Penny Dreadfuls, the television of the 1800s, part 2

The term is one used for British 19^th-century publications printed on cheap wood pulp paper featuring serialized versions of lurid or adventure stories and sold for a penny. Other names (all pejorative) were penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. Publishers wanted sensational stories featuring detectives solving crimes, the exploits of the criminals, or about supernatural beings that would keep readers coming back to buy each new installment. The target audience was working class to lower class boys and young men. Note: these publications were the inspiration for the dime novels made popular in the United States in the mid-1800s. And then in a twist, American dime novels were rewritten for a British audience and featured such favorites as Buffalo Bill, Frank Reade, and Deadwood Dick.


Industrialization allowed for factories and shops to manufacture products or weave cloth or make shoes faster thus shortening the work day. With that extra hour or so, workers looked for entertainment. Literacy rates rose, workers had a bit extra to spend, and a new industry was born. As with all new industries, the demand for stories was immediate. Plus the increase in the number of railroad tracks allowed for broader distribution.

Some of the stories were reprints of Gothic thrillers released as novels, like The Monk or The Castle of Otronto. Among the most famous of these serial stories are: The String of Pearls: A Romance (which introduced Sweeney Todd, the Demon of Fleet Street), The Mysteries of London (based on an earlier published The Mysteries of Paris) and Varney the Vampire, a story about a lord who was also a vampire that contains many of the tropes that continue in current day vampire lore. Another popular hero was highwaymen. One series, Black Bess or The Knight of the Road, ran for 254 issues and highlighted the mostly fictional tales of a real-life highwayman named Dick Turpin. Other stories ripped off famous Charles Dickens’ novels and even boasted similar titles: Oliver Twiss, Nickelas Nicklebery, and Martin Guzzlewit.

both covers from Wikipedia

Leave a comment for a chance to win Chasing Adventure, book 8 of my “Entertainers of the West” series, featuring a heroine who wrote dime novels in the 1880s. Awarded on Saturday, September 28^th at 6PM PDT.

~**~**~~

Today is the last day for the 99 cent sale on Dulcina and Hazelanne in “The Widows of Wildcat Ridge” series, sweet historical romance set in 1884 Utah Territory.

Dulcina--Will bringing an old friend to town provide the help Dulcina needs or a new kind of trouble?

Hazelanne--How do a homebody and a wanderer manage to live together under the same roof?

Time Zones

Time - the tick tock of the world that has us all marching from morning to night. But we didn't always have time zones. How did people keep it together?  

Locally, someone was responsible to set the town clock to noon at high noon. From that clock, the citizens set their watches.

But what about going from New York to Kansas? 

Before the trains, that really wasn't a huge issue. But once the trains came along and people could easily travel hundreds of miles a day, time became more of an issue.

In 1878, a Canadian, Sir Sanford Fleming proposed 24 time zones marked 15 degrees of longitude apart.

In 1883, the United States railroad adopted Fleming's time zones to keep the trains running and people to follow the schedules. 

In 1884,  a conference was held in Washington D C to set the zero hour in Greenwich England.  GMT

Of course, now, we have the added fun of daylight savings time to confuse us all.  

Another interesting fact, China uses a single time zone for its massive country which spans over 5 time zones.  Talk about collective think. 

So. that's a brief history of the time zones.  Next time you see a train give them a high-five for bringing about the use of time zones in the USA.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Have a blessed day - no matter what time zone you're in.  : )
Patricia PacJac Carroll

My latest book is Summer's Love - A Belles of Wyoming book.  If you're looking for a fun, lighthearted clean and sweet romance, Summer's Love is ready for your reading pleasure.

Adoption in the 1800's

 Adoption in the 1800's

Adoption in the early 1800's was not even recognized as a legal entity. The Judges during that period could not cut biological ties. Adoption during this time usually only happened in secret without the courts knowing. Or, others in their community. It was a no-no to adopt someone from a different race or from a different financial status. The stigma that would follow someone who adopted in this way was too high a price to pay during this time period. 

Often if a parent was in a tough financial bind they would send their child to an orphanage for a period of time until they got on their feet. The orphanage paid for food and housing and education. Or, they might send their child to live with another family member or relative. It was never a legal separation since the courts did not recognize it as such.  

Some other reasons to send a child away was if a mother or father were ill, or perhaps a death of a parent. Sometimes the financial troubles of a farm or homestead caused parents to send their child to a relative as a means for the child to succeed and thrive when the parents were not able to provide for them.  

