Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was a veteran of the American Civil War and was a Deputy U.S. Marshal for south-eastern Arizona Territory and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in October 1881. Two months after that shootout, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of Tombstone, shattering his left arm, leaving him maimed for life. His brother Morgan Earp was assassinated in March 1882 and Virgil left Tombstone for Colton, California, to live with his parents and recuperate. Virgil held a variety of jobs throughout his life, though he primarily worked in law enforcement. His younger brother Wyatt, who spent most of his life as a gambler, became better known as a lawman because of writer Stuart N. Lake's fictionalized 1931 biography Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal and later portrayals of him in movies and fiction as Old West's "toughest and deadliest gunmen of his day." Early life Virgil Earp was born in Hartford, Kentucky, the second son of Nicholas Earp and Virginia Ann Cooksey. In February 1860, while living in Pella, Iowa, 16-year-old Virgil eloped with 18-year-old Dutch immigrant Magdalena C. "Ellen" Rysdam (born November 25, 1842 in Utrecht, Netherlands - died May 3, 1910 in Cornelius, Oregon). They remained together for a year in spite of her parents' (Gerrit Rysdam and Magdalena Catrina Van Velzen) disapproval. Virgil and Ellen had a daughter, Nellie Jane Earp (January 7, 1862 - June 17, 1930). On September 21, 1861, 18-year-old Virgil enlisted in the Union Army. He served with the 83rd Illinois Infantry from July 26, 1862, to June 24, 1865. Virgil's older brother James had previously enlisted, but returned home in late 1861 after he was badly wounded during a battle near Fredericktown, Missouri. Virgil's older half-brother Newton also enlisted with the Union and served throughout the war. In the summer of 1863, Ellen learned from her parents and the Earps that Virgil had been killed in Tennessee. She left Pella with her parents and daughter for the Oregon Territory. She married John Van Rossem, who died shortly afterward, and married once again in 1867 to Thomas Eaton in Walla Walla, Washington Territory. Virgil was reconnected with Ellen and their daughter 37 years later. In 1868, Nicholas Earp took his family east again, eventually settling in Lamar, Missouri. When Earp was discharged from the military on June 26, 1865, he returned to Iowa but could not find his wife and daughter. Virgil worked on a local farm and helped operate a grocery store before leaving for California to join the rest of the Earp family. He married Rosella Dragoo (born in France in 1853) on August 28, 1870 in Lamar, Missouri. His father as justice of the peace married them, but there are no further records of Rosella. Virgil later met Alvira "Allie" Sullivan from Florence, Nebraska in 1874. They never married but remained together the rest of his life. During his life Virgil worked at many jobs, including Sheriff, farmer, rail construction in Wyoming, stagecoach driver, a sawmill sawyer in Prescott, Arizona Territory, mailman, and later in life, prospector. A tight-knit family, the Earps

. Virgil Walter Earp   Born: July 18, 1843 Hartford, Kentucky Died: October 19, 1905 Goldfield, Nevada Occupation:  Union soldier, Constable, Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Arizona Territory, Marshal, farmer, rail construction, stagecoach driver, sawyer, mailman, prospector, saloon-keeper Known for: Deputy U.S. Marshal, Tombstone, Arizona, and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Spouse(s) Magdalena Rysdam Rosella Dragoo Alvira "Allie" Earp       (common-law wife) Children: Nellie Parents: Nicholas Earp Virginia Ann Cooksey

Virgil spent some time in Dodge City, Kansas, in 1877 with his younger brother Wyatt, though it is not certain if Virgil ever held any law enforcement position there. From Dodge City, Virgil and his wife moved to Prescott in July 1877, then the capital of Arizona Territory. There, in October 1877, Virgil Earp was deputized by Yavapai County, Arizona Sheriff Ed Bowers during a street gunfight. During the fight, Virgil killed one of the robbers, shooting him twice through the head with a Winchester rifle. In 1878, Virgil served in Prescott as a village night watchman for a couple of months, and was later elected as a constable in Prescott.

