Newton Earp

Newton Jasper Earp (October 7, 1837 – December 18, 1928) was an American pioneer born in Kentucky in 1837.[1]

Newton Jasper Earp
Newton J. Earp, first city marshal of Garden City, Kansas
Born(1837-10-07)October 7, 1837
DiedDecember 18, 1928(1928-12-18) (aged 91)
OccupationFarmer, carpenter
Spouse(s)
  • Jennie (last name unknown) (1854)
  • Nancy Jane Adam (September 15, 1865)
Parent(s)Nicholas Porter Earp and first wife, Abigail Storm
Relativessiblings Mariah Ann, James, Virgil, Martha, Wyatt, Morgan, Warren, Virginia Ann, and Douglas Earp

He was the eldest child of Nicholas Porter Earp and Abigail Storm. He was the half-brother of Old West lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp.

He was in the Union army during the Civil War, serving as a part of the 4th Iowa Cavalry, and eventually mustered out with the rank of corporal. Departing the army in 1865 he went to Missouri to farm on the land of his father near Lamar[2], then lost an election for constable five years later at Lamar. In 1871 he moved to Kansas, near the town of Stearling, Rice County where he was a farmer and pioneer settler, and thence to Garden City, in which town he rose quickly, becoming marshal for some time.[3][4] He was said to have hunted buffalo in 1873 near Peace, Kansas.[5] He had also migrated to Wyoming and Nevada[3], probably settling in the towns of Casper and Paradise before moving to California. Newton was a Mason and died in 1928. [5]

Early life and Civil War service

Newton was born in Ohio County, Kentucky, to Nicholas Earp and his first wife, Abigail Storm. His mother died when he was two.[6] Newton Earp, and half-brothers James and Virgil, were close for their entire lives. He married Jennie (last name unknown) in 1854. She died before 1887.[7] He ran against his younger half-brother Wyatt for the office of constable. The Earps may have hoped to keep the job in the family one way or another. Wyatt won by 137 votes to Newton's 108, but their father Nicholas lost the election for justice of the peace in a very close four-way race.[8]

Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Earp enlisted in the Union Army (along with both James and Virgil) on November 11, 1861. Earp served with Company F of the Fourth Cavalry, Iowa Volunteers.[7][9]

He was promoted to fourth sergeant on January 1, 1865. His brother James was badly wounded in a battle near Fredericktown, Missouri, and returned home only months after his enlistment. Virgil and Newton, however, served the entire war. Newton mustered out of the Army on June 26, 1865, in Louisville, Kentucky.[10][7]

Post-Civil War

After Earp's return from the American Civil War, he married Nancy Jane Adam in Marion County, Missouri on 12 Sep 1865.[11] The newlyweds then joined his father and siblings in San Bernardino, California in southern California, where most of the family had relocated. There, Newton worked as a saloon manager.[7]

Earp and family returned to the Midwest in 1868, first settling in Lamar, Missouri, where Earp took up farming. The family later relocated to Kansas. The Earps had five children: Effie May, Wyatt Clyde, Mary Elizabeth, Alice Abigail, and Virgil Edwin. They named their first-born son (born on August 25, 1872) after his not-yet-famous younger brother, Wyatt; and their second son (born April 19, 1880) after his younger brother, Virgil.[7]

Later life and death

Following another relocation to California, Newton became a carpenter, building homes in northern California and northwestern Nevada. Daughter Effie May and wife Jennie both died on March 29, 1898 in Paradise Hill, Nevada, also known as Paradise Valley.[12] Newton died at age 91 in Sacramento, California on December 18, 1928. Only his brother Wyatt survived him, with Wyatt dying almost a month later on January 13, 1929. He is buried in Sacramento's East Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.[7]

References

  1. Thrapp 1991, p. 446.
  2. Roberts 1963, p. 46.
  3. Chrisman 1982, p. 209.
  4. Roberts 1963, p. 46-47.
  5. Thrapp 1991, p. 447.
  6. Roberts 1963, p. 43.
  7. Newton Earp ; picture archival webpage; Eagle Free Enterprises; accessed May 2017.
  8. Gatto, Steve. "Marriage to Urilla Sutherland". Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  9. Roberts 1963, p. 44.
  10. Newton Earp card; Original Document; Civil War Pension Index Card;
  11. "Missouri Marriages, 1750-1920". FamilySearch.
  12. Roberts 1963, p. 50.

Sources

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