In 1851 the Adoption of Children Act was passed. This was a turning point for children's rights as the law was enacted for the well being of a child instead of the interests of an adult. As organizations lobbied, along with individuals and groups to give children a better life and to provide homes where they were accepted and loved, this law was passed by the courts. Usually, the courts didn't get involved, but this law changed all that.

Bachelors & Babies 

In my new book coming out October 1st, a baby is found in the barn that was left by its mother. When I researched on adoption in the 1800's, I had no idea the laws for children were never enacted until 1851. I hope you enjoy this story about babies.

Get Dallas - Now on Amazon

FROM COWBOYS TO SOCIETY DAMES: TEA THAT PACKED A PUNCH by Marisa Masterson

As I write this, I just learned we have a National Iced Tea Day. Okay, so I forgot to celebrate, but June 10th is actually set aside to commemorate iced tea. This sent my mind into motion. What is the history of tea drinking in the United States?


With the American Revolution, many colonists turned away from drinking tea. In fact there was a ditty from that time about it--

FAREWELL the Tea-board with your gaudy attire,Ye cups and ye saucers that I did admire;To my cream pot and tongs I now bid adieu;That pleasure’s all fled that I once found in you.…No more shall my teapot so generous beIn filling the cups with this pernicious tea,For I’ll fill it with water and rink out the same,Before I lose Liberty that dearest name…’ (10)
(https://destinationtea.com/teastory/)

It's because of this that we have the variety of herbal teas today. Colonists started drinking teas made from local plants rather than the imported tea.

If coffee was indeed America's choice for hot drinks, how was tea consumed? Through research, I was stunned to find out that punch is the the key word. Named that because these tea beverages packed a punch. One type of punch served had been called the Regent's Punch. After the Revolution, it went by more patriotic names such as Charleston's St. Cecilia Punch. Strained green tea and liquor along with sugar made up the drink.

Here's one example of a tea punch from the 1839 The Kentucky Housewife cookbook--

“Tea Punch – Make a pint and a half of very strong tea in the usual manner; strain it, and pour it boiling (hot) on one pound and a quarter of loaf sugar. (That’s 2 1/2 cups white sugar) Add half a pint of rich sweet cream, and then stir in gradually a bottle of claret or of champaign (sic). You may heat it to the boiling point, and serve it so, or you may send it round entirely cold, in glass cups.” (https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/IcedTeaHistory.htm)

For a cowboy, a special type of tea punch was served. A tea was brewed from peyote leaves. Then tequila was added. Saloons in the west served this and called it Cactus Wine. (https://www.thewildwest.org/cowboys/wildwestwesternfacts/270-oldwestsaloon)

Not all tea punches carried this same alcoholic kick. During prohibition, tea punch was flavored with fruit juice instead of liquor. Probably that made it much like our raspberry or peach teas you can buy at the store.













In case you'd like to try a non-alcoholic tea recipe, here's the oldest southern sweet tea recipe in print--

“Ice Tea. – After scalding the teapot, put into it one quart of boiling water and two teaspoonfuls green tea.  If wanted for supper, do this at breakfast.  At dinner time, strain, without stirring, through a tea strainer into a pitcher.  Let it stand till tea time and pour into decanters, leaving the sediment in the bottom of the pitcher.  Fill the goblets with ice, put two teaspoonfuls granulated sugar in each, and pour the tea over the ice and sugar.  A squeeze of lemon will make this delicious and healthful, as it will correct the astringent tendency.” (https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/IcedTeaHistory.htm)

What will this teacher do when she is faced with a past she has hidden? Star-crossed lovers have a second chance when they're drawn into a woman's mysterious disappearance.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TSG28HM

Housekeeping in the 19th Century

Housekeeping in the 19th Century

Barbara Goss

After the famine struck Ireland in 1847, millions of Irish immigrants landed on America’s shores.  Many of them were women, young and unmarried.  In fact, it was far easier for a single woman to get a job in America than a man–because there was a huge demand for domestic servants.

In England and America in the 19th century, housework was incredibly laborious.  If you could afford it, you got a servant.  A household with just one servant had what was called a “Maid-of-all-Work,” a lone woman that was responsible for all the cooking, cleaning, and general maintenance of the members of the household.  If you had more money, you could get a cook, a housemaid, a lady’s maid, a butler, and a valet.  Some households were even so large there were complex hierarchies among the servants.  Even the servants had servants.

