Deputy U.S. Marshal, Tombstone, Arizona, and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Spouses
Magdalena Rysdam
Rosella Dragoo
Alvira "Allie" Earp (common-law wife)
Children
1
Parent(s)
Nicholas Porter Earp and his second wife, Virginia Ann Cooksey
Relatives
Wyatt, Morgan, Newton, Mariah Ann, James, Martha, Warren, Virginia Ann, and Douglas Earp
O.K. Corral gunfight
Principal events
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
O.K. Corral hearing and aftermath
Earp Vendetta Ride
Lawmen
Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp
Wyatt Earp
Morgan Earp
Doc Holliday
Warren Earp
Outlaw Cowboys
Ike Clanton
Billy Clanton
Tom McLaury
Frank McLaury
Billy Claiborne
Curly Bill Brocius
Frank Stilwell
Pony Diehl
Pete Spence
v
t
e
Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona, City Marshal when he led his younger brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. They killed brothers Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. All four lawmen were charged with murder by Ike Clanton, who had run from the gunfight. During a month-long preliminary hearing, Judge Wells Spicer exonerated the men, concluding they had been performing their duty.
But two months later on December 28, friends of the slain outlaws retaliated, ambushing Virgil. They shot him in the back, hitting him with three shotgun rounds, shattering his left arm and leaving him permanently maimed. The Cowboys suspected were let off for lack of evidence.[1]: 242 His brother Morgan Earp was assassinated in March 1882. Charges against those suspected were dismissed on a technicality.[clarification needed][2] Wyatt Earp, appointed as deputy U.S. Marshal to replace Virgil, concluded he could not rely on civil justice and decided to take matters into his own hands.[2][3] Wyatt assembled a federal posse that included their brother Warren Earp and set out on a vendetta to kill those they felt were responsible. Virgil left Tombstone to recuperate from his wounds in Colton, California, where his parents lived.
Virgil married before he left to serve in the Union Army during the American Civil War. When he returned, his wife and child had left. He held a variety of other 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."[4][5] In 1898, Virgil learned that his first wife Ellen Rysdam and their daughter were living in Oregon and reestablished contact with them. After suffering from pneumonia for six months, Virgil died on October 19, 1905.
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Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona, City Marshal when he led his younger brothers...
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livery stable partner, Pete Spence, Tombstone Marshal VirgilEarp, Special Police Officer Wyatt Earp, and Cochise County Deputy Sheriff Billy Breakenridge...
was suspected by Wyatt Earp of having taken part in the attempted murder of VirgilEarp and the ambush and death of Morgan Earp. Ringo was found dead with...
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Arizona Territory. He was accused by Wyatt Earp of having taken part in an attempt to kill his brother, VirgilEarp. Diehl was not tried due to a lack of evidence...
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After the Earps were exonerated, Deputy U.S. Marshal VirgilEarp was maimed in an ambush on December 28, 1881, and assistant deputy Morgan Earp was killed...
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Territory), where he possibly previously knew the Earps and Doc Holliday. He was listed by VirgilEarp as special policeman (i.e., deputy city policeman)...
ongoing conflicts with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp. The McLaury brothers repeatedly threatened the Earps because they interfered with the Cowboys'...
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