Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp (born April 24, 1851 in Pella , Marion County , Iowa , † March 18, 1882 in Tombstone , Arizona ) was a gunslinger of the Wild West and a brother of Wyatt Earp . He gained notoriety through the shooting at OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
Life
Morgan Earp was the fifth of seven children of Nicolas Earp and his second wife Virginia Ann Cooksey. After stays in Wichita , Dodge City and Montana , he followed his brothers Virgil , Wyatt and James to Tombstone in 1879 or 1880.
Location in Tombstone
Tombstone was a thriving silver mining town back then. It was split into two factions: on the one hand the mine owners and businessmen, on the other hand the farmers. The Earps, soon mine owners themselves, sought to establish a position of power in the city. To what extent Morgan Earp himself was involved in the matter is unknown and is based on speculation.
Morgan initially worked as a shotgun rider for Wells Fargo and as a sworn deputy ( deputy sheriff) for his brother Virgil.
By October 1881 the situation between the Clantons and Earps deteriorated. Ultimately, the duel at OK Corral on October 26, 1881 is only the answer to a long series of provocations by both parties. Despite contradicting testimony, it can be assumed that Morgan and Doc Holliday started the shooting at O. K. Corral. During this time he and his brother Virgil were wounded. The Earps and Doc Holliday were charged with murder, but they were acquitted.
death
The opponents did not fail to react. On December 28, 1881, Virgil Earp was shot from ambush. On March 18, 1882, Morgan was shot while playing pool at Campbell & Hatch's Saloon . The Earps then withdrew from Tombstone. His embalmed body was transferred by train and buried with his parents in Colton, California .
Wyatt, along with his friend Doc Holliday, pursued his brother's murderers; namely Frank Stilwell, Peter Spencer and Indian Charly (some sources also refer to a Florentino Cruz as the third murderer). Stilwell was found dead three days later.
literature
- Glenn G. Boyer (Ed.): Wyatt Earp's Tombstone Vendetta. Talei Publishers, Honolulu HI 1993, ISBN 0-9631772-2-2 (Large Print Version: GK Hall, Thorndike ME 1994, ISBN 0-8161-5959-9 ).
- Jens Kiecksee: Wyatt Earp. Life and legend. Publisher for American Studies , Wyk auf Föhr 1991, ISBN 3-924696-62-4 ( Trail Books ).
- Jens Kiecksee: Doc Holliday. Truth and legend. Publisher for American Studies, Wyk auf Föhr 1994, ISBN 3-89510-015-3 ( Trail Books ).
- Dietmar Kügler: You died in your boots. Gunslingers of the Wild West. Gondrom, Bindlach 1995, ISBN 3-8112-1250-8 , pp. 70-94.
- Frank Waters: The Earp Brothers of Tombstone. The Story of Mrs. Virgil Earp. CN Potter, New York NY 1960 (Reprinted by University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln NE et al. 1976, ISBN 0-8032-5838-0 ( A Bison Book 618)).
Remarks
- ↑ a b Some information in Kiecksee's two books, especially about Doc Holliday and Morgan Earp, contradict each other.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Earp, Morgan |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Gunslinger of the Wild West |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 24, 1851 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pella, Marion County , Iowa |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 18, 1882 |
| Place of death | Tombstone , Arizona |