Recently I was able to visit the gravesite of Morgan Earp, who was a brother to western lawman, Wyatt Earp.Alongside Doc Holliday and his brothers, Virgil and Wyatt, Morgan participated in the famous gun fight at the O.K. Corral in the mining town of Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Unlike how many movies portray it, the gun fight lasted a mere 30 seconds and actually took place in a vacant lot off Fremont Street behind the O.K. Corral.
Regardless, Morgan’s short life was filled with many adventures and contributions well beyond the O.K. Corral. Yet ultimately, he was gunned down in retaliation for his actions on that fateful October day in 1881. He was 30-years-old when he was killed on March 18, 1882 at a billiards hall in Tombstone.
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History
Morgan Earp was born on April 24, 1851 in Pella, Iowa, to Nicholas Porter Earp and his second wife, Virginia Cooksey. This actually made Morgan a half-brother to Newton, James, Virgil, and Wyatt. When his older brothers went off to fight in the American Civil War, young Morgan and Wyatt tended the family farm back in Iowa.
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During the war in 1864, the Earp family left Iowa and moved to Colton, California. Then in early 1868, Morgan moved with the family to Lamar, Missouri, where his father served as Justice of the Peace and his brother Wyatt as Constable.
Over the next decade, a lot would change in Morgan’s life. In 1871, he and his brother Wyatt worked as buffalo hunters in the Texas Panhandle and spent months traveling around the midwest. In 1872, they were both fined in Peoria, Illinois for “being found in a house of ill repute.” They were both eventually sent to jail briefly for being unable to pay the $4.55 fine. During these adventures with his brother, Morgan met a woman named Louisa Alice Houston in the 1870s, who he spent the remainder of his life with.
At one point Morgan made his way to Kansas and in 1875, left Wichita for Dodge City, where he may have served as a deputy sheriff for a time. Two years later in 1877, Morgan and Louisa again packed up and moved to Miles City, Montana Territory, where they attempted to establish roots. Morgan got involved in gold prospecting in the Bear Paw Mountains and in December 1879, he was selected as a policeman in Butte. During his time in Montana, it is alleged that Morgan got into a duel with Billy Brooks, during which Morgan was shot in the shoulder and he mortally wounded Brooks. Though there is no evidence to support this. Of course, Morgan was always up for an adventure or the next big thing, so when his brothers Wyatt and Virgil headed for Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Morgan wasn’t far behind.
Morgan arrived in Tombstone in July 1880. During much of the Earp’s time in Tombstone, Morgan’s older brother Virgil held a commission as a Deputy US Marshal and occasionally served as town marshal. Additionally, Wyatt served as a Pima County deputy sheriff for a time and a deputy US Marshall beginning in December 1881. The Earp brothers also got involved in many activities to make money, to include gambling. Tombstone was booming and the region attracted miners, businessmen, rustlers, and a group of outlaw ranchers known as “Cowboys.” Amidst the gambling, thieving, stage robbing, and other ways to make money, the Earp brothers and the Cowboys were bound to feud.
Throughout 1880, Morgan rode shotgun for various Wells Fargo stagecoach routes and worked as a messenger for the company. Additionally, Morgan was often deputized by his brothers to assist in tracking down thieves and carrying out justice in the county. By late 1881, tensions between the Earp Brothers and the Cowboys, particularly the Clanton and McLaury brothers, boiled over.
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On the morning of October 26th, 1881, the famous gunfight at the OK Corral took place. Unlike how it is portrayed in most movies, the gunfight lasted about 30 seconds and was actually fought in a vacant lot on Fremont Street behind the OK Corral. The three Earp brothers and Doc Holliday went there to disarm the Cowboys; however, it devolved into a brief gunfight. When the smoke settled, three Cowboys were dead and Virgil, Morgan, and Doc were all hit. Legend has it that Morgan fired the final shot of the fight and hit Frank McLaury in the head.
Morgan ultimately recovered from his wounds and continued to serve as a deputy. Naturally, the Cowboys vowed revenge on the Earp brothers. On March 18th, 1882, after nearly five months of tension following the gunfight, Morgan found himself on a Saturday night playing billiards at the Campbell & Hatch Billiard Parlor. His brother, Wyatt, sat against a wall as the men enjoyed the seemingly peaceful night. Yet just before 11PM, gunfire blasted through the windows and an assailant shot Morgan in the back with another round barely missing Wyatt’s head. As Morgan lie in agony, the doctor determined his wound to be fatal.
Interestingly, Morgan and Wyatt always wondered what dying was like and vowed to tell each other what they saw during those final moments. It was at this time that Morgan purportedly told Wyatt, “I can’t see a damned thing.” In less than an hour after being shot, Morgan died. He was just 30 years old.
The next morning, James Earp took Morgan’s body west to Colton, California, for burial. Morgan was buried in Slover Mountain Cemetery; however, an 1892 railroad job led to his body being exhumed and moved to nearby Hermosa Gardens Cemetery, where he remains today.
Morgan Earp’s story is like other men of the Old West. Full of adventure, promise, and like many, an unfortunate death at a young age. While today he is remembered by this simple tombstone, let us not forget his life and contributions to the founding of America’s western frontier.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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