Tombstone

While in Prescott, Arizona, Virgil was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal for the eastern portion of Pima County on November 27, 1879 by U.S. Marshall Crawley Dake. He was asked by Dake to move to Tombstone to help resolve ongoing problems with lawless Cowboys. In an interview after he left Tombstone, Virgil noted that "The first stage that went out of Prescott toward Tombstone was rob­bed. Robberies were frequent and became expensive." Virgil joined his brothers Wyatt and Jim in Tombstone in December 1879.

On October 30, 1880, after town marshal Fred White was shot and killed by outlaw and gunman "Curly Bill" Brocius, Virgil was also appointed acting town marshal of Tombstone. Virgil now held both the local town marshal position and a federal law enforcement. But less than two weeks later Ben Sippy beat Virgil for the town marshal job in a special election. When Tombstone was incorporated as a city on February 1, 1881, Virgil chose not to run against Sippy.

However, Sippy was known to be in financial trouble. He requested a two-week leave of absence on June 6, 1881, and the city council once again appointed Virgil as temporary city marshal. On June 22, the center section of Tombstone was devastated by a fire. Virgil kept looting under control and chased off lot jumpers who tried to take over property. On June 28, it was learned that Sippy had left about $3,000 in bad debt and financial improprieties in his office. Virgil was appointed by Tombstone Mayor John Clum as the permanent city marshal and paid $150.00 per month.

Conflict with Cowboyst

To reduce crime in Tombstone, the City Council enacted an ordinance in April 1881 that prohibited anyone from carrying a deadly weapon. Anyone entering town was required to deposit their weapons at a livery or saloon soon after entering town. The ordinance led directly to a confrontation that resulted in a shoot out with local Cowboys.

On October 26, 1881, Virgil learned that several Cowboys who had been threatening the Earps for several months were in town and armed in violation of the ordinance. Assisted by his deputy Morgan Earp and temporary deputies Wyatt Earp and John "Doc" Holliday, Virgil went to disarm Frank and Tom McLaury, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Billy Claiborne. That confrontation turned into a shoot out that is now known world-wide as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

The gunfight and later media portrayals made Wyatt Earp a legend. He is often depicted as the central lawman, but he was only Virgil's temporary assistant. Wyatt had acted as city marshal the week prior when Virgil was out of town. Virgil was the city marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal. Although Wyatt had previously served in Wichita, Kansas and Dodge City as a lawman, Virgil had three years of Civil War service which had given him more combat and shooting experience. He had also served as a lawman off and on since the war.

Before the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Wyatt had been in only one shootout and Morgan had never been in any gun battles. Billy Claiborne had been in one gunfight prior to the shootout and was the only member of the Cowboy faction that had prior gunfighting experience (not counting the Skeleton Canyon massacre, in which the McLaurys and Clantons took part). Doc Holliday, despite his reputation, had no documented gunfights to his credit, other than a couple of drunken brawls, and only his own tales of fights with unnamed men he claimed to have shot.

During the gunfight, Virgil Earp was shot through the calf (he thought by Billy Clanton). Three days after the O.K. Corral gunfight, the city council suspended Virgil as City Marshall pending outcome of the preliminary hearing. Virgil was eventually exonerated of wrongdoing, but his reputation suffered thereafter.

Assassination attempt

After the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral the Earps relocated their families to the Cosmopolitan Hotel for mutual support and protection. At about 11:30 pm on December 28, 1881, three men hidden in the upper story of an unfinished building across Allen street from the hotel ambushed Virgil from behind as he walked from the Oriental Saloon to his room. Virgil was hit in the back and left arm by three loads of double-barreled buckshot from about 60 feet (18 m). The Crystal Palace Saloon and the Eagle Brewery beyond Virgil were struck by nineteen shots, three passed through the window and one about a foot over the heads of some men standing by a faro-table. George Parsons wrote that he heard "four shots in quick succession." Seriously wounded, Virgil staggered into the hotel. Wyatt, assuming that Virgil was dying, telegraphed U.S. Marshal Crawley P. Dake.    Tombstone, Arizona Territory, December 29, 1881 Virgil Earp was shot by concealed assassins last night. His wounds are fatal. Telegraph me appointment with power to appoint deputies. Local authorities are doing nothing. The lives of other citizens are threatened. Wyatt Earp  Dr. George E. Goodfellow removed 4 inches (100 mm) of shattered humerus bone from Virgil's left arm, leaving his arm permanently crippled, and twenty buckshot from his side. While the doctor worked on his arm, Virgil told his wife Allie, "Never mind, I've got one arm left to hug you with." Commenting on the telegram received by Dake from Wyatt Earp, the Weekly Arizona Miner wrote about the repeated threats received by the Earps and others. "For some time, the Earps, Doc Holliday, Tom Fitch and others who upheld and defended the Earps in their late trial have received, almost

The Longhorn Restaurant is located in what used to be the Bucket of Blood Saloon, the Holiday Water Company, and the Owl Cafe and Hotel. Virgil Earp was shot from the second floor.

