A young man from the country realizes his dream by joining his older brothers in the big city and sharing with them great adventures. But soon the dark side of life in a boom town destroys his dream, and he goes back to the country injured in body and spirit. When someone tries to kill one of his brothers, he is obligated to return. When another brother is killed, the hope for a bright future is replaced with rage. Hate consumes him, and he loses all feeling for himself or others. He soon kills — or helps to kill — men believed to have been involved in his brother’s death, and a warrant for his arrest is issued. He drifts from town to town. Trouble follows — trouble brought on by the emptiness in his heart, trouble that leads to his death by gunfire.
Sound like the story line of some old B western? Maybe so. But it was also the life of Warren Baxter Earp.
Warren was born in Pella, Iowa on March 9, 1855, to Nicholas and Virginia Earp. The youngest of six brothers, he was born 18 years after the birth of the oldest, a half-brother named Newton. He was told of a half sister born to Nicholas’ first wife, Abigale, but the sister had died at birth. A full sister, Martha, had died when he was about 1 year old. He did have two younger sisters, Virginia and Adelia, but Virginia had died in 1861 when Warren was still a child. He was nearly four years younger than his nearest brother in age, Morgan. The older brothers were James, born in 1841; Virgil, born in 1843; and Wyatt, born in 1848.
