{Boothill Graves - Tombstone's Boothill Graveyard}
Welcome to Tombstone's Boothill. The Boothill Graveyard visitor building houses the information desk, gift shop and entrance to the cemetery. The front of this wooden structure faces south, the graveyard on its right, to the east. When looking at grave markers, the visitor is facing west.
Cemetery rows are numbered from the bottom of the main hill, rising full-width to Row 7. The remaining rows to the top (8 to 11) are about one-third width, behind the graveyard visitor structure and its patio area. Graves are listed "left to right," south to north. The Jewish Cemetery & Memorial lies at the northwestern base of the hill. Photos were taken by this page's editor in 2007, 2008 and 2016. Hover the text links for enlargements and historical information beyond that of the booklet.
The Jewish Cemetery memorial at the northern base of Boothill. The plaque reads "Dedicated to the Jewish pioneers and their Indian friends / Erected by the Jewish Friendship Club of Green Valley 1984"
The following is a transcript of the booklet "Boothill Graveyard: A Descriptive List of more than 250 Graves in Boothill" (n.p., 1952, Lela B. Nunnelly), available only at historic Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona, and is presented here as a resource for researchers. Persons who visit the graveyard should purchase the booklet directly from the caretakers for their suggested donation ($3 as of this writing; greater amounts are appreciated).
I Others I
As far as can be seen from the records, the following are buried here.
Campbell
1883
Suicide
Dr. McLoon
1883
Stanifor
1883
Stage driver, suicide.
Contreras
1883
Murdered.
J. D. Dernitt
1881
Fell to his death in a mine shaft.
Gadelia
1881
I Unknown I
RESEARCH has shown the following to be buried in some of the many UNKNOWN graves.
Boothill Graveyard was laid out as a burial plot in 1878. Called "The Tombstone Cemetery," it was the burial place for the town's first pioneers and was used as such until sometime around 1884, when the present plot was opened as a burial place.
For years after this, Boothill was spoken of as the "old cemetery." It lay for years neglected and much of the old cemetery has gone back to nature. Years of research and hard work by interested citizens of the town have helped to preserve the main part of the cemetery as you see it today.
Because of the many violent deaths of the early days, the cemetery became known as Boothill Graveyard. It is possibly a true symbol of this roaring mining town of the early 1880s. Buried here are outlaws with their victims, suicides, and hangings, legal and otherwise, along with the hardy citizens and refined element of Tombstone's first days.
So much of the good and so much of the bad of early Tombstone lies buried here, and over the graves of both is growing--the true crucifixion thorn.
In compiling this list, each history has been checked with all available sources of information, including relatives, old residents and the Arizona Historical Society records.
Mrs. Stewart
1880
This information given by her son and also by people who attended her funeral.
Said to be the first woman buried in the cemetery.
Sam Harris
1889
Age 1 year, 4 days. Buried in the old Jewish plot.
John Holly
1880
Keeper of Rural Dining Hall.
Kettlewell
Child of Mrs. Lizzie Kettlewell. (Information from Jean Nuttall, who as a child,
would go with the mother to put flowers on the grave.)
Wm. Bobier
1881
He and his partner disagreed over a cock fight with tragic results.
Mr. Huggins
1882
He was burned to death in Tombstone when a hotel burned in 1882. (Information from his niece.)
John Talliday
1881
Shot by Harper, who hanged for the crime.
Thos. Harper
Hanged, 1881
Harper was hanged for shooting Talliday in a quarrel over money. The evening before he was hanged,
Harper wrote a long letter to his friend Curly Bill, admonishing him never to be provoked into shooting a man.
"I shot a man," he wrote, "and after tomorrow I will be no more." He was hanged in the old jail house yard.
Rose Campion
1882
Death was caused by stillborn birth. (This information was given by her son.)
Robertson
Two infant sons of S. C. and Alice Robertson are buried in this cemetery. (Information given by their oldest sister.)
John White
1882
Mitchell
1880
Agnes Kenney
1878
Age 1 year. The baby was given calomel by the doctor. After eating an orange, she became salivated and died.
IIIIIIIIIII Row 11 IIIIIIIIIII
Emmett Nunnelley
1946
With the help of the townspeople, he spent the last year of his life seeking to restore,
as much as could be restored, this old cemetery.
It was his request to rest here.
Geo. Hand
Killed by Indians
Two Chinese
Died of Leprosy
John Swain Slaughter
1945
Old John was nearly 100 years old when he died.
He came here in 1879 with the John Slaughter family,
and spent his life in and around Tombstone.
IIIIIIIIII Row 10 IIIIIIIIII
Weiners Anton
1882
Raymond Verra
Stabbed, 1882
Chas. Gadela
1882
Mike Noonan
Killed by Indians
A lone rancher who was shot when he went out to chop wood. (Information from relatives.)
Ed Bancroft
1882
Chink Smiley
Shot, 1884
Sing Wan
Tong Kee
Quong Kee
Quong, who ran the Can Can Restaurant in the 1880s, was first buried in a pauper's grave.
His friends had his body moved and laid to rest in Boothill beside the friends he knew in life.
Mrs. Ah Lum
Born in China and buried in Boothill in 1906. She had great influence among the Chinese residents here.
