Tombstone Bank Ledger Signatures - Earps, Clanton, McLaury and more

[Rube Burrows]

I found these in my files from a while back and thought I would share them here. Some of you maybe have seen these but they are from an 1881 signature book that the Bank used to verify signatures. Lots of well known signatures in here.

[Rube Burrows]

You'll see that Big Nose Kate actually signed Kate Holliday

[Rube Burrows]

Here you can see that W. R. McLaury is in town after his brothers were killed.

[Coal Creek Griff]

I hadn't seen those before. Thanks!

CC Griff

[Rube Burrows]

I hadn't seen those before. Thanks!

CC Griff

You're most welcome.

[DB Books]

That's outstanding! First time seeing their actual signatures! How came you to own such a cool relic? Auction house? I've picked up some rare, interesting rifles from the auctions and estate sales.

[Rube Burrows]

That's outstanding! First time seeing their actual signatures! How came you to own such a cool relic? Auction house? I've picked up some rare, interesting rifles from the auctions and estate sales.

I wish I owned this but I don't. I seen the images at on an auction website and it was my first time seeing them so I figured others would enjoy seeing them also.

[DB Books]

we most certainly did! Thank you!

[The original bad bob]

Very cool Rube

[G Bulldog Grainisland III]

Most cool! Thank you for sharing

-Bulldog

[Oldgold]

Neat. I'm surprised some of the Cowboys could write so well.

Of course we know Johnny Rino could speak Latin. 

[St. George]

The 'real' Old west was a corucopia of folks - very few lived up to the ill-educated men so often portrayed by the 'reel' Old West.

Hollywood has its tropes - like the face-to-face showdown in the street, the 'knight errant' lawman, the pretty dance hall girl, the gang of gun toughs - none of which had parallels in the true story - folks that made their way West were tough and pragmatic and much of the killing done was by ambush - often with a shotgun.

Why?

Because these guys weren't stupid and knew that their pistol skills weren't nearly up to the efficacy of a double-barrel, especially face-to-face, and the average man had served in the Civil War, was used to killing and had no compunctions about ridding the place of unpleasantness that might interfere in his life.

If 'Billy Badass' strutted into town loaded for bear - a'la a SASS shoot - he'd've been blown out of his saddle, using the excuse 'He needed killin'...'

That said - most of those on the frontier 'wanted' to learn to read - remember the schoolhouse scene in 'The Cowboys', you'll have seen two old waddies in the back of the class, learning basic schoolwork, because they wanted to be thought of as being educated, because an education was to be prized - it was the mark of a serious man, and while 'making your mark' of an 'X' did suffice on a document - that man 'wanted' to do better, and given the chance, he would seek out the way to do so, and that way was to learn to read, and read they did - they read everything.

The newspapers came on the stage, or with freighters - they may've been dated, but they were read from cover to cover and were discussed at length.

Same's true of magazines - and 'penny dreadfuls' were common.

Arbuckle's Coffee even featured miniature copies of great works - Caesar and Euripides, and others - in the bags of beans - many a man learned to read by campfire light or in a bunkhouse in the winter - taught by his friends.

The 'real' Old West wasn't a cultural graveyard by a long shot, and the country profited as a result.

Scouts Out!

[The original bad bob]

Was that ledger in the bank building on Allen st that is now the visitors center?

[Rube Burrows]

I am not sure.