The suspected shooters were later identified as Phin Clanton, Ike Clanton, Johnny Barnes, Johnny Ringo, Hank Swilling and Pete Spence. Although Ike Clanton's hat was found near the shooting, the evidence was circumstantial, and the men were acquitted. On January 31, Ike and Phin were brought before Judge William H. Stilwell on suspicion of shooting Virgil. The district attorney asked that bail be set at $5,000, but the judge released both men on $1,500 bond, indicating he thought the prosecution's case was weak.

On February 2, 1882, Clanton's attorney brought in seven witnesses who testified that Clanton was in Charleston at the time of Virgil's shooting. Ike was acquitted and released.

Departs for California

After his shooting, Virgil spent the next three months recuperating in bed. He was just starting to get back on his feet when on Saturday, March 18, 1882, Virgil's younger brother Morgan Earp was killed in another ambush. On March 19, Wyatt's 34th birthday, he and James accompanied Morgan's body to Benson, where it was loaded aboard a freight train for California, watched over by James and two or three friends. They took Morgan to the Earp family home in Colton, California. It was not practical given Virgil's injuries to transport him and his wife Allie out of Tombstone at the same time as Morgan.

On Monday, March 20, Virgil and Allie left Tombstone for California under heavy guard. They were escorted by Wyatt and deputies Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, Sherman McMasters, and "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson. Wyatt reported later that he received word in Contention that Ike Clanton, Frank Stilwell, Hank Swilling, and another cowboy were watching the passenger trains in Tucson with the aim to kill Virgil. The group drove two wagons to the New Mexico and Arizona Railroad terminal 25 miles (40 km) away in Benson and boarded the train to Tucson. Virgil was so weak he had to be carried up the steps of the train.

Wyatt and his deputies had initially planned to travel only as far as Benson, but when they learned that Stilwell and others were looking for Virgil, they remained with Virgil and Allie through to Tucson. The men were well armed with pistols, rifles and shotguns. McMaster wore two cartridge belts. Allie wore Virgil's pistol belt during the journey so it would be handy. Virgil told the San Francisco Examiner two months later that upon getting off the train in Tucson, "Almost the first men we met on the platform there were Stilwell and his friends, armed to the teeth." "They fell back into the crowd as soon as they saw I had an escort, and the boys took me to the hotel to supper." Guarded by his brothers and the deputies, Virgil and Allie had dinner at Porter's Hotel in Tucson. Their guards helped them board the train for California, and once they were safely seated, kept a watch for the Cowboys.

As Virgil's train was pulling out of Tucson on its way to California, gunfire was heard. Witnesses gave contradictory accounts about the number of men seen near the tracks and numbers of shots fired. Some said the Earps were armed after leaving Porter's Hotel and others said they were not. Witnesses saw men running with weapons but could not identify anyone in the dark. Wyatt said later that he and his deputies spotted Frank Stilwell and another man he believed to be Ike Clanton armed with shotguns lying on a flatcar.

Wyatt, quoted in the Denver Republican, said "I ran straight for Stilwell. It was he who killed my brother. What a coward he was! He couldn't shoot when I came near him. He stood there helpless and trembling for his life. As I rushed upon him he put out his hands and clutched at my shotgun. I let go both barrels, and he tumbled down dead and mangled at my feet."

When Wyatt and his men approached, the two men ran. Stilwell may have stumbled or been wounded, allowing Wyatt to reach him. Wyatt later said he shot Stilwell as Stilwell attempted to push the barrel of Earp's shotgun away. He said Stilwell cried "Morg!" before he was killed. Stilwell's body, riddled with buckshot from two shotgun rounds, one in his leg and the second in his chest with powder burns, and four other bullet wounds, was found the next morning near the tracks. Ike Clanton got away. When the Tucson sheriff learned who was responsible for Stilwell's death, he issued warrants for the lawmen's arrest.

