A "Nasty" Older Woman's Biased Opinions: Nicholas Porter Earp

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Nicholas Porter Earp - A Father of Many Lawmen

Nicholas Porter Earp was the father of the "famous" Earp brothers. Nicholas Earp was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, to Walter Earp and Martha Ann Early, on 6 September 1813. The Earp family was of English and Scots-Irish descent. Nicholas was the fifth great-grandson of Thomas Earp, Sr. (1631–1720), an Ulsterman who emigrated from County Armagh, Ireland. The family moved to Hartford, Kentucky soon after Nicholas' birth. The plans were for Nicholas to follow his father as a lawyer; instead, he worked as a soldier, farmer, cooper, constable, bootlegger, wagon-master, and teacher.

In 1836, after some soldiering, Nicholas married Abigail Strong. Their first child, Newton was born in October 1837; a daughter, Mariah followed in Early 1839, but died at the age of 10 months in December. Her mother, Abigail Storm Earp, had died in October 1939. - Newton was a farmer, and served a short stint as a constable in Kansas. He, too was afflicted with the Earp wanderlust. He was married twice; he and second wife "Jennie" (Mary Jane) had 5 children. They lived in Kansas, Missouri, California, and Nevada. Newton died in Sacramento, aged 91, in December 1928.

  After 7 months of being a widower, Nicholas Earp married Virginia Ann Cooksey on 30 July 1840.  The had 8 children, who were born in 3 states: James, born in June 1841 in Kentucky; Virgil, born July 1843 in Kentucky; Martha, born September 1845 in Illinois (died at age 10); Wyatt, born March 1848 in Illinois; Morgan, born in April 1851 in Iowa; Warren, born in March 1855 in Iowa; Virginia, born in February 1858 in Iowa (died at age 3); and Adelia, born in June 1861 in Iowa.

  On May 12, 1864, Nicholas Earp was hired to lead a wagon train to California. The Earps took their children Wyatt, Jim, Morgan, Warren, and Adelia. The wagon train was initially composed of the Earp family plus three other families from Pella: the Rousseaus, the Hamiltons, and the Curtises. Seven more wagons joined them during the trip.  Utah families who joined the wagon train were appalled by the profanity and abusiveness of Nicholas.  The group arrived in San Bernardino, California on December 17, 1864. Nicholas rented a farm on the banks of the Santa Ana River near present-day Redlands.  The boys got other jobs.

   In spring 1868, Nick, Ginnie, Morgan, Warren, and Adelia returned to the mid-west and Lamar, Missouri, where Nicholas became the local constable.  By November 17, 1869, Nicholas resigned to become Justice of the Peace.  Wyatt, who had followed them to Missouri, was immediately appointed constable in place of his father.

Some time prior to 1880, Nicholas and Virginia Earp moved back to California, settling in San Bernardino County.  In the 1880 Census, Nicholas was recorded as a farmer. Nicholas was also one of the founders of the San Bernardino Society of California Pioneers.

   After Virginia's death on January 14, 1893 in San Bernardino, 80 year old Nicholas married Annie Elizabeth Cadd on October 14 of the same year. His new wife, a widow, was 50 years old.

  Nicholas Earp died at The Soldier's Home in Sawtelle, California, on February 12, 1907 at the age of 93, shortly after he was elected to the Los Angeles County court. He is buried in West Los Angeles at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. He had outlived six of his ten children.