Wyatt Earp – A True Maverick

Guns a blazin,’ Wyatt Earp made himself known in the wild, wild, west, where the law was often what you made it at that precise moment.

Wyatt Earp ~

Wyatt Earp is best known as the fearless frontirr lawman of Wichita and Dodge City, Kansas and principal survivor of “The Gunfight at OK Corral.”

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was born in Monmouth, IL on March 19, 1848 and moved to Colton, CA with his parents.  In 1870, he returned east and married his first wife.  The sudden death of his new bride made him drift into Indian Territory and work as a stagecoach driver, and also hunt buffalo.

In 1875, he arrived in Wichita, KS and joined the police force.  The next year, he moved to Dodge City and became a card dealer in a famous saloon and assistant to the Marshal.  It was here, that he met and became lifelong friends with Bat Masterson and Doc Holiday, establishing his reputation as a notable lawman and gambler.

Four years later, he moved to Tombston, AZ in 1879, with his second wife, his brothers, and their wives.  Here, he acquired the gambling concession at the oriental saloon and his brother, Virgil became the town Marshal, while Morgan took a job with the police dept.  It was here that Wyatt met his third wife, Josie, who remained with him until his death. 

On Oct 26, 1881, a feud that had developed between the Earps and a gang led by Ike Clanton culminated in the most celebrated gunfight in western folklore, “The Gunfight at OK Corral.”  Three of the Clanton gang were killed while Ike and another escaped.  The Earps and Doc Holiday survived, but both Morgan and Virgil were wounded.

In March 1882, Morgan Earp was gunned down by unknown assassins.  Wyatt, his brother Warren, and some friends embarked on a vendetta which ended in the death of all four suspects.  In those wild days, justice was what you made it.  Families members of victims often took it upon themselves to go after and kill those who committed crimes against them or their friends or relatives.

After being accused of these murders, Wyatt and Josie fled to Colorad, Idaho and then finally settled down in California.  Wyatt died on Jan 13, 1929 in Los Angeles at age 80.