Ah, the Earps are coming to town!  The most rootin’ tootin’, gun totin’, badge wearin’ lords of justice the “Wild West” ever saw.  Well, at least that’s the way they would want you to see it.  What’s that you say?  “Don’t forget about the other brothers who lived in Tombstone.” Let’s see, Wyatt, no he’s the main dude.  You have Morgan and Virgil… oh yeah, James Earp and Warren Earp.  James Earp was the oldest while Warren sat as the youngest.  Due to injuries in the Civil War, James did not participate in the routines of life that his other brothers did.  Warren, however, was always ready for action.

Let’s move on to the three main players from the Earp family.  Virgil came to Tombstone as a United States Marshall and was held in high esteem by most people.  Morgan came to Tombstone a bit later from the parent’s home in California.  He had also worked in law enforcement on occasion, but never liked to stay in one place for too long.  Then we come to Wyatt Earp.  Wyatt made a name for himself in Dodge City, Kansas.  While Wyatt worked in law enforcement, he was also on the other side of the law as well.  He spent considerable time as a buffalo hunter on the plains.  During this job he was able to perfect his toughness, as buffalo hunting was not for the meek.  Despite putting forward the image that he didn’t want to be in law enforcement, Wyatt worked hard to win positions within the law.  He came to Tombstone looking for fortune.

The Earps definitely stuck together.  Although one or the other may wander away from time to time, they always seemed to find each other again.  A very close knit family!

One character who was not directly involved in the gunfight at the OK Corral, but helped add to the tensions that made the gunfight unfold, was Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan.  Behan came to Tombstone in 1880.  Originally from Missouri, he had spent considerable time in the Arizona Territory before landing in Tombstone.  Behan was very involved in politics and law enforcement, holding many positions in both fields during his life.  It is in this respect that he became a major “thorn in the side” of the Earps.

John Henry “Doc” Holliday was born on August 14, 1851.  He is well known for his role in the gunfight at the OK Corral.  Holliday was born in Georgia and spent his early years there.  He was a very educated man and even graduated dental school in Philadelphia, PA.  Amazing.  Not long after becoming a practicing dentist, doctors diagnosed him with tuberculosis.  He decided to move to the southwest because of the drier climate.

On his way to the southwest he discovered gambling and followed that as his main source of income.  The lifestyle he led was quite harmful to his health.  He traveled all over the western United States gambling and became friends with Wyatt Earp.  He even continued to practice dentistry during this time, doing it out of his hotel room.  Whoa, I’m not sure about that!  According to those who knew him, though, he was a good dentist.