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Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp Photos Click to Enlarge |
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Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson
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Dodge City Police Commission
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Virgil Earp
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Doc Holliday
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Arizona's Historic Wild West
Wyatt Earp is the current person in topic.
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 - January 13, 1929), was an officer of the law, gambler and saloon keeper in the Wild West. He is most known for his participation in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral along with Doc Holliday, Virgil Earp, and Morgan Earp.
Wyatt was born in Monmouth, Illinois, USA to Nicholas Porter Earp (September 6, 1813 in Lincoln County, North Carolina - November 12, 1907 in Sawtell, California), a cooper and farmer, and his second wife Virginia Ann Cooksey (February 2, 1821 in Kentucky - January 14, 1893 in San Bernardino County, California).
His paternal grandparents were Walter Earp (1787 in Montgomery County, Maryland - January 30, 1853), a school teacher and Methodist Episcopal preacher, and Martha Ann Early (August 28, 1790 in Avery County, North Carolina - September 24, 1881), a traditional housewife. Nicholas, their first born, was their only child born in North Carolina. Their other five sons were born in various parts of Kentucky.
His maternal grandparents were James Cooksey and Elizabeth Smith. They had settled in Ohio County, Kentucky but little else is known of their life.
Wyatt was born in Monmouth, Illinois, USA to Nicholas Porter Earp (September 6, 1813 in Lincoln County, North Carolina - November 12, 1907 in Sawtell, California), a cooper and farmer, and his second wife Virginia Ann Cooksey (February 2, 1821 in Kentucky - January 14, 1893 in San Bernardino County, California).
His paternal grandparents were Walter Earp (1787 in Montgomery County, Maryland - January 30, 1853), a school teacher and Methodist Episcopal preacher, and Martha Ann Early (August 28, 1790 in Avery County, North Carolina - September 24, 1881), a traditional housewife. Nicholas, their first born, was their only child born in North Carolina. Their other five sons were born in various parts of Kentucky.
His maternal grandparents were James Cooksey and Elizabeth Smith. They had settled in Ohio County, Kentucky but little else is known of their life.In spring 1868, the Earps moved again, this time settling in Lamar, Missouri where Nicholas became the local constable. By November 17, 1869, Nicholas resigned to become Justice of the Peace. Wyatt was immediately appointed constable in place of his father. On November 26 and in return for his appointment, Earp filed a bond of $1000. His sureties for this bond were his father Nicholas Porter Earp, his paternal uncle Jonathan Douglas Earp (April 28, 1824 - October 20, 1900) and James Maupin.
On January 10, 1870, Earp married his first wife, Urilla Sutherland (1849 - 1870/1871). She was daughter to William and Permelia Sutherland from New York City. The marriage was short-lived. Urilla is believed to have died either a few months or about a year later. There are two reported versions of her cause of death. One version claims that she died of typhus, the other that she died in childbirth.
In August 1870, Earp bought a house and the share it occupied for $50. In November, he resold the house for $75. The later event has been used to estimate the death of Urilla, based on the perception that a widower has less need of permanent residence than a married man expecting to have children. That November, Earp ran for and won his constable's post, beating his older half-brother, Newton 137 votes to 108 votes. It would be the only time Earp would ever run for office.
After his wife's death, Earp started to have some difficulties with the law. On March 14, 1871, Barton County, Missouri filed a lawsuit against Earp and his sureties. He had been in charge of collecting license fees for Lamar. The collected money were to be used as funding for the local schools. Earp was accused of never having delivered the collected money. The action was eventually vacated, probably because Earp and his father had moved out of the state. Then on March 31, James Cromwell filed his own lawsuit against Earp. The suit alleged that Earp had falsified court documents referring to the amount of money that Earp hand collected from Cromwell to satisfy a judgment. To make up the difference between what Earp turned in and Cromwell claimed he paid, the court seized Cromwell's mowing machine and sold it for $38. Cromwell's suit claimed that Earp owed him $75, the estimated value of the machine.
On April 1, Earp was one of three men facing accusations for horse theft, alongside Edward Kennedy and John Shown. On March 28, the accused had reportedly stolen two horses, "each of the value of one hundred dollars", from William Keys while in the Indian Country. On April 6, Earp was arrested by Deputy United States Marshal J.G. Owens for the latter charges. The arraignment of the charges against him was read to him by Commissioner James Churchill on April 14. Bail was set at $500. On May 15, the indictment against Earp, Kennedy and Shown was issued.
Anna Shown, wife of John Shown, claimed that Earp and Kennedy got her husband drunk and then threatened his life in order to earn his assistance. However on June 5, Edward Kennedy was acquitted while the case against Earp and John Shown remained. Faced with two lawsuits and a trial, Earp apparently chose to flee the State of Missouri. An arrest warrant was issued. By November 21, the date of their trial, the local officials were unable to locate either Earp or Shown. Nicholas Earp had also left Lamar.
Both lawsuits and the horse theft case were eventually dropped because of the disappearance of Earp. Researchers of his life do not have enough evidence to conclude whether he was guilty of the charges. They tend to note however that this would be the first but not the last controversial incident of his life.
Stay tuned more to come 9-25-2005
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Old Time Prospectors from Wyatt Earps time Click Photos to Enlarge
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