Some believed she had Tong affiliation in China
Hop Lung
IIIIIIIII Row 9 IIIIIIIII
Steve Brammer
1882
Mrs. Pring
Suicide, 1881
While her husband was away trying to sell mining shares, Mrs. Pring, who lived on Toughnut Street,
took a large dose of hydrate chloral.
S. McFarland
1882
J. Gardiner
Shot, 1882
He was shot by Kellogg. Two saloon men were also indicted for this killing.
Brady Bros.
1883
These boys were drowned while swimming in the San Pedro River. One died in a vain attempt to save his brother.
Ages 11 and 12 years.
Geo. Russell
1882
An efficient foreman of the Epitaph, who died while being operated on for cancer of the stomach.
Foo Kee
He owned a grocery store here and died from ptomaine poisoning.
Archie McBride
1882
Proprietor of the Grand Hotel until he died in May of consumption.
Johnnie Blair
Died of Smallpox and a cowboy threw a rope over his feet and dragged him to his grave.
IIIIIIII Row 8 IIIIIIII
Wm. Whitehill
Shot, 1878
Jack King
Shot by Cherokee Hall
George Whitcer
1882
A miner, who was killed when a cable broke hurling the cage to the bottom of the shaft.
James McMartin
1881
"Rapid Consumption."
Guadalupe Robles
Robles, who gave shelter to some robbers (one of whom was his brother), was shot when the officers came to arrest them.
Broncho Charley
Shot by Ormsby
G. Renacco
Killed 1882
He fell head first from a cliff.
Pesquira
Killed, 1881
Geo. Atkins
1888
Hancock
Shot, 1879
Shot by John Ringo when he made a disparaging remark about some women.
Johnnie Wilson
Shot by King
Two gunmen's discussion of the fastest way to draw, ended here.
IIIIIII Row 7 IIIIIII
Indian Bill
Mrs. Clum
Jim Riley
Murdered, 1881
3-Fingered Jack Dunlap
Shot by Jeff Milton
Dunlap, one of a band of train robbers, attempted to rob an express car
which Milton guarded. He was critically wounded and his friends left him to die.
He was found and brought to Tombstone, where he lived long enough to inform on his friends.
Dutch Annie
1883
Sometimes called Queen of the Red Light District.
Peter Crawley
Killed, 1881
Jos. Thomas
Shot, 1881
He was a teamster for Shearer's Lumber wagons and was found with four bullet wounds in his body.
Indian Joe, another teamster, was believed to have killed him, as both teams were found abandoned by the roadside.
James Tully
Killed, 1881
Tully was a miner employed by the Grand Central Mining Co.
To avoid being crushed as the cage shot upward toward the timbers overhead,
Tully jumped and fell 250 feet to the bottom of the shaft.
Killeen
Shot by Frank Leslie, 1880
Results of a disagreement over Killeen's wife.
Leslie married the widow.
McNemony
Shot, 1882
1871 Glenn Hill 1953
John Gibbon
1882
With Malvina Lopez "he climbed the golden stairs on the fumes from a pan of charcoal."
(From the files of Lester G. Baker, one-time editor of the Tombstone Epitaph.)
Ormsby
Shot
Cowboy Bill King
Shot by Burt Alvord
John Wickstrum
1882
A Swede who was killed when a well he was digging caved in. (Information from an old resident.)
Six-Shooter Jim
Shot by Burt Alvord, 1885
Unknown
1887
IIIIII Row 6 IIIIII
Minnie Dowe
1881
M. McAllister
1882
"Happy Jack" had suffered a lung injury when he was shot in a fight over a piece of land.
He was sent to Tombstone to recover but died of the old injury. (Information by grandson.)
Alfred Cantrell
Shot, 1881
"Old Man" Cantrell was murdered by a man named Brown, who later hanged for his crime.
Joseph Ziegler
Murdered, 1882
Ziegler, age 27, was shot one night through the left breast and lived only a few minutes.
He and Ed Williams, who shot him, were miners and had been quarrelling while working that day.
The murder took place behind the old ice house, near the corner of Toughnut and Fifth Streets.
Ben Olleney
Shot by Chacon
Wm. Carpenter
1881
This grave was located by his son who said his father had been the first Baptist minister in Tombstone. Death caused by nephritis.
Simon Constantine
Killed, 1882
He and Thos. Kearney were blown up by a blast.
Charley Storms
Shot by Luke Short, 1880
Guns blazed again as these two gambling men met.
Storms was shot in front of the Oriental Saloon, where Short dealt cards.
Rosenthal
1881
Douglas Lilly
Killed, 1881
Lilly, a driver for the Sycamore Water Co., was thrown from the wagon,
trampled by the horses and died instantly when the wagon ran over his head.
Stinging Lizard
Shot by Cherokee Hall
Marshal White
Shot by Curly Bill, 1880
He was accidentally shot as he
started to take Curly Bill's gun.
This took place on the lot where
the Bird Cage Theatre now stands.
Helentina Kohler
1882
Latham Kohler
1884
Ralph Kohler
1882
M. McCarty
Shot, 1882
A miner who was shot by a man named Poplin.
Unknown
Murdered, 1884
Lester Moore
"Here lies Lester Moore,
Four slugs from a .44,
No Les, no more."
Moore was a Wells Fargo agent at Naco and had a dispute with a man over a package.
Both died. (Information from an old resident.)
Harry Curry
Killed by Indians, 1882
He was killed with Seymour Dye while hauling hay.