Clanton gave an interview afterward to the newspapers in which he claimed that he and Stilwell had been in Tucson to respond to federal charges about interfering with a U.S. mail carrier, stemming from his alleged involvement in robbing the Sandy Bob line of the Bisbee stage on September 8, 1881. Clanton said that they had heard that the Earps were coming via the train and they had plans to kill Stilwell. According to Clanton, Stilwell disappeared from the hotel before he was found several blocks away, shot dead by the tracks.

Later life and death

After receiving his injuries in Tombstone, Virgil spent the next two years recovering from his injuries, primarily at his parents' home in Colton, California. He sought treatment for his wounds in San Francisco and was interviewed on the Southern Pacific train by a reporter whose story was printed in the San Francisco Examiner on May 27, 1882. The reporter described Virgil's appearance:

Despite the use of only one arm, Virgil was hired by the Southern Pacific Railroad to guard its tracks in Colton's famous "battle of the crossing". Virgil joined in the frog war as the Southern Pacific attempted to stop the California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, from installing a crossing over the Southern Pacific tracks in Colton to gain access to California. Governor Waterman deputized a posse from San Bernardino, California and came down in person to enforce construction of the crossing, ending the Southern Pacific's railroad monopoly in Southern California.

In 1884 Virgil's father, Nicholas Porter Earp was elected justice of the peace. Two years later, Virgil Earp opened a private detective agency, which by all accounts was abandoned in 1886, when he was elected village constable in July.

When Colton was incorporated as a city, Virgil was elected as Colton's first City Marshal on July 11, 1887. He was paid $75 a month and was re-elected to another term in 1888. Among other duties, he was reported to have cleared blocked sewers and kept track of the electric light bulbs Virgil and Allie's Colton home still stands at 528 West "H" Street.

In 1888 Virgil resigned as city marshal and he and Allie left Colton for San Bernardino. Five years later, in 1893, he and his wife moved to the short-lived mining town Vanderbilt, California. According to his wife, he owned and operated the only two story building in town, Earp Hall, a saloon and meeting hall used for public gatherings and even the town's church services. His business success in Vanderbilt did not match his success in politics, and he lost the election for town constable in 1894.

In 1895, Virgil and Allie traveled to Colorado where they met Virgil's brother Wyatt. They stayed briefly and soon moved back to Prescott in Yavapai County, Arizona where Virgil became involved in mining. They moved south after that and began ranching in the Kirkland Valley. Virgil was nominated as a candidate for Yavapai County, Arizona Sheriff in 1900, but pulled out of the election for health reasons.

Reunites with first wife

In 1898 Virgil received a startling letter from a Mrs. Levi Law. After returning from the Civil War as a young man, his wife Ellen and daughter Nellie had disappeared, having been told that Virgil had been killed in the war. Mrs. Levi Law was Virgil's daughter. The next year, encouraged by his wife, Virgil traveled to Portland, Oregon where he was reunited with Ellen and Nellie Jane Law. On April 22, 1898, The Oregonian reported that Virgil "...is now enjoying a very pleasant visit with her and his two grandchildren at her home, which is near that of Mrs. Eaton, in North Portland." He also met three grandchildren he never knew existed. Nellie Jane visited her father and Allie in Arizona the next year. Later that year, according to her letter to The Oregonian, Nellie Jane visited Virgil and Allie Earp at their home in Arizona.

Death in Nevada

Before 1904, Earp returned to Colton where city records show that he along with three others unsuccessfully petitioned the city leaders to repeal a temperance law that only allowed one saloon in town. In 1904, he left California for the last time and joined Wyatt in the boom town of Goldfield, Nevada, where he became a deputy sheriff for Esmeralda County, Nevada. After suffering from pneumonia for six months, Virgil died on October 19, 1905, leaving his brother Wyatt as the last surviving participant of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

At the request of his daughter Nellie Jane Bohn, Allie allowed his remains to be sent to Portland, Oregon, and buried in the River View Cemetery there. After the death of her husband, Allie (Alvira "Allie" Packingham Sullivan Earp) returned to California to be near Virgil's family, where she lived for forty-two years. She died at the age of ninety-nine in 1947. She is interred in San Bernardino.

