Mrs. Earp: The Wives And Lovers Of The Earp Brothers

by Sherry Monahan

When most people hear the name Earp, they think of Wyatt, Virgil, Morgan, and sometimes the lesser known James and Warren. They also had a half-brother named Newton, who lived a fairly quiet, uneventful life. While it’s true these men made history on their own, they all had a Mrs. Earp behind them—some more than one. The Earp men, starting with the patriarch of the Earp clan, Nicholas Porter Earp, did not like being alone. Nicholas Earp was married three times, with his last marriage being at the age of 80 his bride being 53. Three of his sons would follow their father’s lead and marry more than once. It’s also possible these Earp brothers had additional brides or lovers that have yet to be discovered! One could argue some of these women helped shape the future of the Earp brothers and may have even been the fuel behind some of the fires they encountered. This book collectively traces the lives of the women who shared the title of Mrs. Earp either by name or relationship. The name Earp has stirred up many a historical controversy over the years, from false photos to false accounts and so much more. With any history, there is bound to be controversy simply because it can be a jigsaw puzzle.

Genres: Westerns

176 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2013

About the author

Sherry Monahan a.k.a. S.A. Monahan


Sherry became enchanted with food at a young age. Her paternal grandfather was cook at a lumber camp and her father and aunts and uncles loved to cook. She studied Home Economics in middle school and fell in love. When her modeling career didn’t take off, she turned back to cooking and studied restaurant management. She didn’t want to spend 100-120 hours per week in the kitchen, so she fuels her food passion by writing about it. She also has a love of good wine, some beer, and cocktails. She enjoys visiting wineries and distilleries and discovering new labels. Her creative cooking skills produce some tasty meals, but it also lends itself to mixing drinks. She loves trying old classics and concocting new ones.

She began her writing career when she combined her passion for food, travel, and history. She penned her first book, Taste of Tombstone, in 1998. That same passion landed her a monthly magazine column in 2009 when she began writing her food column in True West entitled, Frontier Fare.

Sherry is a culinary historian who enjoys researching the genealogy of food and spirits. While there’s still plenty to explore about frontier food, she’s expanding her culinary repertoire to include places and foods from all over America and beyond.

She holds memberships in the James Beard Foundation, the Author’s Guild, Single Action Shooting Society, and the Wild West History Association. She is the past president of Western Writers of America (2014-2016), a professional genealogist, an honorary Dodge City marshal, and a member of the Most Intrepid Western Author Posse.

Reviews

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Sherry's writing and this book was no exception. She brings out some new information on the wives and lovers of the Earp brothers and gives both sides of the argument for possible information.
The book is easy to read. I especially enjoyed the transcriptions of letters written by Mrs. Morgan Earp. Her thoughts on Tombstone, Arizona are especially telling.

[Julie Bozza · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's great we're finally starting to give the Earp wives their due! I really enjoyed reading this, and discovering more details about their lives before, during and after their relationships with the Earp brothers. I particularly appreciated more info on Sarah Haspel; it seems she existed in her own right (and wasn't Mattie Blaylock known by a different name, as some have suggested), though Sarah remains a shadowy figure and her exact relationship with Wyatt is unclear. Bessie Catchim remains the least known, which is a pity; in many ways she's one of the most interesting.

I would have loved a bonus chapter on Adelia, the only Earp sister to survive into adulthood, who outlived all her siblings - but no doubt Monahan felt that was beyond the scope of her book.

That's my only wish unfulfilled, so I declare myself happy!

[David Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became hooked on Sherry Monahan's books with her fabulous, Golden Elixir of the West book. I gave it a five star rating and have shared it with others. Having just finished, Mrs. Earp-The Wives and Lovers of the Earp Brothers, I have another five star rating to give out. Having grown up in Arizona and having read about the Earp all of my life, it was astounding to discover how much had been left out of the history. The wild women (some not so wild) in the Earp brothers' lives deserve a book all of their own and Sherry has written it. With an eye for detail, and an uncanny knack for finding out facts that others have missed, Monahan paints a picture of women who suffered through the vagaries of old west life. Many were soiled doves, saloon keepers, miners, cooks, seamstresses and keepers of the Earp name and legacy. Thanks for giving them a voice. This book gives the rest of the story and it is well worth reading.

[VeeInNY · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Being a gambler was a respectable occupation in the Victorian West, but being the wife of a gambler was not." (pg. 78)

This presentation of the Earp "wives" is a both highy readable and carefully documented volume. The author is a professional genealogist so I was concerned this might be a reciting of census records, but we also meet these women through letters to a sister and the tragic transcript of a coronor's inquest. A very diverse, colorful (and long suffering!) group of women shared life with the restless Earps.

[Maddie Vannoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this book a couple years back and I remembered nothing. So when I picked up this book again I was expecting a 5 star read. However, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would, but overall, a great educational read. Nevertheless, this book was amazing. It shed light on many of the Earp’s wives and I enjoyed learning about each and every one of them. I definitely need to go watch Tombstone now because this book was great… overall 4 stars.

[Kasey S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally Information About the Earpesses

After reading over 25 Earp related books, I finally found one that gives a lot of information about the wives. This was a quick read and full of facts that I didn’t know about them. Very well researched.

[William Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book on the life's of the women in the life's of all the Earps. This is so very good because you never hear about their lives. I enjoyed this book immensely.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting complication of facts and photos about the women—lovers, wives, and exes—of the Earp brothers. The author has researched the history and lives of these women, adding speculation where no information has yet been discovered.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the concept of this book made me start reading it, the flood of dry stats and choppy style nearly made me stop early on. I did finish it and the book got a little better toward the end, but if I had to read another sentence that started with "in the 18XX census..." Ugh.