Mattie Earp (aka Celia Ann Blaylock)
As mentioned elsewhere on this site, I’m trying to put together a travel guide for those who want to visit key places related to the famous Tombstone gunfight. A large portion of this book so far is made up of the final resting places of those involved. Somewhat easy, you might think, with the information available on the interwebs and the widespread use of GPS technology. You would be correct, if the information online was correct in the first place and/or said GPS was working. Which has been the case twice in my travels.
I was in Arizona last year for my “day” job and tried to find Mattie Earp’s grave. Mattie, more formally known as Celia Ann Blaylock, was Wyatt Earp’s common-law wife during their stays in Dodge City and Tombstone. At some point in 1881, Wyatt began a relationship with Josephine Marcus, who some believe was an actress and dancer. After the crippling of Virgil Earp and the assassination of Morgan Earp, Mattie traveled to Colton, CA with the other Earp women. When it became apparent that Wyatt would never send for her, Mattie returned to Arizona, this time in Pinal City. Pinal City was apparently already in decline from its days as a silver boomtown. Mattie would take her own life in 1888 after consuming a lethal amount of laudanum (an opiate) and alcohol.
Mattie is buried in an unattended burial ground about 3 miles from present day Superior. Finding her grave proved to be difficult as directions found online were confusing. The area is deserted except for some sort of quarry and a utility substation. The few people I saw on the dirt roads looked at me and my rented Dodge Charger and shook their heads. In the end, collapsing daylight and my fears of damaging said Charger conspired against me and my pursuit. Mattie will have to wait longer for my visit.
My second swing-and-a-miss occurred about 2 weeks ago in Oregon. Virgil Earp, the real lawman among his brothers, would continue his law enforcement career despite losing use of his left arm in the assassination attempt. After stints as a town marshall, saloonkeeper, miner and rancher, he and his wife Allie settled in Goldfield, Nevada where he became a deputy sheriff. Virgil died there in 1905 after a 6-month battle with pneumonia at the age of 62. His daughter from his first marriage, Nellie Bohn, requested that Virgil be buried in River View Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.
I had planned on arriving in Portland early enough to visit the cemetery, get help from the main office if necessary, and photograph Virgil’s grave before sundown. However, as is often the case, my connection through San Francisco was delayed and I arrived shortly after River View’s office had closed. No problem, I thought, as I had GPS coordinates and my trusty iPhone in case I needed it. Of course, the GPS coordinates I got from findagrave.com were incorrect as Virgil’s grave was nowhere to be found near said coordinates. The rest of my trip was completely occupied by my day job, and I had to leave Portland sans photos.
All other attempts to gather photos and GPS coordinates for my book have thus far been successful. My only real must-haves left at this writing are Doc Holliday’s childhood home in Georgia, his grave in Colorado, the site of Curly Bill’s demise (not in Iron Springs, as previously thought), and if possible, the site of the Guadalupe Canyon massacre. Oh, and Wyatt and Josie’s grave in Colma, California…which is odd because it’s the location closest to where I live. Go figure.
