James Earp
| James Cooksey Earp | |
|---|---|
James C. Earp c. 1880
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| Born |
June 28, 1841 Hartford, Ohio County Kentucky, USA |
| Died | January 25, 1926 (aged 84) San Bernardino, California |
| Resting place | Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino |
| Occupation | Soldier, saloon-keeper |
| Spouse(s) | Nellie "Bessie" Ketchum |
| Parent(s) | Nicholas Porter Earp and his second wife, Virginia Ann Cooksey |
| Relatives | Siblings Newton, Mariah Ann, James, Virgil, Martha, Wyatt, Morgan, Warren, Virginia Ann, and Douglas Earp |
James Cooksey Earp (June 28, 1841 – January 25, 1926) was a lesser known older brother of Old West lawman Virgil Earp and lawman/gambler Wyatt Earp. Unlike his brothers, he was a saloon-keeper and was not present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881.
Earp was born in Hartford, Kentucky, and was reared in a tight-knit family environment. In 1861, at 19, he enlisted in the Union Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War, joining Company F, 17th Illinois Infantry in May, 1861. His brothers, Virgil and Newton Earp, also enlisted. His service was cut short when he was wounded in the shoulder, having lost the use of his left arm, in a battle near Fredericktown, Missouri, on October 31, 1861. He was discharged in March, 1863. Newton and Virgil served until the end of the war.
Following the war, James moved around quite frequently, an Earp family trait. He lived in Colton, California, Helena, Montana, Pineswell, Missouri, Birmingham and Newton, Kansas, before he wed the former prostitute, Nellie "Bessie" Ketchum, in April 1873.
For some time thereafter, he worked in a saloon in Wichita, Kansas, and then as a deputy marshal in Dodge City, Kansas, under Marshal Charlie Bassett, who had replaced Ed Masterson after Masterson's murder.
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Wikipedia