The actor John Anderson played Virgil Earp in five episodes (1960-1961) of the ABC western television series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, with Hugh O'Brian in the starring role.
 

Morgan Seth Earp (April 24, 1851 – March 18, 1882) was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually led to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which Morgan was wounded. All three lawmen along with Doc Holliday were charged by Ike Clanton, who fled the gunfight, for murdering brothers Tom and Frank McLaury along with his own brother Billy Clanton. During a month-long preliminary hearing, Judge Wells Spicer exonerated the men, concluding they had been performing their duty. Virgil was gravely wounded in an ambush on December 28, 1881, and Morgan was assassinated on March 18, 1882 by a shot through the window of a door while he was playing billiards. The Cowboys suspected were let off on technicalities or for lack of evidence. Wyatt Earp felt he could not rely on civil justice and decided to take matters into his own hands. He concluded that only way to deal with Morgan's murderers was to kill them. Wyatt assembled a posse that included their brother Warren Earp and set out on a vendetta to kill those they felt were responsible. Early life Morgan Earp was born in Pella, Marion County, Iowa, to Nicholas Porter Earp (1813–1907), a cooper and farmer, and his second wife Virginia Ann Cooksey (1821–1893). When elder brothers Newton, James, and Virgil went off to the American Civil War, they left their young teenage brothers Wyatt and Morgan to tend the family farm. James and Morgan grew up close, with a shared wish for adventure and a dislike of farming. Before adulthood, teen-aged Morgan followed James Earp up to Montana for a couple of years. Later he was with Wyatt on the Western frontier. In 1875, Morgan departed the Earp clan living in Wichita, Kansas, and became a deputy marshal under Charlie Bassett at Dodge City. In late 1877, Morgan took his common-law wife Louisa A. Houston to Montana, where they lived until March, 1880. At different times in Arizona, both Wyatt and Morgan worked as shotgun messengers for Wells Fargo & Co., deputy sheriffs for Pima County, and as deputies under Tombstone's Chief of Police Virgil Earp, their older brother. During early 1882, Morgan was appointed to the federal position of Deputy U.S. Marshal, an office subservient to Wyatt Earp, who had been given the position by the U.S. Marshal C. Dake, after Virgil was wounded, and had authority to deputize.

Morgan Earp, about 1881, in Tombstone   Born: April 24, 1851 Pella, Iowa Died: March 18, 1882 (age 30) Tombstone, Arizona Occupation:  Marshal and Deputy Known for:  Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Spouse(s): Louisa Houstin     (common law)

Morgan has gained an undeserved reputation for being a hot-tempered man, but this appears to be on the basis of incidents related in the book The Earp Brothers of Tombstone purportedly written by Virgil Earp's wife Allie. However, the incidents in the book involving Morgan, like much else in the book, are almost certainly fabricated. From the rest of what is known of Morgan's life, he normally showed the same even temper and cool reactions to danger as did his brothers.

Gunfight at the OK Corral

On Wednesday, October 26, 1881, the tension between the Earps and the Cowboys came to a head. Ike Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and other Cowboys had been threatening to kill the Earps for several weeks. Tombstone city Marshal Virgil Earp learned that the Cowboys were armed in violation of a city ordinance and had gathered near the O.K. Corral. Morgan was a deputy to his brother Virgil and on October 26, 1881, responded with Virgil and Wyatt to reports that Cowboys were armed on the streets of Tombstone. Ike Clanton had repeatedly threatened the Earps and he was backed up by Cowboys Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton. Virgil asked Wyatt and Morgan and Doc Holliday to assist him, as he intended to disarm them. At approximately 3:00 p.m. the Earps headed towards Fremont Street where the Cowboys had been reported to be gathering.

They confronted five Cowboys on Fremont Street in an alley between the Harwood House and Fly's Boarding House and Photography Studio, the two parties were initially only about 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3.0 m) apart. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne fled the gunfight. Tom and Frank McLaury, along with Billy Clanton, were killed. Morgan was clipped by a shot across his back that nicked both shoulder blades and a vertebra, although he was able to continue to fire his weapon. Virgil was shot through the calf and Holliday was grazed by a bullet.

