Wyatt Earp, his guns from Tombstone
Where are they? That has been the subject of debate, white hot argument, and the scipture of dozens of stories by "authors" who generated tomes ever since the Tombstone lawman was laid to rest in the Jewish Cemetery just off the San Francisco airport runway.
All have been wrong.
I know where one is: it is in the Arizona Historical Society at 2nd and Palm streets in Tucson and has been displayed there off and on for the last 3 decades. The hitch here is that Earp owned and carried the long barreled pistol after the OK Corral, that's what drives the peak of the old west aficionados crazy.
What did he carry into the gunfight just behind the Corral that snowy October day in 1881 at 2:30 in the afternoon that vaulted three men into hell and him into world wide fame for the foreseeable future?
I discovered approximately where the guns are by accident through my friendship with author and historian Glenn G. Boyer who was, at the time, resident of Bisbee. Boyer, editor and publisher in the late 70's of the popular book, " I Married Wyatt Earp," was on the set of the movie shot on location in southern Arizona where it actually took place. The beautiful Marie Osmond took the role of Josephine Sara Marcus Earp, lover, dance hall girl and later, wife of Wyatt Earp. She died in San Francisco during World War II, dedicated to protecting Wyatt's reputation. She attended the same Jewish synagogue that is now frequented by California Senator Diane Feinstein. Wyatt Earp's visage adorns one of the stained glass windows.
Boyer is protective of his close relationship with the original Earp family, spending all of his time after his Air Force career with an old tape recorder interviewing the original descendants on their history. One day, in his Bisbee study, Mr. Boyer played a recording of a conversation of a conversation with a descendant of Josephine Earp still living in San Francisco that concerned the ownership of Wyatt's guns.
He cut the tape off before that person announced the location of the owner somewhere in San Francisco. I know that he knows where they are. And so do the descendants of the family, probably holding on to those keep-sakes because prior attempts by fraudulent individuals drew outlandish bids from all over the world. Boyer's theory is that the family does not wish to be harassed with what would soon be a circus of attention over Earp's firearms used during the OK Corral shoot-out and his time as a Tombstone lawman.
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All have been wrong.
I know where one is: it is in the Arizona Historical Society at 2nd and Palm streets in Tucson and has been displayed there off and on for the last 3 decades. The hitch here is that Earp owned and carried the long barreled pistol after the OK Corral, that's what drives the peak of the old west aficionados crazy.
What did he carry into the gunfight just behind the Corral that snowy October day in 1881 at 2:30 in the afternoon that vaulted three men into hell and him into world wide fame for the foreseeable future?
I discovered approximately where the guns are by accident through my friendship with author and historian Glenn G. Boyer who was, at the time, resident of Bisbee. Boyer, editor and publisher in the late 70's of the popular book, " I Married Wyatt Earp," was on the set of the movie shot on location in southern Arizona where it actually took place. The beautiful Marie Osmond took the role of Josephine Sara Marcus Earp, lover, dance hall girl and later, wife of Wyatt Earp. She died in San Francisco during World War II, dedicated to protecting Wyatt's reputation. She attended the same Jewish synagogue that is now frequented by California Senator Diane Feinstein. Wyatt Earp's visage adorns one of the stained glass windows.
Boyer is protective of his close relationship with the original Earp family, spending all of his time after his Air Force career with an old tape recorder interviewing the original descendants on their history. One day, in his Bisbee study, Mr. Boyer played a recording of a conversation of a conversation with a descendant of Josephine Earp still living in San Francisco that concerned the ownership of Wyatt's guns.
He cut the tape off before that person announced the location of the owner somewhere in San Francisco. I know that he knows where they are. And so do the descendants of the family, probably holding on to those keep-sakes because prior attempts by fraudulent individuals drew outlandish bids from all over the world. Boyer's theory is that the family does not wish to be harassed with what would soon be a circus of attention over Earp's firearms used during the OK Corral shoot-out and his time as a Tombstone lawman.
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Great article!!! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMr. Stacy Foster
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