Did You Know Wyatt Earp’s Wife was Buried in Milford, Missouri?
Before Dodge City and Tombstone, Wyatt Earp spent his first years as a lawman in Missouri. Many aren't aware that his first wife is buried in a small cemetery in Milford, Missouri.
Her name was Urilla Sutherland Earp. She and Wyatt were married at a fairly young age as he began his law career as a constable in Lamar, Missouri. As I've shared before, the tri-state area has many ties to the shootout at the O.K. Corral and this is one of them.
True West Magazine shared a story years ago about Urilla. They shared one small nugget about what is known (or thought to be known) about her:
They were married by Wyatt’s father, Nicholas, in January 1870. She apparently died about nine months after the wedding, probably in childbirth and perhaps of typhus.
One man who's YouTube channel is dedicated to honoring the past visited Urilla's grave in Milford, Missouri recently showing that much of the area is likely unchanged since the time of her life.
The Tombstone, Arizona Facebook page indicates that her passing is likely what led Wyatt to head west to start a new life. Grunge backed up that theory with their own story about the Earp family.
It's sad to think about what Wyatt Earp and his family must have gone through with the passing of his wife at such a young age especially when the only record of her is on the tombstone on her grave.