Katie Elder was more, much more, than the title character in John Wayne’s 1965 western, “The Sons of
Katie Elder,” She was more than the portrayal by Faye Dunaway in the 1971 film “Doc.” Katie Elder was
a real person, whose background was perhaps more plaid than checkered. For one thing, there were all
those names.
Wyatt Earp, now with federal authority, assembled a posse of gunmen to hunt for his brother’s would-be assassins.
Continue readingSophie Walton was born a slave on a Georgia plantation in 1856. Her master was a Mr. Walton. In 1864, Mr. Walton could no longer keep his slaves. The Union Army had freed them and he could not afford to pay for their labor. To his credit, Mr. Walton did … Continue reading
A few people still live in Pearce, AZ. They enjoy the solitude and long north-south expanse of the Sulfur Springs Valley. Not far to their east are the magnificent Chiricahua Mountains where the National Monument hosts what the Apaches called “Standing Up Rocks”. Close by to their west are the … Continue reading
In the mid-19th century, in the remote southwest desert that was Arizona Territory, there were not many ways to earn a fortune. Life was mostly a struggle just to survive, let alone prosper. In the early 1850’s, 10’s of thousands of young men from the eastern United States, Midwest, and … Continue reading
Did you ever wonder what was the value of $1,000 U.S. Dollars back through the ages? For example, when partners Ed Schieffelin & his brother Al Schieffelin sold their shares in their Tombstone mines for $600,000 in 1880, how much was that worth in 2017 dollars? I knew the sale … Continue reading
M. Robert Peel Born: Wednesday, May 31, 1854 Died: Saturday, March 25, 1882 (Charleston, Arizona) – gunshot through the heart Interred: Boothill Graveyard, Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Occupation: Mineral Surveyor, Mining Engineer Charleston, A.T. (Arizona Territory) was an important Old West town because it was home to the mill workers … Continue reading
In the cold Boston winter of 1944-45, Reverend Endicott Peabody was in the final season of his life. At 87 years of age, he had lived perhaps the most productive and influential life of any American clergy. He had much to reflect upon, including 6 months as a young pastor … Continue reading
Bartholemew William Barclay “Bat” Masterson (1853 – 1921) spent the first half of his life in what we know today as the Wild West. Among his contemporaries, he was famous as a buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, scout for the U.S. Army, and a renown lawman in Dodge City Kansas where he and … Continue reading
Camillus Sidney Fly was a Tombstone photographer. Most folks called him “Buck”. The other Tombstone photographer was Mrs. Fly, known as Mollie. Together they chronicled the Old West as no one before them had. Their photographs were published in big city newspapers and major magazines throughout the United States. The … Continue reading