Domestic labor provided an open door to new Irish immigrants–they could get a job almost right after they landed and room and board was included, which allowed them to save money and send it home.  Often, after they married, they would leave service to manage their own households and raise their own families.

But did the next generation, the American born daughters, follow in their mother’s footstep and go into service?

No.

Because being in service was terrible.

The servant we know the most about is an Englishwoman named Hanna Cullwick.  She entered service at the age of 8, and remained a servant until 65.  She kept a diary of her daily doings from her mid-twenties to her mid-sixties–from about 1853-1893.  A typical entry looks like this.

Opened the shutters & lighted the kitchen fire.  Shook my sooty thing in the dusthole & emptied the soot there.  Swept & dusted the rooms & hall.  Laid the hearth and got breakfast up.  Clean’d 2 pairs of boots.  Made the beds & emptied the slops.  Clean’d and washed the breakfast things up.  Clean’d the plate, clean’d the knives & got dinner up.  Clean’d away.  Clean’d the kitchen up; unpack’d a hamper.  Took two chickens to Mrs Brewer’s & brought the message back.  Made a tart & pick’d and gutted two ducks & roasted them.  Clean’d the steps & flags on my knees.  Blackheaded the scraper in front of the house; clean’d the street flags too on my knees.  Wash’d up in the scullery. Clean’d the pantry on my knees and scour’d the tables.  Scrubbed the flags around the house & clean’d the window sills.  Got tea for the Master and Mrs. Warwick…Clean’d the privy & Passage & scullery floor on my knees.  Wash’s the dog & cleaned the sinks down.  Put the supper ready for Ann to take up, for I was too dirty & tired to go upstairs.  Wash’d in a bath & to bed.

It's thanks to her tedious diary that we know anything about a typical servant’s life.  But the reason she kept this diary at all is quite interesting: for 36 years, she secretly dated then married her employer, Arthur Munby. The diary was for him.

My latest release is on sale for 99 cents.  The Marshal's Mission.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VS565HL

EMMA LANGDON - and Power of Words

Post by Doris McCraw

writing as Angela Raines

This is a re-posting

Entrance to the Gold Coin Mine, Victor, CO.
photo property of the author

Emma F. Langdon and the Power of Words

“THE state of Colorado ceased under the administration of James H. Peabody, to be republican in its form of government, and became a military oligarchy. The expressed will of the people was ignored by their chosen representatives; thus bringing upon the state a series of calamities, the magnitude of which may now readily be seen.”

The above is taken from the introduction to Emma's book “The Cripple Creek Strike, A History of Industrial Wars in Colorado 1903-4-5”. Regardless of your belief in who was right or wrong during this tumultuous time, this book is considered the definitive work on the region and events of the time and area. That it is written by a woman makes it even more amazing.

photo from Wikipedia

Here then is the story of Emma F. Langdon.

Emma was born on September 29, 1875, in Tennessee. She married Charles Langdon, born June 9, 1870, in 1896. She also became a step-mother to Lucille M. Lockett with this marriage. In 1900 the family was residing in Junction City Kansas.

In 1903 Emma and her husband moved to Victor, Colorado and worked at the Victor Daily Record. Although Emma had said a woman belonged at home and not in public life, her sentiment was not to be.

On May 15, 1893, in Butte Montana, saw the birth of the Western Federation of Miners. It was comprised of forty delegates from fifteen unions from the states of Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho and South Dakota. Approximately six months later the unions were able to negotiate shorter workdays (eight hours) and an increase in pay ($3.25 a day) in the Cripple Creek-Victor area. In 1903 the tensions between miners and mine owners increased. The union supported the smelter workers who were working long hours and less pay.

The situation became so volatile that the mine owners censored and arrested anyone who opposed their edits. This resulted in the workers at the Victor Daily Record being rounded up so that this pro-union newspaper could not put out the next issue. When Emma was told of the 'arrest' she went to the paper and that night barricaded herself in, set type and put out the paper on schedule. When she delivered the issue to the men who had been taken to the 'bullpen' the laughter of the captors changed and the incarcerated rejoiced.

Victor, CO
photo property of the author

In 1904 when the strike ended those who had supported the union were requested to leave. Emma moved to Denver Colorado where she remained until her death on November 30, 1937. She continued her work on behalf of the union.

The story of the Labor Wars in Colorado is full of people from both sides that made their mark on the history of the region. From 1893-1914 and the Ludlow massacre, Colorado was a hotbed of conflict between the haves and have-nots with errors in judgment on both sides. Not an easy read, but a fascinating one.

