The Earp Bros ~
Greetings ~
I have been interested in the old west all of the nearly 70-years of my life. I have studied the lives of several old west figures such as Jesse James, Doc Holiday, Billy the Kid, etc. One of the more colorful people that I have always been interested in is Marshal Wyatt Earp of Wichita, Dodge City and Tombstone fame. Earp has always been a complex personality to me. As far as I can tell, Wyatt was a fairly honest guy who actually did believe in law and order. But in many cases he used that law for his own interest. But, one has to take into account the times and places involved.
Wyatt Earp lived in a very lawless and wild time and area in our history. He tried to uphold the law but, at times in his life, he used it to serve himself. When his brother, Morgan was murdered and another brother, Virgil was badly wounded in an ambush, Wyatt and a few others took to the roads and back waters of Arizona in a revenge hunt and killed those responsible. He used the law to do it.
But one has to remember that, at this time, it was very much dog eat dog and sometimes the only way to bring a criminal to justice was stretched, face down, over a saddle.
Wyatt lived a long life and died in 1929. He lived not only to see the west develop but also to see airplanes in the skies, automobiles on the roads, and radio and movies. Much has been written about Wyatt Earp and much has been wrong. But much has been correct and some sheds a bad light on this man. But again, take into consideration the times in which he lived and the lawless surroundings. This will give you a better view of the man. History tells us that he was not a drinker, but he operated several saloons in his lifetime. He did not gamble but made his living at times owning gambling houses. Did he employ prostitutes? Well, that's another story. One of Wyatt's passions in later life was mining. In Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt owned the "Tough Nut" silver mine. But, with all his mining interests, Wyatt would die nearly pennyless. Wyatt was married several times and by all accounts was a fairly good husband. His best friend was the notorious Doc Holiday. And Wyatt was loyal to those he called friends.
With all that said, as I stated earlier, I have studied Wyatt for many years. I have also collected a few items from Wyatt's life. The pictures here are of my small Wyatt Earp collection. A few of my original items are poker chips from one of his gambling houses and items from the Tough Nut mine.
Tombstone circa 1880