Daniel Owyer
Drowned, 1881
Kansas Kid
A cowboy killed in a stampede.
Thos. Fitzhugh
1882
He was found dead one morning in the water closet back of Mrs. King's lodging house
on Toughnut Street, where he roomed.
M. Lopez
1880
A closed room and charcoal fumes.
IIII Row 4 IIII
Miles Sweeney
Murdered, 1880
John MacKenzie
1881
Thos. Cowan
Age 11 months, 1881
Diphtheria. (From an old resident.)
May Doody
1881
Diphtheria. (From an old resident.)
John Gibson
1881
Gibson, a driver for Nadeau's ore teams, fell from a wagon and his skull was crushed
when a wheel of the heavy wagon ran over his head.
W. C. Bennett
1882
Native of England. He died of heart trouble and was buried by Knights of Pythias Lodge.
Thos. Kearney
Killed, 1882
Kearney and Simon Constantine were blown up by a blast.
Hilly Hickson
1882
It was said that death never took a holiday in Tombstone.
On this day, Hilly, a school boy, fell while walking on a pair of stilts and injured his back.
He seemed only slightly injured, but next morning he died suddenly with a spasm.
C. O. Ridgeway
1882
His team of horses and wagon were found on a road leading out of Tombstone.
Investigation showed "Old Man Ridgeway" to be lying dead in the wagon.
H. B. Cook
1882
Hayes
Pat Lynch
1883
Mrs. R. B. Campbell
1882
Wife of restaurant owner of that name. She died very suddenly of severe stomach cramps and spasms. Suspected poisoning.
Malcolm Campbell
1882
A kindly, devout Christian man who died of pneumonia.
Bobby Jackson 1882 Frank Hart
Frank Serroux
Shot over his mining claim.
Mrs. Stump
1884
She died in childbirth, from an overdose of chloroform, given her by the doctor.
(This information given by her family.)
IIIII Row 5 IIIII
Wm. Summers
1882
He was a teamster for James Carr and was found dead from a blow on the back, which broke two ribs and ruptured the liver.
Mead
Sudden death, 1881
Mead was a blacksmith for Sandy Bob's stables, and was found dead early one morning in the rear seat of one of the coaches.
M. E. Kellogg
1882
Died a natural death
Seymour Dye
1882, Killed by Indians
Dye, aged 35, and Harry Curry were wood cutters. This day they were bringing in a load of hay, when they were shot by Indians,
who after their victims had fallen from the wagon, dragged them for 150 feet.
Geo. Johnson
Hanged by Mistake
Johnson innocently bought a stolen horse and suffered the consequences.
"Here lies George Johnson, Hanged by mistake, 1882.
He was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now he's gone."
John Gillespie
1882
He was one of the officers sent to arrest Billy Grounds and Zwing Hunt, suspected killers of M. R. Peel.
He died instantly when Hunt shot him in the head.
M. R. Peel
1882
A young mining engineer, who was shot one night in his office as he worked late.
Suspicion fell on Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds
Billy Kinsman
1883
He was shot by a woman much older than he, who was jealously in love with him. (Information given by his niece.)
George Fryer
1881
Wm. Alexander
1880
An old prospector who was fatally injured when a blast went off prematurely.
Red River Tom
Shot by Ormsby
Alfred Packrel
1882
English. He was a young miner, aged 24, who died from inflammation of the bowels.
Deron
Shot by Slaughter
Deron was shot when Slaughter sought to arrest him for his part in a train robbery.
Ben Scott 1883 Al Bennett
Teamsters. Ambushed by Indians.
Wm. Grounds
1882, Died of Wounds
He was shot in the face with a shotgun, by one of the officers sent
to question him in connection with the murder of M. R. Peel.
Hans Christianson
1891
Christina B. Christianson
1892
Delia William
1881, Suicide
Colored proprietress of a lodging house on Toughnut Street. Suicide by taking arsenic.
III Row 3 III
John Beather
1881, Hanged
Two Cowboys
Drowned
John King
1881, Suicide
By strychnine.
Ernest Brodines
Murdered in 1882
A miner, native of Germany, was found dead in his cabin with four bullet wounds in his body.
Suspected of the killing was his partner, with whom he had been quarrelling and who had now disappeared.
Teamster
1881, Killed by Apaches
J. D. McDermott
Killed, 1882
His spinal column was fractured when his horse fell with him while crossing the San Pedro River.
Judge C. Lindley
1882
Chas. Lindley, in his younger years, was one of the ablest members of the bar in California.
His health was impaired by overwork and he dies in Tombstone in September, 1882.
John Martin
Killed, 1882
He was killed while working on the Huachuca water line.
A tested pipe was unplugged and a blast of water hurled a jack against his chest.
He was a native of England.
Rook
Shot by a Chinaman
This occurred in front of Yaple's store on Fremont Street, now Wagon Wheel Inn.
Jos. Manada
1882
Freddie Fuss
1882
A small boy who died from drinking stagnant or poison mine water.
Mrs. R. L. Brown
1882
Proprietress of a hotel, and dies a natural death. (Information from friends of family.)
Eliz. Billings
1886
Francis Southy
1881
John Heath
Taken from county jail and lynched by Bisbee mob, Feb. 22, 1884.
He was called the leader of the five men who were legally hanged and was said to have planned the robbery.
He was hanged from a telegraph pole a short distance west of the Court House.