Assassination

Two months after the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in December 1881, Virgil Earp was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt that left him with a permanently crippled left arm. By February 1882, Morgan grew wary of the danger to the Earps in Tombstone and sent his common-law wife Louisa Houstin Earp to the Earps' parents in Colton, California. However, Morgan chose to remain in Tombstone to guard Virgil, support Wyatt, and continue to work in law enforcement.

At 10:50 p.m. on Saturday, March 18, 1882, Morgan was ambushed after returning from a musical at Schieffelin Hall. He was playing a late round of billiards at the Campbell & Hatch Billiard Parlor against owner Bob Hatch. Dan Tipton, Sherman McMaster, and Wyatt watched, having received threats that same day.

The assailant shot through a glass-windowed, locked door which opened onto a dark alley between Allen and Fremont Streets. Morgan was struck in the right side and the bullet shattered his spine, passed through his left side, and lodged in the thigh of mining foreman George A.B. Berry. Another bullet lodged in the wall over Wyatt's head. Several men rushed into the alley but found the shooters had fled. After he was shot, his brothers tried to help him stand, but Morgan said "Don't, I can't stand it. This is the last game of pool I'll ever play." Dr. William Miller arrived first, followed by Drs. Matthews and George Goodfellow. They all examined Morgan. Even Goodfellow, recognized in the United States as the nation's leading expert at treating abdominal gunshot wounds, concluded that Morgan's wounds were fatal.

Wyatt was quoted by Lake in Frontier Marshal as saying that Morgan, before dying, whispered to Wyatt, "I can't see a damned thing." Wyatt said that they had promised each other to report visions of the next world when at the point of death. Virgil and Allie, and James and Bessie arrived, but Warren was out of town. Morgan died on a lounge in an adjoining card room less than an hour after he was shot. (The Campbell and Hatch Billiard parlor and card room, two lots east of Hafford's Saloon on 4th Street and Allen, burned in a fire in May 1882.

Goodfellow described Morgan's wounds:

Morgan was laid out in a blue suit belonging to Doc Holliday. The Earps took his body by wagon the next day to the New Mexico and Arizona railroad station in Contention. From there, his older brother James Earp accompanied Morgan's body to Colton, California where Morgan's wife and parents were waiting. Morgan was first buried in the old city cemetery of Colton, near Mount Slover. When the cemetery was moved in 1892, Morgan's body was reburied in the Hermosa Cemetery in Colton.
Accused go free

While Wyatt and James were traveling to Contention with Morgan's body, Coroner Dr. D. M. Mathew held an inquest into Morgan's death. Pete Spence's wife, Marietta Duarte, had been abused by her husband and was ready to talk. She testified that the day before her husband and Indian Charlie were on the front porch when they saw Morgan Earp walk by. She said Pete Spence told Indian Charlie (Florentino Cruz), "That's him; that's him," and the Indian walked ahead of Earp to get a good look at him. The night of the shooting, her husband was away. Around midnight Indian Charlie and Frank Stilwell showed up, armed with pistols and carbines, and her husband arrived soon after with Fries (Frederick Bode) and a fifth unidentified man, all carrying rifles. They talked in low and excited tones. The next morning her husband struck her and her mother, and threatened to shoot Marietta if she told what she knew. Witnesses said they saw Frank Stilwell running from the scene.

The coroner's jury concluded that Spence, Stilwell, Frederick Bode, and "Indian Charlie" were the prime suspects in Morgan Earp's death.

When the prosecution called Marietta Duarte to testify at the preliminary hearing, the defense objected because her testimony was hearsay and because a spouse could not testify against her husband. The judge agreed and the charges were dismissed.

Even though the charges were dismissed, Spence immediately turned himself in, protected in Behan's jail. On the day of the inquest, two of Behan's deputy sheriffs arrested two of the suspects for other reasons. Cochise County Deputy Sheriff William Bell brought Indian Charlie from Charleston and placed him under arrest in the Tombstone jail for shooting a man in Charleston. Separately, Cochise County Deputy Sheriff Frank Hereford arrested "John Doe" Freeze.

