James 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.

Civil War service

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 on May 25, 1861.

His brothers Virgil and Newton also enlisted. The 17th regiment was organized and armed at Alton, Illinois. On October 31, 1861, the unit fought Missouri State Guard forces near Fredericktown, Missouri. Over 60 troops were killed or wounded. James was severely wounded in the shoulder and temporarily lost use of his left arm, but he remained in the army for over a year. He was discharged on March 22, 1863, as disabled.

Life in the West

Following the war, James moved around quite frequently, an Earp family trait. He lived in Colton, California, Helena, Montana, Pineswell, Missouri, 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 in 1876 as a deputy marshal in Dodge City, Kansas, under Marshal Charlie Bassett, who had replaced Ed Masterson after Masterson's murder.

He was not present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. Virgil and his wife Allie Earp followed the next day on a passenger train.

Wyatt Earp and James' youngest brother, Warren—with gambler Doc Holliday and gunmen Sherman McMaster, "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson, and Texas Jack Vermillion—then hunted down those they held responsible for the attacks during the Earp Vendetta Ride.

Morgan was buried in Colton, California. James then lived for a short time in Shoshone County, Idaho, until settling permanently by 1890 in California. James Earp died of natural causes in San Bernardino, California, on January 25, 1926. He is interred there at the Mountain View Cemetery.

In popular culture In My Darling Clementine (1946) James was played by Don Garner. In Wichita (1955) John Smith played James. In Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) James is played by Martin Milner. In Doc (1971) James is played by Ferdinand Zogbaum. In Wyatt Earp (1994) James is played by David Andrews.