II Row 2 II
Old Man Clanton
He, with several other men, was ambushed on a cattle drive by Mexicans.
All but one man was killed.
Billy Clanton Frank McLaury
Tom McLaury
Murdered on the streets of Tombstone, 1881
Tragic results of the O.K. Corral battle, which took place between the Earp Brothers with "Doc" Holliday and the cowboys.
Three men were killed and
three were wounded.
James Hickey
1881, Shot by Wm. Clayborne
He was shot in the left temple by Clayborne for his over-insistence that they drink together.
Dennis Cassidine
Killed, 1879
John Hicks
1879
Hicks was shot by Jeremiah McCormick, superintendent of the Lucky Cuss Mine. A saloon brawl.
Frank Bowles
1880
His horse became frightened and threw him off.
This caused a rifle to discharge and badly injure his knee.
He lay in camp for several weeks without medical attention and when friends took him to a doctor for amputation it was too late. (This information was given by his daughter.)
"In memory of Frank Bowles,
born Aug. 5, 1828,
died Aug. 26, 1880.
As you pass by, remember that
as you are, so once was I, and
as I am, you soon will be.
Remember me."
Thos. Morgan
1882
Jos. Wetsell
Killed, 1882
He was stoned to death by Apaches. His friends were not far away, and it was thought the Indians
wanted to avoid attracting their attention by shooting him.
A. Deloach
1882
Margarita
Stabbed by Gold Dollar
Two dance hall girls quarrelling over a man, and Gold Dollar won.
Wm. Clayborne
1882, Shot by Frank Leslie
Clayborne while drinking, sought to settle a real or fancied wrong with Leslie.
This took place in front of the Oriental Saloon, where Leslie tended bar.
Dick Toby
Shot by Sheriff Behan
Verone Gray
Suicide
Jerry Sullivan
1881
Dan Dowd Red Sample Tex Howard Bill Delaney Dan Kelley
Legally hanged, March 8, 1884
These men were found guilty of killing several people during the robbery of a store in Bisbee.
They were all hanged on one scaffold in the Court House yard.
Van Houten
Murdered, 1879
He was beaten in the face with a stone until he died. Trouble was over his mining claim, which he had not recorded.
Tom Waters
Shot, 1880
He was the father of Eva Waters and likely the T. J. Waters shot over the color of his shirt.
Chas. Helm
Shot, 1882
Shot by Wm. McCauley. Two hot-tempered ranchers, who disagreed over the best way to drive cattle, fast or slow.
Jonathon Barton
1881
Louis Daves
1882
Halderman Bros.
Hanged Nov. 16, 1900
Thos. Gregory
1882
Gregory
1882
Small son of Thos. Gregory, who died of meningitis.
Holo Lucero
1882
Killed by Indians.
Peter Smith
Killed, 1882
Smith, age 23, a native of Germany, was struck on the back of his head with a poker and
killed by Thos. Donald (or Doland) during a fight.
Mrs. H. C. Smith
1882
Jasper Von
Shot, 1882
Florentino
Murdered, 1882
Florentino was found dead with several bullet wounds in his body.
Sometimes called Indian Charlie.
Eva Waters
Age 3 Months
Scarlet fever.
I Row 1 I
Rodriguez Petron
Stabbed
Unknown
Found in abandoned mine, 1882
He was found at the bottom of a 60-foot shaft of the Minute Mine.
He was well-dressed, indicating he was not a miner. No identification of any kind.
Pat Byrne
1882, Pneumonia
John Talliday (sometimes spelled Toliday).
The Nunnelly description is in error. John Talliday was killed in 1880, not 1881.
See the Thomas Harper hover text below.
Tom Harper's killing of John Talliday on September 19, 1880, in Ramsay's Canyon, near Tombstone, was as cold blooded as murder could get. Harper owed Talliday 10 dollars and shot him dead when Talliday argued for payment, telling Talliday's companion to run or meet the same fate. The companion did run -- straight to the authorities, it would seem, who found and arrested Harper in Sonora on September 24. Thomas Harper's trial on October 16 and execution on July 8, 1881, took place in Tucson, Arizona, not Tombstone (Tombstone was part of Pima county in 1880 and Tucson was the county seat).
While it is true that Harper wrote a letter on the eve of his hanging to Curly Bill Brosius (it was printed in several newspapers), it's not clear when or if that letter was received. The letter was addressed to “Wm. H. Broscius, care of G. W. Turner, San Simon,” but historian and author Paul Lee Johnson (The McLaurys in Tombstone, Arizona: An O.K. Corral Obituary) informs us that George W. Turner was killed about six weeks earlier in Mexico. Nobody told Tom Harper, apparently.
Also in question is the identity of "Wm. H. Broscius." The Curly Bill who killed Marshal Fred White and was enemy to the Earps was William A. Graham, alias William A. Brosius, not William H. There are reports of a man named William H. Graham who lived in San Simon at the time and who used the Brosius and Curly Bill aliases himself. Was this other "Curly Bill" Tom Harper's friend? Was the "H" a misprinted or misinterpreted "A" of the "real" Curly Bill by newspapers covering the case? Why would Tom Harper advise a notorious outlaw "never to be provoked into shooting a man" -- did he not know of Marshal White's killing?
The full story of Tom Harper is yet another curious tale in Tombstone's fascinating history.