In "The Outlaw's Letter" Hetty Osgood is also an independent woman who follows her calling, to unexpected consequences. Below is a short excerpt and the book is on sale, with other Lockets N Lace 2019 stories through Sept 20, 2019.

      She'd seen him before, but not the way he looked now. It had been twelve years ago, back in Kentucky. Her stomach clenched, her hand started to shake. Fear made her grasp the beer she'd put down when she was preparing to leave. Hetty looked down at her drink. Out of the corner of her eye, Hetty saw the man turn her way. The look in his eye was like a snake getting ready to strike. He started her way, effectively blocking her from escaping. Well, if I can't get out of here, then acting scared will do me no good, Hetty thought.

     Taking a big swallow, Hetty turned and stared at the man, holding her ground by sheer will.

     "Frank, where's my drink?" he shouted as he reached the small space along the bar where Hetty stood. Glancing her way, he smiled, really more like a sneer. Reaching to grab the drink the bartender placed on the bar. "Kid, you look familiar," the man commented, looking Hetty over from head to toe. "Don't know where I've seen you before, but I'll remember," he threatened as he walked toward the poker table at the back of the room.

     Now what are you going to do? Hetty thought. She was torn between staying and leaving. If she stayed and the man kept staring at her, he would soon remember. 

Purchase on Amazon

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Member of National League of American Pen Women,

Women Writing the West,

Western Writers of America

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Giveaway and Announcement for Promise of Home

Like several of the Lockets and Lace books,

Promise of Home is on sale for only

99¢ this week!

And I'm giving away 5 FREE copies via Amazon

to the first 5 people who claim them here:

https://www.amazon.com/ga/p/5ca7d3beb475c5cf 

If you missed out on the free copy, go get one for only 99¢ at Amazon

Also!

Promise of Home was JUST RELEASED TODAY

in Audiobook format ~

If you're a reviewer and would like a free copy of the audibook,

contact me by email at pcreedenbooks at gmail.com (replace at with @)

Thanks for sharing this special story with me!

On average, P. Creeden releases 2-3 stories each month. Interested in learning more? 

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September Special for Some Lockets & Lace Books

Many of the authors who wrote for the series, 

Lockets & Lace 

in 2019 have joined together to provide you this reduced price special.

These books will be on sale from at least September 16th through September 20th, although a few may stay on sale longer. 

If you have not yet read all the 2019 Lockets & Lace books, now is an excellent time to purchase them at this special price. Already read and loved these Lockets & Lace books? 

Now is a great time to buy them as a gift for someone special to you who also loves to read American historical romance.

Click on the book titles below to be directed to the story description and

purchase link:

Sandra's Journey ~ Patricia PacJac Carroll

Joy, Unending ~ Abagail Eldan

Uniquely Common ~ Caryl McAdoo

Taming a Scandal ~ Linda Carroll-Bradd

The Outlaw's Letter ~ Angela Raines

A Promised Land ~ Kimberly Grist

Driving Lillian ~ Sophie Dawson

A Promise of Home - P. Creeden 

Virginia's Vocation ~ Zina Abbott

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Sign up to be notified of when the Lockets & Lace books for 2020 will be available.

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The Most Iconic Image of the Old West

By Sophie Dawson

When someone says the Old West or cowboy immediately an image jumps into our minds. It's the image of a man, either sitting on a horse or standing straight and tall. At least that's what pops into my mind. What is it that sets this person off from all the other images of men? It's his hat.

And what's the most famous, and the first true cowboy hat ever invented? The Stetson of course.

Boss of the Plains

John B. Stetson was the son of a hat maker in New Jersey. He invented the hat we know as a cowboy hat while panning for gold in Colorado in the mid 1860's. He couldn't enlist in the military because of his ill health. While there, Stetson made a hat from felted beaver fur with a wide 4" brim, an insulating airspace above the head, and was waterproof so it could be used to carry water. His companions laughed at the results, but Stetson wore it for the rest of their trip.

Stetson returned to the east in 1865 and with $100 worth of tools and felted fur began making the hats. Easterners weren't impressed with the hats of such a strange design. Stetson sent samples of the hats to every Western-wear merchant he could with a blank order form included with each hat.

Orders poured in even though the hats were expensive. Only two styles and two colors were available of the Boss of the Plains. Black and pearl-gray with different widths of the brim. Texans preferred black with a wide brim, and Montana cowboys opted for pearl-gray with a narrower brim that wouldn't blow off as easily.