Aftermath

Wyatt Earp felt he could not rely on the court system and decided to take matters into his own hands. He concluded the only way to deal with Virgil's shooters and Morgan's murderers was to find and kill the Cowboys they felt responsible.
 

James Cooksey Earp (June 28, 1841 - January 25, 1926) was the little known older brother of Old West lawman Virgil Earp and lawman/gambler Wyatt Earp. Unlike his brothers, he was a saloon-keeper and was not present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. Civil War service Earp was born in Hartford, Kentucky, and was reared in a tight-knit family environment. In 1861, at 19, he enlisted in the Union Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War, joining Company F, 17th Illinois Infantry in May, 1861. His brothers, Virgil and Newton Earp, also enlisted. His service was cut short when he was wounded in the shoulder, having lost the use of his left arm, in a battle near Fredericktown, Missouri, on October 31, 1861. He was discharged in March, 1863. Newton and Virgil served until the end of the war. Life in the West Following the war, James moved around quite frequently, an Earp family trait. He lived in Colton, California, Helena, Montana, Pineswell, Missouri, and Newton, Kansas, before he wed the former prostitute, Nellie "Bessie" Ketchum, in April 1873. For some time thereafter, he worked in a saloon in Wichita, Kansas, and then as a deputy marshal in Dodge City, Kansas, under Marshal Charlie Bassett, who had replaced Ed Masterson after Masterson's murder. In December 1879, he and his wife moved to Tombstone in Cochise County in southern Arizona, along with his brothers Wyatt and Virgil. His brothers Warren and Morgan and his wife Louisa joined them there in late 1880. The three younger brothers became involved in law enforcement in Tombstone, while James managed a saloon and worked in gambling houses. He was not present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. On December 28, 1881, his brother Virgil Earp was ambushed, shot three times with a shotgun. He survived, but only two months later on March 18, 1882, his brother Morgan Earp was assassinated in a billiard parlor.

James C. Earp c. 1880   Born: June 28, 1841 Hartford, Kentucky Died: January 25, 1926 (age 84) San Bernardino, CA Occupation:  Soldier, saloon-keeper Spouse(s): Nellie "Bessie" Ketchum

Wyatt Earp and James' youngest brother, Warren—with gambler Doc Holliday and gunmen Sherman McMasters, "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson, and Texas Jack Vermillion—then hunted down those they held responsible for the attacks during the Earp Vendetta Ride.

Morgan was buried in Colton, California. James then lived for a short time in Shoshone County, Idaho, until settling permanently by 1890 in California.

James Earp died of natural causes in San Bernardino, California, on January 25, 1926. He is interred there at the Mountain View Cemetery.

In 1955, the actor John Smith, prior to his lead roles in Cimarron City and Laramie, played the part of James Earp in the film Wichita, starring Joel McCrea and Vera Miles.
 

Warren Baxter Earp (March 9, 1855 – July 6, 1900) was the youngest brother of Wyatt, Morgan, Virgil, James, and Newton Earp. Although he was not present during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, after Virgil was maimed in an ambush, Warren joined Wyatt and was in town when Morgan was assassinated. He also helped Wyatt in the hunt for the outlaws they believed responsible. Later in life, Warren developed a reputation as a bully and was killed in an argument in 1900. Early life Warren was born in Pella, Iowa. Little is known about his early life. Like Wyatt and Morgan, he was too young to take part in the American Civil War, as his older brothers James, Virgil, and Newton did. He was eighteen years younger than Newton. He joined his brothers in Tombstone, Arizona in 1880, and worked occasionally as a deputy for Virgil collecting taxes and for periodic guard duty. Wyatt landed the Faro concession at the Oriental Saloon. Virgil was the Deputy Marshall and in mid-1881 became the Tombstone city marshal as well. James was his deputy. The Earps had ongoing conflicts with a loose federation of outlaws known as The Cowboys, who were implicated in ongoing livestock thefts and had repeatedly threatened to kill the Earps if they interfered. Earp vendetta Warren was at his parents' home in Colton, California at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. On December 28, 1881, the Cowboys ambushed Virgil Earp, maiming him. Warren returned to Tombstone and was deputized by Wyatt. On March 18, 1882, Morgan Earp was murdered while playing billiards. On March 20, 1882 he joined a posse guarding Virgil and Allie as they were transported to Tucson to catch a train for California. At the station, Frank Stilwell was spotted lying in wait for Virgil and was killed. Pima County Justice of the Peace Charles Meyer issued warrants for the arrest of Warren, Wyatt, Doc Holliday, "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson, and Sherman McMaster. The men returned to Tombstone where Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan found the men in the lobby of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, heavily armed, getting ready to leave town. He told Wyatt he wanted to see him. Deputy Marshal Wyatt replied: "Johnny, if you're not careful you'll see me once too often." On Friday the Tucson Grand Jury returned indictments naming all five men. The men were never tried or convicted. They left Tombstone that night and during the next week killed three more Cowboys they believed responsible for attacking their brothers in a vendatta across Cochise County.