It was Emmett Crook Nunnelly who, in the early 1940s, saw to restore respect and dignity to the neglected graves of Boothill Cemetery. It is fitting that he rests at the top of the hill, overlooking the results of his labors.
He was born a slave in 1845 and, having no name of his own, he adopted that of his master. He remained with John Slaughter for over 20 years following his freedom and eventually moved to Tombstone, working in the silver mines to support his family, then later as a janitor in the court house until his mid 80s. When he died in 1945, he was buried with military honors, including a rifle salute, as one of Tombstone's true pioneers.
Eva Waters died of scarlet fever in 1878 and is believed to be the first person buried in Boothill. At age 3 months, she is the graveyard's youngest identified resident.
Florentino Cruz (a.k.a. Indian Charlie) was the suspected lookout for the gang that murdered Morgan Earp on March 18, 1882, purportedly in retaliation to the O.K. Corral affray. Cruz was killed by Wyatt Earp during Earp's infamous "Vendetta Ride," taking shots to the head, groin, arm and leg.
On July 24, 1880, Tom Waters found himself the brunt of good-natured gibes from several men in Tombstone over the new black and blue plaid shirt he was wearing. After awhile of drinking in Corrigan's Saloon, Tom no longer found the jokes funny. "I'll knock down any man who opens his mouth about my shirt again!" Tom reportedly said, just as his friend E. L. Bradshaw entered the saloon and felt obligated to comment on the colorful, new shirt. Tom knocked him down as promised, and left Corrigan's with an unconscious Bradshaw on the floor.
A bruised, bandaged, angry and armed Bradshaw later met Waters outside Vogan's Alley and asked, "Why did you hit me?" Tom, quite drunk and abusive from a day of shirt jokes, responded with a severe verbal attack. Bradshaw, in turn, responded with a severe attack of bullets, striking Waters under the left arm into the heart, a shot to the head and two shots into the back.
Bradshaw stood trial for the shooting but was acquitted.
The hanging of William and Thomas Halderman was famous for its time. Twice their execution was stayed, once by President McKinley. Accused of stealing Buck Smith's cattle, they were tracked to the southeast Arizona ranch of J. N. Wilson by Constable Chester Ainsworth, assisted by a local 18-year-old, Teddy Moore. What began as a peaceful arrest ended in gunfire, with Ainsworth dead and young Teddy mortally wounded, dying at home about four hours later. The Haldermans fled to New Mexico, where they were captured and extradited to stand trial in Tombstone for murder. They were convicted, largely by the newspapers, and sentenced to hang.
There was so much angst created against William and Thomas that important factors in the trial appear to have been ignored. Among the peculiarities, the prosecuting District Attorney was Ainsworth's brother. A witness had made an affidavit that Moore had threatened the Haldermans before joining the arrest. Wilson's daughters had sworn an affidavit that one of the arresting party had fired the first shot but their father had ordered the girls to testify to the contrary. Johnny Wilson, a son, witnessed the whole affair according to William but never appeared in court. There was no testimony heard to convict Thomas -- the judge ordered they be tried as a group. One juror admitted the jury did not fully understand the court's instructions. Buck Smith later came into evidence that Teddy Moore was the one who had killed his cattle and that Moore wanted the brothers to take the blame. Still, there was no avoiding the hangman. As William and Thomas stood together on the Tombstone gallows at 12:40 PM November 16, 1900, they said "Good bye" to the gathered crowd, the crowd responded "Good bye," and Boothill said hello to its newest residents.
Mrs. Ah Lum, known to all as China Mary, was married to the co-owner of the popular Can-Can Restaurant and was the undisputed ruler of Hoptown, Tombstone's Chinese district. All Chinese business was routed through China Mary, whether it be the hiring of Chinese laborers, servants or prostitutes, or dealing in the Chinese drug or slave trade. She also had ownership interests in many Chinese businesses throughout town. In spite of her sometimes questionable practices, she was known to be fair and generous and was well respected within the Tombstone community. She freely would lend money to any honest, working person and no injured, sick or hungry individual ever was turned from her door. It was her wish to be buried in Boothill among her friends, as opposed to honoring the Chinese tradition of having one's bones returned to China.
Newman Haynes "Old Man" Clanton, father of Ike, Billy and Fin and patriarch of the Clanton Gang. He was killed while sleeping in camp, rustling cattle from Mexico.
Cowboys Billy Clanton (age 19), Frank McLaury (age 33) and Tom McLaury (age 28), killed during the infamous O.K. Corral gunfight. Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday, though wounded, survived the 27-second ordeal. Wyatt Earp was unscathed.
Casket photo inset shows Tom, Frank and Billy, left to right.
Frank Bowles' grave is surrounded by a picket fence -- typical in the old West to keep out scavenging varmints, human and otherwise.
Billy "The Kid" Clayborne (or Claiborne), age 22. He adopted the nickname following the death of the more famous "Billy the Kid," William Bonney, in 1881. Claiborne was with the cowboys at the O.K. Corral gunfight but ran when the shooting began. He was killed a little over a year later outside the Oriental Saloon with a single shot to the chest by Buckskin Frank Leslie, following an argument that began earlier with Leslie's refusal to refer to Billy as "The Kid."
This grave appears to have been misidentified.
Records show that the only Mrs. Brown who was a hotel proprietress at that time was Caroline Brown, owner of Brown's Hotel, who was very much alive in 1882. More likely, the grave is that of Ruth J. Brown, a respected Tombstone dressmaker, who died of pneumonia on January 26, 1882, and was buried the following day.
