Wyatt Earp was a multifaceted character who was revered as a hero of the American West. He was a police officer and a gunfighter who became well-known for his part in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, one of the most well-known gunfights in American West history. Even though the actual gunfight barely lasted for approximately 30 seconds, Wyatt Earp made his name on it. Although he is thought to have had the most significant impact on the fight, his brothers, the lawmen Virgil and Morgan Earp, also contributed significantly. Wyatt Earp had a highly colorful childhood; he had been detained for serving as a pimp and was a well-known gambler. The ambitious man was still determined to become a lawman despite his shady past. Within a year, he built a solid reputation and was hired as Wichita’s deputy city marshal. The Earp brothers frequently engaged in combat with various criminal elements because their brothers Virgil and Morgan were also employed as lawmen. Three outlaw cowboys were slain in the legendary O.K. Corral Gunfight, which was the result of years of hostilities between two groups of cowboys who had threatened to kill the brothers.
Early Childhood & Life
Nicholas Porter Earp and Virginia Ann Cooksey had numerous children together, Wyatt Earp being only one of them. The family relocated to a farm close to Iowa. When the American Civil War started, Wyatt, then 13 years old, and his younger brothers took care of the farm while their older brothers enlisted in the Union Army.
He attempted to join the army and ran away from home, but his father tracked him down and brought him home.
When he was 16 years old, the family moved to California after a string of frequent moves by the Earps.
Wyatt Earp’s Career
In 1866, he was hired as a truck driver. He traveled the route from Wilmington, Nevada to Salt Lake City over the course of two years. In 1868, he was employed to move goods for the Union Pacific Railroad’s building. While working at this job, he started gambling. In November 1869, Wyatt took his father’s place as a constable in Missouri.
In 1870, he experienced a personal tragedy that led to a string of legal issues. He hunted buffaloes and made ends meet for years by working as a bouncer or pimp.
He made the decision to work for the Wichita marshal’s office in 1875. After a brief tenure, he was fired in 1876 for abusing his position to help his brothers find work. In 1878, he was chosen to serve as an assistant city marshal in Dodge City, and in 1880, he was chosen to serve as a deputy sheriff for Pima County’s eastern region. He received a lot of praise for how he performed at work. He was also the county’s tax collector and assessor.
By 1881, hostility and conflict between the Earp brothers and a band of outlaw cowboys led by Tom and Frank McLaury had begun to escalate. The Earps were threatened with death by the McLaury brothers and their associates Billy and Ike Clanton.
The Earp brothers and their buddy Doc Holiday made the decision to confront the Cowboys on October 26, 1881, at a location close to the O.K. Corral. In the ensuing gun battle, the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton were murdered while Morgan, Virgil, and Holiday were hurt. Ike Clanton, one of the remaining Cowboys, accused the Earps of murder. After a protracted trial, the court found them not guilty, but their reputation was severely damaged.
On December 28, 1881, the Cowboys severely injured Virgil, and in retaliation, on March 18, 1882, they killed Morgan. In a bid to avenge Morgan’s passing, Wyatt Earp and his company embarked on a mission to exterminate the cowboys. Frank Stilwell and Curly Bill, two notorious cowboys, were among those killed by the Earps. In 1882, he relocated to San Francisco, where for the following several years, he ran saloons and gaming establishments. He also made investments in mining in Idaho and Colorado.
During the 1890s, Earp visited San Francisco again after a few years of travel. He ran a horse stable and developed a reputation as a gambler and athlete. His final police assignment came in 1910, when the Los Angeles Police Department recruited him to carry out a number of “outside-the-law” duties, like apprehending criminals who were hiding in neighboring cities. He relocated to Hollywood in his latter years, where he worked as an unpaid adviser for silent Cowboy films.
Personal Legacy & Life
In 1870, he wed Urilla Sutherland. Within months of their marriage, his pregnant wife passed away after contracting a disease. He grew close to prostitute Mattie Blaylock, and they had a long-lasting relationship. He named her as his common-law spouse. Sometime after his brother Morgan’s murder, he left her behind.
In 1882, he started dating Josephine Marcus. She eventually became his common-law spouse, and they were married for 46 years. He was the Earp brother that lived the longest, passing away in 1929 at the age of 80. Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, a heavily romanticized depiction of his life, was released in 1931 by Stuart Lake.
Estimated Net Worth
Wyatt Earp’s estimated net worth is $1 million USD, and his primary source of income is politics. There aren’t enough facts available on Wyatt Earp’s vehicles or way of life.
Trivia
He took involved in multiple gunfights, but luckily avoided suffering any serious wounds. Numerous television programs and films have used his life story as their inspiration. He loved to gamble and followed boxing and horse racing.