Frank Waters’ 1960 book The Earp Brothers of Tombstone was once considered an authoritative look at the Earps, as seen through the eyes of Virgil’s common-law wife Allie. She supposedly portrayed Wyatt, in particular, as crooked, a womanizer and killer. But it turned out that the book was less than honest.
Several researchers found Waters’ original manuscript from the 1930s. Allie never said those negative things about her brother-in-law. No infidelity. No criminal activity. No pompous jerk. Waters, apparently, had his own feelings about Wyatt and put them in his book—but said by Allie.
Like this article? Try: Did Wyatt Earp Live in the House Where the Statue Stands at the Corner of Fremont and First Streets?