From the Tombstone Epitaph, January 28, 1882:
"The funeral of the late Mrs. R.G. Brown took place on yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock from the residence of her son-in-law, Mr. Clauson, on Fourth street. Rev. J.P. McIntyre conducted the burial services at the house and at the grave. A large number of friends of the deceased were present to pay their last tribute of respect, and followed the remains slowly to their long last resting place."
Many thanks to the scholars who volunteered this information.
The iconic C.S. Fly photo of the lynching of John Heath (or Heith), hanged at the corner of Second Street and Toughnut on February 22, 1884. His Boothill marker is seen at the right.
Historian Anne Collier has been taken by the story of young Hilly's tragedy. She kindly has supplied us with the following excerpts, quoted verbatim from the Tombstone Daily Epitaph:
March 6 1882 Daily Epitaph
Hilly Hickson, who died this morning, was well and full of life on Saturday. He was walking on a pair of stilts when he fell over and hurt his back, but at the time not supposed to be seriously. In the evening he went to bed, and on Sunday at the alarm of fire he got up and went to the window and looked out. This morning he was taken with a spasm, and in about ten minutes yielded up his young life. The parents have the heartfelt sympathy of the entire community.
March 7 1882 Daily Epitaph
The funeral of little Hilly Hickson took place from his father's residence at 2 o'clock this afternoon. All the members of his class at school attending the exercises to pay tribute to their once bright playmate. Hilly's desk at the school room has been neatly draped in black since his sad death. Many friends followed the remains with the grief-stricken parents to the grave, and there they left the dear little one at rest.
Mrs. Stump's grave is surrounded by a wrought iron fence. The deceased's name often is written as "Stumpf" but official records show a Gertrude Stumpf, also deceased in 1884, resting in the newer Tombstone Cemetery some miles away.
George Johnson.
In the background is the east wall of the graveyard entrance and gift shop. The door to the graveyard is by the brick-colored trellis, right of the window.
Martin Robert Peel, murdered, March 25, 1882, during an attempted robbery of the Tombstone Mining and Milling Company; shot through the heart at close range. His father, Judge Bryant L. Peel, sent an impassioned letter to the Tombstone Epitaph, urging citizens to take action:
Perhaps I am not in a condition to express a clear, deliberate opinion, but I would say to the good citizens of Cochise County there is three things you have to do. There is a class of cut-throats among you and you can never convict them in court. You must combine and protect yourselves and wipe them out, or you must give up the country to them, or you will be murdered one at a time, as my son has been.
Bronco Charlie - Shot by Ormsby, Red River Tom - Shot by Ormsby, Ormsby - Shot,
Stinging Lizard - Shot by Cherokee Hall, Jack King - Shot by Cherokee Hall
These are very interesting graves, to say the least. Bronco Charlie (Row 8), Red River Tom (Row 5), Ormsby (Row 7), Stinging Lizard (Row 6) and Jack King (Row 8) are the names of fictional characters in the Western novel Wolfville by Alfred Henry Lewis, published in 1897. Unless Lewis borrowed the names from actual Tombstone players, the grave markers are jokes, placed on otherwise unidentified, possibly empty plots. It is not known when the original markers were created, nor by whom, but whoever did so must have been quite familiar with Wolfville as, in the book, Ormsby did shoot Bronco Charlie and Red River Tom and died from a gunshot wound himself, and Stinging Lizard was killed by a character named Cherokee Hall.
Billy Grounds (born William Boucher or Arthur Burtcher) and Zwing Hunt (real name) were very bad men. Satisfied with their scheme of swindling their own gang out of a fortune in stolen Mexican treasure, they came out of hiding to rob the Tombstone Mining and Milling Company in Charleston, Arizona. Bursting into the company office, they shot a very innocent M. Robert Peel through the heart. They fled seconds later when the robbery went awry but left identifying evidence behind. A posse led by Billy Breakenridge found the pair at their Chandler Ranch hideout and a shootout occurred. Zwing Hunt killed deputy John Gillespie (also buried in Row 5) with a shot to the head and Breakenridge blasted Grounds in the face and neck. Hunt took a bullet to the back but survived. He escaped from a Tombstone hospital with the help of his brother. The stolen treasure was never found.
From the information reported in the Tombstone Daily Epitaph and Tombstone Nugget newspapers, it appears that the loss Delia Williams suffered on Friday, June 24, 1881, was too much for her to bear. Eleven weeks after the fire took Delia's possessions, money and dreams, she sold all of what little she had regained to one Madame Brosse and placed a public notice in the Daily Epitaph. Delia Williams took a fatal dose of laudanum or arsenic the same day the notice appeared, Friday, September 9, 1881. We thank historian Anne Collier for providing us the following excerpts:
June 24 1881 Daily Epitaph
FIRE - A colored woman by the name of Delia Williams, had just rented a house between Sixth and Seventh streets and fitted it up for a restaurant, and had $1700 in greenbacks stowed away somewhere on the premises which went the way of all the rest.
