to allow the workers to cross their tracks. At the planned crossing site, the Southern Pacific parked a locomotive and tender, which was only moved to allow passage of the company’s own trains. Southern Pacific officials kept an engineer in the cab along with a company-hired gunslinger — Virgil Earp. Armed with guns and a Tombstone reputation, special railroad agent Earp did his job well. Even after the courts ruled the crossing should be allowed, Earp kept the California Southern work crew at bay. Colton citizens were loyal to the Southern Pacific, but over in San Bernardino, which had been bypassed earlier by the Southern Pacific line, folks became increasingly upset. They expected the California Southern line to put San Bernardino back on the map. Things reached a head on September 13 with an incident that was quickly dubbed the Battle of the Crossing.

That morning, citizens on both sides began to gather — the ones from San Bernardino on the north and the ones from Colton on the south, with the Southern Pacific locomotive square in the middle. On both sides of the tracks, men carried picks, shovels, shotguns and revolvers. Virgil Earp paced the gangway between cab and tender with his face toward the San Bernardino mob and his six-shooter in hand. Meanwhile, in San Bernardino, Governor Robert Waterman made it clear to San Bernardino County Sheriff J.B. Burkhart that there could be no more delay — the court order must be enforced. Burkhart promptly deputized 10 dependable men and escorted the governor to the crossing site in nearby Colton. Waterman made his way to the front of the San Bernardino mob and read the court order. The locomotive must be cleared away at once, the governor said, and if guard Virgil Earp made any move with his six-shooter, Burkhart and his deputies would open fire. The charged atmosphere made the possibility of an intercommunity bloodbath seem likely — something even bloodier than that Tombstone shootout. Earp could also see that further resistance was hopeless.

He holstered his six-shooter and ordered the engineer to move the locomotive. Whether or not Earp was following instructions from his Southern Pacific bosses is not known, but by not resisting the governor, sheriff and deputies, he made sure that the bloodless Battle of the Crossing did not turn into the Gunfight at the Colton Crossing. Colton did become something of a railroad center, and Virgil and Allie settled down to urban living there. But Virgil was not just any old resident. People knew his name — Earp was virtually synonymous with frontier justice — and his reputation. Virgil’s father, Nick, a saloon owner, was elected justice of the peace for Colton in 1884, and Virgil began to take an interest in local politics. According to author Don Chaput, Virgil Earp gambled a lot during these years, opened a detective agency briefly in 1886 and then was elected village constable in early July of that year. One year later, Colton was incorporated as a city. On July 11, 1887, according to the minutes of a board of supervisors meeting, V.W.

Earp was elected the first city marshal with 109 votes to 61 votes for William Brown and just one for L.S. Abel. Earp’s term of office was one year at a salary of $75 per month. On April 8, 1888, Earp was re-elected city marshal for another one-year term. Marshal Earp spent time collaring tramps, petty thieves and drunks. Records from various board of trustee meetings suggest that Virgil had many mundane duties and no staff to help him do them. When the lock on the jail needed replacing, he bought and installed the new one. When the sewer backed up, he did the digging to clear it. One note says, Bill submitted by V.W. Earp to Trustees for $4.25 for cost of nails and meals of prisoners. Another note says: The Marshal was instructed to keep watch of the electric lights and note their burning. He was also instructed to procure a ballot box to be used at the next election. In March 1889, Virgil Earp resigned as city marshal and became a boxing matchmaker and gambling hall operator in the larger city of San Bernardino.

In the spring of 1893 he ventured off to Vanderbilt, a gold mining camp in northeastern San Bernardino County. There, Virgil Earp opened Earp’s Hall, a two-story saloon that had a public hall upstairs for dances, prizefights, and church services on Sunday. Virgil was later described by Vanderbilt acquaintance J.O. Fisk as a cheerful and agreeable man….In appearance to me, he even looked kind of studious, but he always took part in the dances and get-togethers they had in those days. Fisk also described Virgil as a quiet man who wouldn’t talk much about himself, but who, despite his injured left arm, could handle cards, drinks and hard cases. Even though Virgil was well liked in Vanderbilt, he lost the election for constable in 1894. Virgil and Allie were back in Colton by early 1895, but they did not stay long. Virgil had heard from brother Wyatt and was off to the mining town of Cripple Creek, Colo., that summer.