Warren Baxter Earp   Born: March 9, 1855 Pella, Iowa Died: July 6, 1900 (aged 45) Willcox, Arizona Occupation:  Lawman, stagecoach driver Parents: Nicholas Porter Earp, Virginia Ann Cooksey

Later life and death

Following the vendetta ride, Warren left Arizona for a time. He returned in 1891, and worked as a mail stage driver on the route between Willcox and Fort Grant. He may have worked briefly as a range detective for rancher Henry Hooker in Cochise County, Arizona. Modern depictions of Warren Earp portray him as being slightly naive and youthful. After the shootout in Tombstone, he gained a reputation as a bully, playing off the reputation of his older brothers.

His brother Virgil was sure Warren's temper would get him killed. Virgil was reunited in 1898 with his first wife Ellen and daughter Nellie who had been told he had been killed in the Civil War. They visited twice, and Nellie told The Oregonian that during their visit, "My father said then, 'If Warren ever dies he will be shot. He is too hasty, quick-tempered and too ready to pick a quarrel. Besides he will not let bygones be bygones, and on that account, I expect that he will meet a violent death.'"

On July 6, 1900, Warren became involved in an argument with Hooker's range boss, Johnny Boyett, inside Brown's Saloon in Willcox. Boyett and Warren had been involved in verbal disputes before that night, and rumor was that their mutual dislike stemmed from affections for the same woman, possibly a local prostitute. However, the Tombstone Epitaph says that the incident began out of Earp's constant bullying of Boyett.

Later that night, the two men, both drunk, began arguing. Bystanders said they "never heard any man take such abuse." Warren Earp is alleged to have said "Boyett, get your gun and we'll settle this right here. I've got mine, go and get yours". Boyett left and returned shortly thereafter with two .45 caliber Colt handguns. Boyett called out for Earp, who walked in from another doorway. Immediately upon seeing Earp, Boyett fired two rounds, but both missed.

Earp stepped calmly outside of the saloon onto the street without producing a weapon, just as Boyett fired two more rounds, missing again with both. Earp entered the saloon again and walked towards Boyett, opened his coat and vest. "I have not got arms. You have a good deal the best of this". Earp continued walking toward Boyett, talking the entire time. As Boyett warned him several times to halt, Boyett appearing slightly frightened but angry. When Earp did not stop, Boyett fired a fifth round, this time striking Earp in the chest, killing him almost instantly. Boyett claimed that he feared for his life, and that by allowing Warren Earp to get too close, he believed his life was in danger. Warren Earp was found to have been unarmed, though he had an open pocket knife in his fist. No arrest was made.

Lynn R. Baily, the daughter of rancher Henry Hooker, wrote in Henry Clay Hooker and the Sierra Bonita that "Virgil Earp sneaked into Willcox under an assumed name, checked into the hotel near Brown's Saloon, and began interviewing witnesses. He concluded his brother's death was "cold blooded murder even if Warren was drunk and abusive at the time."

Boyett was arrested for the shooting. The coroner's inquest confirmed that he killed Earp. Boyett sought protection from the local sheriff, fearing retribution from the Earp brothers. He returned to work on Hooker's ranch, staying out of Willcox for a long period of time. Wyatt did not get involved in the incident, nor did James or Newton. It was later falsely reported that the Earps avenged Warren's death by killing Boyett. Boyett eventually retired in Redlands, California. He later died in Texas.

Warren Earp was buried in Willcox at the Pioneer Cemetery.

The Tombstone Epitaph reported the following on July 9, 1900: