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Virgil Earp - Page 2 |
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Later that year, on October 26th,
Tombstone and the
Earps
would become famous for the well publicized
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. When
Virgil, temporarily deputizing brothers,
Wyatt and
Morgan, and
Doc Holliday,
went to disarm the
McLaurys
and
Billy Clanton, all hell broke loose resulting in
the most famous
gunfight of the
Old West. The affair made
Wyatt a legend, but it
was actually Virgil who was the most experienced. Up to that point,
Wyatt had
only been in one
gunfight,
Morgan in none, while Virgil had years of
lawman
experience plus that of the
Civil War. When the smoke cleared,
Frank
and
Tom McLaury
and
Billy Clanton
were dead.
Virgil Earp
took a shot to the leg and
Morgan suffered a shoulder wound.
Sheriff
John Behan arrested
Virgil Earp,
Wyatt Earp,
Morgan Earp and
Doc Holliday
for murder of
Billy Clanton,
Tom McLaury and
Frank McLaury.
Three days later, the city council suspended Virgil, pending the outcome of the
shooting investigation. After a trial, all of the members of the
Earp faction
were found to have acted within the law.
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Re-creation of the
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Kathy Weiser, April, 2007.
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Over the next few months, the
Earps struggled to retain
control over
Tombstone, as word was spreading that the
Cowboy faction would take
their revenge on the
Earps for the killings. For safety, Virgil moved to the
Cosmopolitan Hotel. A couple of months later, on December 28th, when
Virgil was
walking from the Oriental Saloon to the hotel, he was ambushed. Shots were fired
from the second story of a building across Allen Street, hitting the Crystal
Palace Saloon and the Eagle Brewery, breaking windows and narrowly missing
customers. Virgil was hit in the back and left arm by buckshot. Though his arm
would be permanently crippled, he would survive. The shooters were never
positively identified. Though Ike Clanton’s hat was found at the shooting site,
one of his friends gave him an alibi and no arrests were made.
Upon learning of Virgil's mishap, territorial U.S. Marshal
Crawley P. Dake appointed
Wyatt Earp as a
U.S. Deputy Marshal.
On March 18, 1882, the
cowboy gang struck again while
Morgan Earp was playing pool at Campbell and Hatch's
Saloon. A shot was fired from the darkness of the alley striking
Morgan in the back.
Morgan's body was dressed in one of
Doc Holliday's suits and shipped to the parents in Colton,
California for burial. The entire
Earp party, including Virgil and his wife, Allie, accompanied
Morgan's body. Also accompanying them out of town were a number of "body
guards,” including
Sherman McMasters and
"Turkey Creek"
Jack Johnson.
However, in Tucson,
Wyatt,
Warren and
Doc Holliday hopped off the train in search of
Frank Stillwell, who supposedly worked in the railroad yards. The train went
on to
California without them.
In Tucson,
Wyatt
and
Warren Earp, along with
Doc Holliday, Sherman McMasters, and
"Turkey Creek"
Jack Johnson, saw the train safely off.
Afterwards; however, they spied
Frank Stillwell, a member of the
Cowboy faction,near the train tracks and
Wyatt shot him. He and the others then began what is
known as the Earp Vendetta Ride, chasing down those they felt were responsible
for
Morgan's death, killing them one by one, or running them out of the
territory. Though the five men were indicted for the killing of
Stillwell, none
were brought to trial, all having fled the territory after their vengeance ride.
After settling in Colton,
California and recovering from
his injuries, Virgil worked as a railroad agent for a couple of years and was
also said to have gambled heavily. In 1886, he opened a detective agency for a
brief time, before becoming a constable in July, 1886. A year later, when Colton
was officially incorporated, Virgil became the city’s first elected marshal on
July 11, 1887.
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In March, 1889, he resigned as city marshal and became a
boxing matchmaker and gambling hall operator in
San
Bernardino,
California. By
the spring of 1893, the restless Virgil had moved on again, establishing a Earp’s Hall in the mining camp of Vanderbilt,
California. The two-story saloon,
provided dances, prizefights and church services in its upstairs hall, while
downstairs held the typical saloon fare. Even though he was well liked in the
town, he lost an constable election in 1894.
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Prescott,
Arizona,
photo by Continent Stereoscopic Co, 1877.
This
image available for photographic prints
HERE!
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Virgil and Allie briefly returned to Colton in early 1895
but was soon headed to another booming mining town --
Cripple Creek,
Colorado.
But, Virgil didn’t stay long, soon moving back to Prescott,
Arizona and working
in the mines. In the fall of 1896, he was injured in a mining accident and took
up ranching south of Prescott.
In the fall of 1898,
Virgil Earp received a letter from a
Mrs. Levi Law of Portland,
Oregon,
in which she asked if he was the same
Virgil Earp who had married Ellen Rysdam in Pella, Iowa, in 1861. Obviously he was and
the two soon began a correspondence. In April, 1899,
Virgil and Allie traveled
to Portland to see her for the first time in 37 years and his two grandchildren.
They maintained a relationship for the rest of his days.
In 1900, he ran for Yavapai County,
Arizona Sheriff, but
his health was suffering and he was forced to drop out of the race.
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By 1904, Virgil was back in Colton,
California, but the
city had a by that time the city had a anti-saloon sentiment and a liquor
ordinance that limited the number of saloons in the city. When
Virgil was unable
to get a license, he and Allie struck out for yet another mining camp –
Goldfield,
Nevada.
There, he became a Deputy Sheriff on January 26, 1905.
However, his health continued to fail him and on October 19, 1905, he died in
Goldfield of Peneumonia.
His daughter Nellie made arrangements for her father’s body
to be transported to Portland,
Oregon, where she lived, and he was buried at
Riverview Cemetery. Allie returned to
California where she spent the rest of her
life, dying at the age of 98.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated January, 2010.
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From the Rocky Mountain General Store
Saloon
Style Tin Signs - Decorate with
saloon-like
decor with these nostalgic tin signs. Find
saloons,
restaurants, liquor and beer, including Budweiser, Coors, and more.
All signs are made of heavy gauge metal and have rolled edges for
safe handling. Great for hanging or framing!

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