Apparently there was not much profit to be found there, and in October, Virgil and Allie went back to Prescott, Arizona Territory, where they had lived in the late 1870s. Mining in the area seemed to be Virgil’s chief interest, but he was injured in a mining accident in the fall of 1896. He recovered and took up ranching in the Kirkland Valley, south of Prescott. In the fall of 1898, Virgil Earp received a letter at his ranch from a 36-year-old Portland woman, Mrs. Levi Law. She had recently read an account of the 1881 street fight in Tombstone, and the newspaper article had also told of Virgil’s whereabouts. In the letter, Mrs. Law asked if he was the same Virgil Earp who had married Ellen Rysdam in Pella, Iowa, in 1861. If so, she informed him, then she was his daughter, Nellie Jane. The news greatly excited Virgil Earp, and Allie, too.

Virgil corresponded with his long-lost daughter, and she had intended to visit him in Arizona Territory that winter, before a sudden attack of pneumonia laid her low. Instead, Virgil went with Allie to meet her in Portland, Ore., in April 1899. Ellen, Virgil’s first wife, was also at the Portland station to greet them. He is now enjoying a very pleasant visit with her and his two grandchildren at her home, which is near that of Mrs. Eaton, in North Portland, the Oregonian reported on April 22, 1899. He will remain for several days more, before he starts on his journey home. Years have taken away the pain the meeting between the former husband and wife would once have caused, and the little visit has been a most happy one for all. The following winter, Nellie Jane visited Virgil and Allie in the Kirkland Valley. On July 6, 1900, Johnny Boyett killed Warren Earp in a saloon in Willcox, Arizona Territory (see August 1998 Wild West), and at least one paper reported that Wyatt Earp was the last of the Earp brothers.

Nellie Jane Law told the Oregonian of the mistake. There are three brothers and a sister living, the newspaper quoted Nellie Jane in a July 21, 1900 article. Wyatt Earp is in Nome City; Jim Earp is in San Francisco; and Virgil Earp, my father, is living in Kirkland, Ariz., where I saw him last winter. Their sister, Mrs. Adelia Edwards, is living in Redlands, Cal. While I was visiting my father last Winter, he told me that he had a letter from Warren that he intended to return to Arizona from San Francisco. My father said then, ‘If Warren ever dies he will be shot. He is too hasty, quick-tempered and too ready to pick a quarrel. Besides he will not let bygones be bygones, and on that account, I expect that he will meet a violent death.’ Virgil almost certainly did not track down Boyett to avenge Warren’s death. Virgil Earp was nominated as the Republican candidate for sheriff of Yavapai County in 1900, but he soon withdrew. It is uncertain why he bowed out.

The Earps spent time in both Arizona and California during the next few years. Virgil might have spent his remaining days in Colton if not for the anti-saloon sentiment in the little California city. On June 29, 1904, he was one of four men to petition the city trustees to repeal the liquor ordinance that limited the number of saloons to one. They are, according to the Los Angeles Daily Times, Virgil Earp, of the notorious Earp boys, William Smith, a man named Teushman and John Button. The church workers have protests out against any changes in the ordinance which will either lower the license or make it possible for more saloons. The trustees voted on July 6 to repeal the ordinance and to grant one more high-priced liquor license. But they granted the license to barkeeper T.J. Tuschman (or Teushman). Left out in the cold, Virgil and Allie struck out for Goldfield, Nev., a new gold-mining camp not far from Tonopah, where brother Wyatt had run a saloon called The Northern and had served briefly as a U.S. deputy marshal.

