In the mythos that has been built up around the American West in books and films, few
names resonate like Earp.
One syllable.
Lots of legends.
A few of which even hold up.
So why do we know so little about his first wife?
First, what we do know: the generation of Earps that included Wyatt and his brothers
reveals a mixed bag of heroism and maybe not-so-heroism, romance and soul-crushing heartbreak.
As Casey Tefertiller, author of 1999's Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend, wrote recently
of Wyatt,
"The new research shows an Earp who is anything but flawless, rather than an Earp who went
through a lifetime of achievement, struggle and disappointments.
He made many poor decisions in his life and a few very good ones.
He was ... human."
Now viewed largely in the popular imagination as a gunfighter, lawman, perhaps gambler,
Wyatt Earp's complicated humanity also includes his repeated attempts to be a family man.
So in terms of what passed for marital ties on the American Frontier, and that Earp humanity
- what do we actually know?
We know that Wyatt and some of his brothers were involved in the business end of brothels
at various points.
Wyatt and Morgan Earp worked as enforcers and were arrested repeatedly in 1872 for their
involvement with prostitution.
James and Virgil Earp both owned bordellos at one point or another.
"You Godd--- PIMPS!"
It was not unusual for a client to fall in love with a prostitute and, much to the annoyance
of the brothel's owner, marry her and remove her from the profession.
Or, she might continue, which seemed to have been the case of James Earp's wife, Bessie,
who was charged with prostitution in 1873 in Wichita, Kansas.
So it's no surprise that Wyatt's second and third wives, Sally Heckell and Mattie Blaylock,
also had a history of prostitution.
But what might be a surprise is that apparently neither they nor Wyatt's fourth "wife," Josephine
Marcus, were actually married to Wyatt!
It's true: Wyatt Earp only had one legally recorded marriage, which took place when he
was about 22 years old.
He was working as a town constable when he married Urilla Sutherland, herself about 20,
in a ceremony performed by Wyatt's father, Nicholas, who was justice of the peace in
Lamarr, Missouri.
How did they meet?
Were they deeply in love?
We don't know.
We do know that after just nine months of marriage, Mrs. Earp died, possibly of typhus,
probably in childbirth; if so, the child was stillborn, and as far as we know, Wyatt's
only child.
In the days that followed, Wyatt sold their home and continued to work as a constable
until he was replaced, accused of mismanagement of funds.
He's later accused of a number of crimes, petty and otherwise, including horse theft,
before starting his sideline in law enforcement.
Did he go off the rails with grief?
Was it depression?
Hard to say.
Because, like Wyatt Earp, the truth is complicated.
All we really know for sure is that Mrs. Earp is now buried in Milford, Missouri, a few
miles from Lamarr.
And we know he eventually found love - or at least companionship - three more times.
After a brief stint with Sally Heckell, Earp fell for a woman named Mattie Blaylock.
Wyatt and Mattie Blaylock arrived together in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1879, though they
might have met as early as 1871.
When Morgan Earp was assassinated in the days after the O.K. Corral shootout, Mattie was
sent to live with Wyatt's parents in California.
The expectation was that once things had quieted down, he'd come get her.
He never did.
Instead, Mattie had been replaced by Josephine "Sadie" Marcus.
No marriage record has been found, though Sadie claimed at various times that they had
been married at sea.
Whatever the strict legality of their relationship, Wyatt and Sadie stayed together for 47 years,
until his death in 1929.
Josephine followed him in 1944.
They're buried together in Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma, California.
Did he finally find happiness with Mattie Blaylock or Josephine Marcus?
Or was the mysterious Urilla the love of his life?
Hard to say.
Because, like Wyatt Earp, the truth is complicated.
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