September 9 1881 Daily Epitaph
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC - I hereby sell, convey and make over unto Madame Brosse all of my personal effects in this home for the sum of one hundred and twenty-three ($123) dollars, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged. The goods are in the house at the present occupied by me on Tough Nut street, just below Fourth. Delia Williams "her X mark"
[Though Delia could not write, as evidenced by the amount of money she had stashed when her home went up in flames on June 24, she was a shrewd businesswoman - who lost everything in that fire]
September 13 1881 Daily Epitaph
Four or five days ago a colored woman named Delia Williams, took a dose of laudanum with suicidal intent, from the effects of which she died at 12 o'clock Sunday night. At the inquest a verdict was returned in accordance with the above facts.
September 13 1881 Nugget
A Bruce of Suicides - Delia Williams, who kept a boarding house on Toughnut near the corner of Fourth street, took arsenic last Friday with the intention of committing suicide. It was thought at that time that by the immediate administering of antidotes she would recover, and it was so reported, but the poison was too thoroughly diffused through her system, and she died yesterday at the hospital.
Charley Storms. Wyatt Earp called him one of the dealiest guns in the West. Luke Short was dealing faro at the Oriental Saloon on February 25 when Storms called him outside to settle a heated argument. Storms was considered the better gunman, but Short dropped him with two quick shots to the chest and went back inside to his card game...or so say the story tellers.
Bronco Charlie - Shot by Ormsby, Red River Tom - Shot by Ormsby, Ormsby - Shot,
Stinging Lizard - Shot by Cherokee Hall, Jack King - Shot by Cherokee Hall
These are very interesting graves, to say the least. Bronco Charlie (Row 8), Red River Tom (Row 5), Ormsby (Row 7), Stinging Lizard (Row 6) and Jack King (Row 8) are the names of fictional characters in the Western novel Wolfville by Alfred Henry Lewis, published in 1897. Unless Lewis borrowed the names from actual Tombstone players, the grave markers are jokes, placed on otherwise unidentified, possibly empty plots. It is not known when the original markers were created, nor by whom, but whoever did so must have been quite familiar with Wolfville as, in the book, Ormsby did shoot Bronco Charlie and Red River Tom and died from a gunshot wound himself, and Stinging Lizard was killed by a character named Cherokee Hall.
Marshal Fred White. The inset is the historical marker on Allen at 6th Street, in front of the Bird Cage Theatre. The marker is misleading: The shooting occurred on October 28 but the marshal died two days later.
The movie Tombstone portrays Fred White as an older gentleman but he was, in fact, only 31 when he was killed.
Visiting law enforcement officers often place money on the grave as a sign of respect for a fallen colleague.
Lester Moore worked at a Wells Fargo office in Naco, Arizona, along the Mexican border. Hank Dunston arrived one day to claim a package. The package was damaged and Dunston disapproved, letting the lead fly at Lester. Les took four shots to the chest but, as he fell, managed his own special delivery to Dunston. The Wells Fargo clerk ended up with the most famous epitaph on Boothill. Nobody knows where the disgruntled Hank Dunston is buried.
Malvina Lopez was one of the sporting ladies of Tombstone's 6th Street Red Light District. She and her then current lover, John Gibbons (buried in Row 7), became disillusioned with life and elected to seek happier times together by smoldering charcoal in a closed room.
Mary Dennison Ware Clum, wife of Tombstone's mayor, Epitaph founder/editor and life-long friend of Wyatt Earp, John P. Clum. When John Clum revisited Tombstone in 1929 for the town's first Helldorado, Boothill was so overtaken by nature he was unable to locate Mary's grave...or so say the story tellers.
Jesse "3-Fingered Jack" Dunlap was one of the leaders of the High Five gang. He and Wells Fargo agent Jeff Milton played cat and mouse for some time, often wounding each other at their encounters. The end came for Jesse at a railway station in Fairbank, near Tombstone, when Milton got the better shot. Dunlap died from his wounds several days later in a Tombstone hospital, reportedly naming his accomplices before he expired.
No one knew her real name but everyone knew Dutch Annie. Her "madamly" profession aside, she was one of Tombstone's kindest hearts, giving generously to miners in need. When she died in 1883, all of Tombstone, its businessmen, outlaws, officers, sporting girls and common citizens turned out to bury her with dignity. It was said that over a thousand buggies followed her journey to Boothill.
Mike Killeen was a jealous man. Even though he was separated from his wife Mary, he threatened to shoot any man who touched her. Buckskin Frank Leslie turned out to be that man, keeping frequent company with the lovely lady. Mike Killeen was killed by Leslie while attempting to keep his promise and Frank and Mary wed soon afterward. Years later, Mary left Frank, largely due to his womanizing ways.
Bronco Charlie - Shot by Ormsby, Red River Tom - Shot by Ormsby, Ormsby - Shot,
Stinging Lizard - Shot by Cherokee Hall, Jack King - Shot by Cherokee Hall
These are very interesting graves, to say the least. Bronco Charlie (Row 8), Red River Tom (Row 5), Ormsby (Row 7), Stinging Lizard (Row 6) and Jack King (Row 8) are the names of fictional characters in the Western novel Wolfville by Alfred Henry Lewis, published in 1897. Unless Lewis borrowed the names from actual Tombstone players, the grave markers are jokes, placed on otherwise unidentified, possibly empty plots. It is not known when the original markers were created, nor by whom, but whoever did so must have been quite familiar with Wolfville as, in the book, Ormsby did shoot Bronco Charlie and Red River Tom and died from a gunshot wound himself, and Stinging Lizard was killed by a character named Cherokee Hall.
