Wyatt Earp

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.

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.

Related Topics:
Colorado - Albuquerque - New Mexico - Pueblo - Denver - Gunnison

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Earp's actions created a debate that lasted for years - law versus order, the right of self-preservation over adherence to legal structure. To some, Wyatt Earp will always be a hero that made Arizona safe for commerce, but to others he will always be the ultimate vision of evil, perhaps even the mastermind of stage coach robberies.

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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 join Virgil in San Francisco in late 1882. While there, Wyatt rekindled the affair that he had with Josie Marcus, Behan's one-time fiancée, while his wife, Mattie waited for him in Colton. Earp left with Josie in 1883 and she became his companion for the next forty-six years. Earp and Marcus returned to Gunnison where they settled down and Earp continued to run a faro bank.

Related Topics:
Josie Marcus - 1883

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In 1883, Earp returned, along with Bat Masterson, to Dodge City to help a friend deal with the corrupt mayor. What became known as the Dodge City War, was started with the mayor of Dodge City tried to run Luke Short out of business and then out of town. Short appealed to Masterson who contacted Earp. While Short was discussing the matter with Governor George Washington Glick in Kansas City, Earp showed up with Johnny Millsap, Shotgun Collins, Texas Jack Vermillion and Johnny Green and marched up Front Street into Short's saloon. There they were sworn in as deputies by constable "Prairie Dog" Dave Marrow. The town council offered a compromise to allow Short to return for ten days to get his affairs in order, but Earp said there would be no compromises. When Short returned, there was no force ready to turn him away. The Dodge City War ended without a shot being fired.

Related Topics:
Luke Short - Governor - George Washington Glick - Johnny Millsap - Shotgun Collins - Johnny Green - "Prairie Dog" Dave Marrow

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Earp spent the next decade running saloons and gambling concessions and investing in mines in Colorado and Idaho, with stops in various boom towns. In 1886 Earp and Josie moved to San Diego and stayed there about four years. On July 3, 1888, Mattie Earp committed suicide by taking an overdose of laudanum. The Earps moved back to San Francisco during the 1890s so Josie could be closer to her family and Wyatt closer to his new job, managing a horse stable in Santa Rosa. During the summer of 1896, Earp wrote his memoirs with the help of a ghost writer. On December 3, 1896, Earp was the referee for the boxing match to determine the heavyweight championship of the world. During the fight Bob Fitzsimmons, clearly in control, landed a low blow against Tom Sharkey. Earp awarded the victory to Sharkey and was accused of committing fraud. Fitzsimmons had an injunction put on the prize money until the courts could determine who the rightful winner was. The judge in the case decided that because fighting, and therefore prize fighting, was illegal in San Francisco, that the courts wouldn't determine who the real winner was. The decision provided no vindication for Earp.

Related Topics:
Idaho - 1886 - San Diego - July 3 - 1888 - Suicide - Laudanum - 1890s - Santa Rosa - 1896 - December 3 - Boxing - Bob Fitzsimmons - Tom Sharkey - Injunction

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In the fall of 1897, Earp and Josie chased another gold rush, this time to Alaska. Earp ran several saloons and gambling concessions in Nome. They would return to San Francisco or Seattle, Washington. While living in Alaska, Earp met and became friends with Jack London. Controversy continued to follow Earp and he was arrested several times for different minor offenses.

Related Topics:
1897 - Alaska - Nome - Seattle - Washington - Jack London

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The Earps eventually moved to Hollywood, where he met several famous and soon to be famous actors on the sets of various movies. On the set of one movie, he met a young extra and prop man who would eventually become John Wayne. Wayne would later tell Hugh O'Brian that he based his image of the Western lawman on his conversations with Earp. But his best friend in Hollywood was William S. Hart, the biggest cowboy star of his time. In the early 1920s, Earp served as deputy sheriff in a mostly ceremonial position in San Bernardino County.

Related Topics:
Hollywood - John Wayne - Hugh O'Brian - Western - William S. Hart - 1920s

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When Wyatt died of chronic cystitis in 1929 at age 80, Josie buried Wyatt's ashes in the Marcus family plot at the Hills of Eternity, a Jewish cemetery (Josie was Jewish) in Colma, California. When she died in 1944, Josie's remains were buried next to Wyatt's.

Related Topics:
Cystitis - 1929 - Jewish - Colma - California - 1944

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