Virgil found no new riches in Goldfield, but he did give in to the old law-enforcement urge. On January 26, 1905, he became a deputy sheriff in Esmeralda County. Goldfield, as mining towns went, wasn’t too wild, and Virgil was soon slowed down by pneumonia. It was hard to enforce the law from bed. Nine months later, on October 19, 1905, Virgil died. His remains were brought to Portland at the request of Nellie Jane (last name now Bohn; Louis D. Bohn was her second husband). Funeral services over the remains of Virgil Earp were held yesterday afternoon at Finley’s undertaking rooms and many of his friends paid their respects to the remains of the pioneer, the Oregonian reported on October 30. Virgil Earp was known as one of the most daring and adventurous of Western pioneers and he was known from North to South on the Pacific Coast as one of the great-hearted men who helped to build the West. Virgil was buried at Portland’s Riverview Cemetery.

Ellen Rysdam Earp Van Rossem Eaton died in 1910; Nellie Jane Earp Law Bohn died in 1930; and Alvira (Allie) Earp died in 1947. Maud Law Bertrand, the daughter of Nellie and granddaughter of Virgil, died in 1902 and is interred beside Virgil in Riverview. Maud’s husband, Alex Bertrand, didn’t die until 1956, at age 92, and he is also buried in the plot. This article was written by Jan S. Paul and Gene Carlisle and originally appeared in the February 2002 issue of Wild West. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Wild West magazine today! Morgan Earp Morgan Earp ▼ Primary Sources ▼ Morgan Earp Morgan Earp was born in Iowa on 24th April, 1851. His father moved the family, to San Bernardino, California in 1864. He joined his older brother Wyatt Earp in Dodge City .

In 1880 he moved to Tombstone with his three brothers, James Earp , Wyatt Earp and Virgil Earp . In October 1880, Virgil Earp became city marshal of Tombstone. Soon afterwards he recruited Wyatt and Morgan as "special deputy policemen". Over the next few months the Earp family came into conflict with two families, the Clantons and the McLaurys. Ike Clanton, Phineas Clanton, Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury sold livestock to Tombstone. Virgil Earp brothers believed that some of these animals had been stolen from farmers in Mexico. Wyatt Earp was also convinced that the Clanton brothers had stolen one of his horses. Wyatt Earp also came into conflict with John Behan , the sheriff of Cochise County. At first this started as a quarrel over a woman, Josephine Sarah Marcus. She had lived with Behan before becoming Earp's third wife. Earp also wanted Behan's job and planned to run against him in the next election.

The two men also clashed over the decision by Behan to arrest Doc Holliday on suspicion of killing a stage driver during an attempted hold-up outside of town. Holliday protested his innocence and he was eventually released. In September 1881, Virgil Earp retaliated by arresting one of Behan's deputies, Frank Stilwell, for holding up a stagecoach. On 25th October, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury arrived in Tombstone . Later that day Doc Holliday got into a fight with Ike Clanton in the Alhambra Saloon. Holliday wanted a gunfight with Clanton, but he declined the offer and walked off. The following day Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury were arrested by Virgil Earp and charged with carrying firearms within the city limits. After they were disarmed and released, the two men joined Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury, who had just arrived in town. The men gathered at a place called the OK Corral in Fremont Street. Virgil Earp now decided to disarm Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury and recruited Morgan Earp, Wyatt Earp , James Earp and Doc Holliday to help him in this dangerous task.

Sheriff John Behan was in town and when he heard what was happening he raced to Fremont Street and urged Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury to hand over their guns to him. They replied: "Not unless you first disarm the Earps". Behan now headed towards the advancing group of men. He pleaded for Virgil Earp not to get involved in a shoot-out but he was brushed aside as the four men carried on walking towards the OK Corral. Virgil Earp said: "I want your guns". Billy Clanton responded by firing at Wyatt Earp. He missed and Morgan Earp successfully fired two bullets at Billy Clanton and he fell back against a wall. Meanwhile Wyatt Earp fired at Frank McLaury. The bullet hit him in the stomach and he fell to the ground. Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury were both unarmed and tried to run away. Clanton was successful but Doc Holliday shot McLaury in the back. Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury, although seriously wounded, continued to fire their guns and in the next couple of seconds Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were all wounded.