Bronco Charlie - Shot by Ormsby, Red River Tom - Shot by Ormsby, Ormsby - Shot,
Stinging Lizard - Shot by Cherokee Hall, Jack King - Shot by Cherokee Hall
These are very interesting graves, to say the least. Bronco Charlie (Row 8), Red River Tom (Row 5), Ormsby (Row 7), Stinging Lizard (Row 6) and Jack King (Row 8) are the names of fictional characters in the Western novel Wolfville by Alfred Henry Lewis, published in 1897. Unless Lewis borrowed the names from actual Tombstone players, the grave markers are jokes, placed on otherwise unidentified, possibly empty plots. It is not known when the original markers were created, nor by whom, but whoever did so must have been quite familiar with Wolfville as, in the book, Ormsby did shoot Bronco Charlie and Red River Tom and died from a gunshot wound himself, and Stinging Lizard was killed by a character named Cherokee Hall.
Bronco Charlie - Shot by Ormsby, Red River Tom - Shot by Ormsby, Ormsby - Shot,
Stinging Lizard - Shot by Cherokee Hall, Jack King - Shot by Cherokee Hall
These are very interesting graves, to say the least. Bronco Charlie (Row 8), Red River Tom (Row 5), Ormsby (Row 7), Stinging Lizard (Row 6) and Jack King (Row 8) are the names of fictional characters in the Western novel Wolfville by Alfred Henry Lewis, published in 1897. Unless Lewis borrowed the names from actual Tombstone players, the grave markers are jokes, placed on otherwise unidentified, possibly empty plots. It is not known when the original markers were created, nor by whom, but whoever did so must have been quite familiar with Wolfville as, in the book, Ormsby did shoot Bronco Charlie and Red River Tom and died from a gunshot wound himself, and Stinging Lizard was killed by a character named Cherokee Hall.
Suicide or accidental death? The two Tombstone newspapers, the Daily Epitaph and the Nugget, reported the death of Mrs. Pring differently. We thank historian Anne Collier for providing us the following excerpts:
September 13 1881 Daily Epitaph
Mrs. Pring died at 4 o'clock yesterday morning from the effects of an overdose of medicine. It appears that the unfortunate lady had for some time past been severely afflicted with cramps, for which the attending physician prescribed a powerful opiate. On Sunday morning last, just as she was preparing breakfast, a violent attack seized her and, in a frenzy of agony, she made for the medicine and swallowed much more than her regular allowance. Almost instantly she realized her mistake and sent for a doctor, but too late, for notwithstanding every effort possible was made in her behalf, she expired at the hour above named. The funeral took place at 5 o'clock last evening, and was largely attended by friends and acquaintances of the deceased.
September 13 1881 Nugget
A Bruce of Suicides - At about 9 o'clock Sunday night Mrs. Pring, who resides on Toughnut street nearly opposite the Vizina office, took a large dose of hydrate chloral, evidently with suicidal intent, as a short time afterward she sent for a physician, but by the time one had arrived she was past all human relief, and at about 1 o'clock in the morning she died. Her husband is at present in Chicago disposing of some mining property which he holds in this district.
This grave is labeled as Unknown - Murdered 1884 in the Nunnelly text and bore such a marker for many decades. It was spotted in 2016 with the identity of Will DeLoge - Killed Playing Cards, 1883.
Editor's Notes
I do not live in Tombstone but I am active within the historian community. We hold annual gatherings in the Old West town and I attend as often as I can, visiting Boothill Graveyard each time to see how much it has changed from my previous trip. Yes, the old graveyard changes that often, sometimes by humans, replacing weather-worn grave markers and performing other such maintenance, but mostly by Mother Nature herself, sprouting foliage so thick at times from the rock covered plots that it is almost impossible to read the markers: Case in point. In 2016 I was surprised to see newly identified graves. The controversy continues over the authenticity of names and locations of many inhabitants, but when it comes to American folklore of the Wild West, Boothill Graveyard is as real as it gets. I urge you to visit.
(Oh, and don't be put off by my photo -- underneath all that beard, I'm smiling!) -John K.
This is how the grave of Hop Lung (Row 10) appeared during my Boothill visit in 2016. If you look closely, very closely, you almost can see the grave marker in the mid-upper center of the picture. I'm all for letting Mother Nature be herself, but even she can use a haircut now and then.
Not seen prior to 2016...
Top Left: Row 1. "Here Lies Tom 'Bones' Marrone - He Died Fallen Off a Cliff - Born 1854 - Died 1883 - He Had No Fear! - Rest in Peace" Paint on plywood. The grave, one of two between Unknown 1882 and Pat Byrne, does not appear in the Nunnelly text. A newly identified resident waiting for a permanent marker?
Top Right: Row 4. One of several look-like-graves-but-completely-unmarked plots that pepper the graveyard. Are these graves or just random piles of rocks?
Bottom Left: Row 6. "Will DeLoge - Killed Playing Cards - 1883" Located between the graves of M. McCarty and Lester Moore. Previously marked Unknown and recorded in the Nunnelly text as "Unknown - Murdered - 1884."
Bottom Right: Row 11. There is no pile of stones here, but the plot, if it is one, is located evenly between the graves of George Hand and Two Chinese and is not mentioned in the text. The simple wooden cross placed gently on a rock reads only "Helen Florence Andrew."