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| Birth Name(s) : Wyatt Earp |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Single
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Full Wyatt Earp Biography
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848–January 13, 1929) was an American farmer, teamster, sometime buffalo hunter, officer of the law in various Western frontier towns, gambler, saloon-keeper, and miner. He is best known for his participation in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, along with Doc Holliday, and two of his brothers, Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp.
Wyatt Earp has become an iconic figure in American folk history. He is the major subject of various movies, TV shows, biographies and works of fiction.
For years, researchers had no reliable account of Earp's activities or whereabouts between the remainder of 1871 and October 28, 1874, when Earp made his reappearance in Wichita, Kansas. It has been suggested that he spent these years hunting buffalo (as is reported in the Stuart Lake biography) and wandering throughout the Great Plains.
Like Ellsworth, Wichita was a train terminal which was a destination for cattle drives originating in Texas. Such cattle boomtowns on the frontier were raucous places filled with drunken, armed cowboys celebrating at the end of long drives. Earp officially joined the Wichita marshal's office on April 21, 1875, after the election of Mike Meagher as city marshal (the term causes confusion, since "city marshal" was then a synonym for police chief, a term also in use). One newspaper report exists referring to Earp as "Officer Erp" (sic) prior to his official hiring, making his exact role as an officer during 1874 unclear. He likely served in an unofficial paid role.
Years later Cairns wrote of Earp: "Wyatt Earp was a wonderful officer. He was game to the last ditch and apparently afraid of nothing. The cowmen all respected him and seemed to recognize his superiority and authority at such times as he had to use it."
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.
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.
This incident also began the Earps' public difficulties with Behan (at least according to Behan), who later testified that Earp and Holliday had put a scare into the Clantons by telling them that Behan was on his way with an armed posse to arrest them for horse theft. Such a mission would have had the effect of turning the Clantons against Behan, who badly needed the Clantons' political support since they were not afraid of him (according to Behan's testimony, Ike swore at the time that he would never stand for being arrested by Behan). Behan stated the incident was the reason he did not name Earp as his undersheriff. If Behan had served his subpoena on Ike Clanton, Clanton never responded to it, and Behan did not try to enforce the summons.
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). 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.
On July 3, 1888, Mattie, who always considered herself to be Wyatt's wife, committed suicide in Pinal, Arizona Territory, by taking an overdose of laudanum. |
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