Wyatt Earp was unscathed and he managed to finish off Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury. Sheriff John Behan arrested Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday for murder of Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury. However, after a 30 day trial Judge Wells Spicer , who was related to the Earps, decided that the defendants had been justified in their actions. Over the next few months the Earp brothers struggled to retain hold control over Tombstone . On 28th December, Virgil Earp was seriously wounded in the left arm by an attempted assassination. Morgan Earp was killed when he was playing billiards with Wyatt Earp on 18th March, 1882. Eyewitnesses claimed that Frank Stilwell was seen running from the scene of the crime. Three days later Stilwell's was found dead. A Mexican who was also implicated in the crime was also found murdered in a lumber camp. It is believed that Wyatt Earp was responsible for both men's death. Virgil Earp and James Earp took Morgan's body to home of his parents in Colton, California, for burial.

(1) Paul Trachtman, The Gunfighters (1974) On a blustery day toward the end of October, 1881, the town of Tombstone, Arizona, witnessed the most notorious shoot-out in the history of the West. In a vacant lot at the rear of the O.K. Corral, City Marshal Virgil Earp and his brothers Wyatt and Morgan, joined by a gambler friend, Doc Holliday, exchanged gunfire with four local cowboys, the Clanton and McLaury brothers. "Three Men Hurled into Eternity in the Duration of a Moment," blared the headline over the first report of the affair in The Tombstone Epitaph. The duration, in fact, was slightly more than half a minute, although a deadly staccato of vengeful gunfire echoed for months afterward. The clash was not unique. Possession of firearms was far more commonplace on the frontier than back East, and newspapers across the West carried accounts of gunfights of every variety - saloon brawls, outlaw raids, vigilante wars and even an occasional face-off in the style of European duels. But the shoot-out at the O.K.

Corral was better documented than most, and its fame as a classic confrontation of gunfighters was well deserved, for it embodied some basic frontier animosities - lawman against outlaw, cardsharp against cowboy, citified carpetbagger against weather-beaten settler. Yet these divisions were far from clear-cut, as the shoot-out also made plain. Though some Western gunfight participants represented the law, the line between bad men and good was, at best, blurred. The facing foes usually had more in common than they cared to admit. Most were men of bristling spirit and minimal compassion or scruple. When they had scores to settle, it hardly mattered which side of the law they were on; their law was the gun. (2) Ford County Globe (26th October, 1881) A Tombstone, Arizona, dispatch says: Four cowboys, Ike and Billy Clanton and Frank and Tom McLaury, have been parading the town for several days drinking heavily and making themselves obnoxious. On Wednesday last the city marshal Virgil Earp arrested Ike Clanton. Soon after his release the four met the marshal, his brother Morgan and Wyatt Earp, and a citizen named (John H.

"Doc") Holliday. The marshal ordered them to give up their weapons, when a fight commenced. About thirty shots were fired rapidly. Both the McLaury boys were killed. Bill Clanton was mortally wounded, dying soon after. Ike was slightly wounded in the shoulder. Wyatt Earp was slightly wounded, and the others were unhurt. (3) Ford County Globe (8th November, 1881) The Earp boys, who had the fight with the cowboys, at Tombstone, Arizona, which resulted in the killing of three cow boys, have been arrested by the friends of the men who were killed. The Earp boys were acting as peace officers, and from all reports were justified in doing what they did. Wyatt Earp was formerly city marshal of Dodge City, and a paper setting forth his good qualities was circulated last week and signed by all the prominent citizens. (4) Dodge City Times (8th December, 1881) Wyatt Earp, formerly a city marshal in this city, was recently under trial before a magistrate in Tombstone, Arizona, charged with homicide. Great interest was taken in trial which lasted four weeks.