The wide brim of both styles kept the rain from running down the cowboy's neck as well as shielding the face. Cowboys could, and did, personalize the hats using steam. They'd crease the center of the crown and dent in the sides making it their own. The felted fur, steamed and modified as desired, held it's shape for years.

 John B Stetson gave us the single symbol that epitomizes the Old West and cowboys to this day.

Safe Deposit Boxes

by Shanna Hatfield

While I was writing my current work in progress, it become important to include a scene with a safe deposit box at a bank.

Then I started wondering... would they have had them way back then?

So I started digging into some research to find the answer.

 

To find the origins of safekeeping valuables in return for a fee, the history travels back thousands of years to ancient Egyptians. Powerful individuals were entrusted to keep valuables safe in return for a fee. The arrangement was comparable to today's modern banking practices.

A lockable devise that resembled keys were discovered in the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses II who reigned in the 13th century BC.  It wasn't until about 2,500 years ago that the Greeks developed the equivalent of our modern vault.  Romans improved upon the locks by introducing metal as the primary material. Locks were smaller and keys could  be worn around the neck or tucked into a pocket.

The history of safekeeping by banks is best traced to the United States. The first commercial bank in America, the Bank of North America, was founded in 1782, followed by the Bank of New York and the Bank of Massachusetts. By the early 1800s, American banks began offering safekeeping services, although there is documentation providing evidence banks accepted "special deposits" for safekeeping prior to 1814.

In the beginning, a bank would store the valuables of a customer in an open vault where anyone could dig through that trunk of family silver or a case filled with gold. Then, in the 1860s, the first modern safe deposit box was invented. It revolutionized safekeeping for banks while also creating a safekeeping industry separate from banking institutions.

The Safe Deposit Company of New York, established in the mid 1860s, offered traditional safekeeping of trunks and packages, but also featured 500 hundred safe boxes of iron, each having its own lock and renters having control of each box.

Some credit the invention of the modern locking box to James Sargent, the man who invented the first key changeable combination lock in the early 1860s. However, no definite research is available to prove this is true.

By the late 19th century, safe deposit corporations were thriving. Many banks provided the boxes at no additional charge to their customers while others charged a nominal fee.

In the early 1900s, banks in America expanded their safe deposit business. Banks all over the world were installing safe deposit boxes in their vaults. Improved legislation in American provided US banks with greater clarity over safe deposit boxes. Banks began to install more secure boxes and charge accordingly.

Eventually, banks displaced most of the private safe deposit business, although many companies offer that service in today's world.

If you could open a safety deposit box from 1890, what do you think you'd find inside?

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes. When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

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The lingering appeal of the Wild West and Doc Holliday

Turning the calendar to September is a satisfying experience for me. Because somewhere in the month is the hope of cooler temperatures and my favorite season, autumn. As the days grow cooler, I enjoy attending local fall festivals, especially when they are built around a notorious gambler, gunfighter and dentist.

Doc Holliday is most well known for his participation with Wyatt Earp in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881. The battle itself lasted less than a minute. After almost 140 years, what do we still find so intriguing? Multiple movies have been made to retell the story of lawman Wyatt Earp. But strangely the character we love is a sickly dentist turned gambler and gunman known as Doc.

Caesar Ramero as Doc with Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp in 1939

Val Kilmer played Doc in 1993

Val Kilmer as Doc alongside Sam Elliott, Kurt Russell & Bill Paxton as Virgil, Wyatt & Morgan Earp in 1993

Dennis Quaid lost 30 lbs to play the physically frail Doc in 1994, Wyatt Earp.

Perhaps the complexity of his character is the reason for his lingering appeal. His vibrant personality seeps in contrasts. Doc is a deadly gunslinger and gambler, yet smart, educated, flashy, witty, compassionate and a loyal friend. Add a bit of vulnerability, he's critically ill but bold, gallant and let's not forget his southern charm.

Born with a cleft palate on August 14, 1851, John Henry Holliday's mother fed him with an eyedropper and spoon. In what may have been the first time that ether was given to an infant in surgery, he was operated on by his uncle, Dr. John Stiles Holliday and assisted by Dr. Crawford Long.

He was schooled at home by his mother, who spent years training him to conquer his speech impediment. She also instilled in him the Southern etiquette and manners which would forever be part of his demeanor.

Stacy Keach in 1971, Doc.

Two actors who played Doc Holliday, Stacy Keach and Jason Robards were also born with the same condition.