From the voluminous testimony taken the Justice makes a long review of the case and discharges the defendant. The following is an extract from his decision: "In view of all the facts and circumstances of the case; considering the threats made the character and position of the parties, and the tragical results accomplished in manner and form as they were, with all surrounding influences bearing upon the res gestae of the affair, I cannot resist the conclusion that the defendants were fully justified in committing these homicides; that it was a necessary act done m the discharge of an official duty." (5) Judge Wells Spicer , statement at the trial of Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp , James Earp and Doc Holliday (December, 1881) When we consider the condition of affairs incidental to a frontier country, the lawlessness and disregard for human life; the existence of a law-defying element in our midst; the fear and feeling of insecurity that has existed; the supposed prevalence of bad, desperate and reckless men who have been a terror to the country, and kept away capital and enterprise, and considering the many threats that have been made against the Earps. I can attach no criminality to his unwise act.

(6) Dodge City Times (5th January, 1882) A Tombstone, Arizona, dispatch of Dec. 29, to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat says when the Clanton and McClary gang were shot by the Earps and Doc Holliday, about six weeks ago, the friends of the cowboys vowed they would have revenge for what they called the cold-blooded murder of their friends. Only a fortnight ago, Mayor John P. Clum, of Tombstone, was shot at in a stage near the city and one bullet grazed his head. Clum was a warm sympathizer with the Earps, and did much to secure their acquittal at the preliminary examination. Wednesday night, just before midnight, an attempt was made on the life of United States Deputy Marshal Earp, as he was crossing the street, between the Oriental Saloon and the Eagle Brewery. When in the middle of the street he was fired upon with double-barreled shotguns, loaded with buckshot, by three men concealed in an unfinished building diagonally across on Alien street. Five shots were fired in rapid succession. Earp was wounded in the left arm just above the elbow, producing a longitudinal fracture of the bone.

One shot struck him above the groin, coming out near the spine. The wounds are very dangerous, and possibly fatal. The men ran through the rear of the building and escaped in the darkness Nineteen shots struck the side of the Eagle Brewery, three going through the window and one passing about a foot over the heads of some men standing by a faro-table. The shooting caused the wildest excitement in the town where the feeling between the two factions runs high. (7) Ed Colborn, Dodge City Times (23rd May, 1882) Wyatt Earp arrived here some days ago and will remain awhile. Wyatt is more robust than when a resident of Dodge, but in other respects is unchanged. His story of the long contest with the cowboys of Arizona is of absorbing interest. Of the five brothers four yet live, and in return for the assassination of Morgan Earp they have handed seven cowboys "over to the majority." Of the six who actually participated in the assassination they have killed three - among them. Curly Bill, whom Wyatt believes killed Mike Meagher, at Caldwell, last summer.

Frank Stillwell, Curly Bill and party ambuscaded the Earp party and poured a deadly fire into them, Wyatt receiving a charge of buckshot through his overcoat on each side of his body and having the horn of his saddle shot off. Wyatt says after the first shock he could distinguish David Rudebaugh and Curly Bill, the latter's body showing well among the bushes. Wyatt lost no time in taking him in, and will receive the reward of $1,000 offered. From what I could leam, the Earps have killed all, or nearly all of the leaders of the element of cow boys, who number in all about 150, and the troubles in Arizona will, so far as they are concerned, be over. Wyatt expects to become a candidate for sheriff of Cochise county this fall, and as he stands very near to the Governor and all the good citizens of Tombstone and other camps in Cochise county he will without doubt be elected. The office is said to be worth $25,000 per annum and will not be bad to take.

Question: Which famous US lawman had brothers called Morgan and Virgil?
Answer: Wyatt Earp