Jason Robards in 1967, Hour of the Gun.

John Henry Holliday age 10

In 1864, his family moved to Valdosta, Georgia where his mother suffered from consumption, now known as tuberculosis, and died when he was fifteen. Three months after his mother's death, his father remarried.














Holliday attended Valdosta Institue, where he received a classical education and in 1870, 19-year-old Holiday left home to attend the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. He graduated five months before his 21st birthday. He returned to Griffin, Georgia in 1872 to practice dentistry. 




He was soon diagnosed with consumption and in 1873 ended his career as a dentist. Some say he didn't want his family to see him deteriorate and die from the disease. Others suggest he went west in the hope the climate would be beneficial to his lungs. Regardless he took the train to the literal end of the railroad line to Dallas, Texas.

Holliday understood the gravity of his disease, and most likely considered himself a walking dead man. A realist, but at the same time, he remained hopeful for a cure. Doc found comfort in whiskey and gambling. 

Texas was full of guns, knives and violent men, some of which were suffering from post-traumatic stress from the effects of war. Doc reinvented himself-from southern gentleman dentist to fabricate and develop a reputation as having killed more than a dozen men in various altercations. Researchers have concluded that he actually killed one or two men. 
A case in point, when asked about one dispute, he responded: "Dave Rudabaugh is an ignorant scoundrel! I disapprove of his very existence. I considered ending it myself on several occasions but self-control got the better of me." ~ Doc Holliday

Holliday traveled from town to town following the money and gained a reputation as both a gambler and a gunman. In 1877, Doc was involved in an argument, but instead of going for his gun, he used his walking stick. His serious wounds compounded by worsening tuberculosis spurred a change of scenery. His next stop was Fort Griffin where he met Wyatt Earp and ultimately saved his life.

Earp and Holliday became fast friends. Eventually, Doc would join Earp in the wild boomtown of Tombstone Arizona. Due to recent silver strikes, the town was flooded with merchants and cash and short on law and order. By the end of 1880, Tombstone was embedded with organized rustlers and thieves called the Cowboys. 

Tombstone, Ariz., as photographed by C. S. Fly in 1881.

On October 26. 1881. Holliday was deputized by Tombstone city Marshal Virgil Earp. Virgil asked Doc to carry his shotgun under his coat and the four walked to meet and disarm five members of the Cowboys near the O.K. Corral, which resulted in a 30-second shootout.

Pictured left Doc Holliday with Wyatt Earp and his brothers.

The famous line quoted by Doc at the end of the fight was reported in the Tombstone papers. When confronted by one of the Cowboys at point-blank range, "I got you now Doc...., to which Doc retorted, "Blaze away! You're a daisy if you do!"

Following the Tombstone shootout, Virgil Earp was maimed and Morgan Earp was murdered. As the recently appointed deputy U.S. marshal, Earp deputized Holliday and others and formed a posse and pursued and killed the men they believed were responsible. 

The local sheriff issued a warrant for the arrest of five of the members of the posse, including Holliday. Wyatt Earp learned of an extradition request for Holliday and arranged with Governor Frederick Pitkin to deny Holliday's extradition. 
Doc died of tuberculosis in his bed at the Hotel Glenwood on November 8, 1887. He was 36.

On the same day, the Leadville Daily and Evening Chronicle wrote. "There is scarcely one in the country who had acquired a greater notoriety than Doc Holiday, who enjoyed the reputation of having been one of the most fearless men on the frontier, and whose devotion to his friends in the climax of the fiercest ordeal was inextinguishable. It was this more than any other faculty, that secured for him the reverence of a large circle who were prepared on the shortest notice to rally to his relief."  

This past weekend my family and I attended the Doc Holliday Festival in his birthplace of Griffin, Georgia and we were fortunate to watch a reenactment of the famous shootout of the OK Corral put on by Aces & Eights.

https://www.facebook.com/acesandeightshistory/

Both historically accurate and entertaining, the villains and heroes alike were gracious with their time. I was especially grateful for the extra attention they gave to my adult son, who has special needs.

The sheriff reminded us that cowboys didn't like paper money and preferred to carry silver dollars.

Wishing you, a Happy Fall, Y'all!

Connect with Kimberly:

Combining History, Humor and Romance with an emphasis on Faith, Friends and Good Clean Fun. Kim's stories are written to remind us how God can use adversity to strengthen us and draw us closer to Him and give us the desires of our heart in ways we may never expect.

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