b'Jews in the Old WestPART 3 By Alan RockmanT he Jewish ancestry ofand told (Lieutenant) Bigelow what I had found. We yet another German- all went to the spring and the Lieutenant searched the born, early Arizonapockets of the dead man and found a memorandum prospector and pioneer, Henrybook, but it did not contain his name. We learned Wickenburg - yes, the manafterward that his name was Goldbaum, and that he who founded the very town ofhad lived in Tucson and had been prospecting up in Wickenburg is even murkier.the Whetstones (Rochlin, Harriett, and Fred, Pioneer This writer had an e-mailJews, p.33).exchange with his friends at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum and according to the curator staffTOMBSTONE - THE JEWISH CEMETERY this is a record of Henry Wickenburg\'s baptismalON BOOT HILL, A BRIEF NOTE OR TWO certificate on hand at the museum. Like Ehrenberg,ABOUT JOSIE EARP, AND THE STORY OF he was apparently baptized into the Lutheran faith.JIM LEVY (LEAVY) "THE IRISH JEWISH ("I cannot find any evidence that would suggestGUNFIGHTER" WHO KNEW WYATT EARP that Henry Wickenburg was Jewish, however, thereAND BAT MASTERSONis documentation showing that he was baptized aWell now turn to Tombstone - where the Jewish Lutheran in Prussia," Dr. Eduardo Pagan, Curator,experience was much more profound than just tales Desert Caballeros Western Museum, correspondenceabout Josephine Marcus Earp and how she snagged with the writer.) Wyatt. First off, one of the very first sights visitors driving down from Tucson will discover as they It is always possible that there was a conversion todrive up the hill leading into that deceptively quiet Christianity at some point in his family line, butformer mining town is the famous Tombstone Boot there is very limited information about his family inHill Cemetery with its row-upon-row of the graves of Prussia.However, as in the case of Ehrenberg, theresome of the famous and mostly not famous residents does remain the possibility that Wickenburg\'s familyof the town. To the surprise of many, almost dead chose conversion as a means for career advancement(pardon the pun) center is the Jewish Cemetery!or avoidance of the virulent Antisemitism in pre-World War I Prussia. It was Wickenburg whoAnd what is even more interesting is that for almostHenry Wickenburgdiscovered the famous Vulture Mine, and like the100 years historians pooh-poohed the idea of Jews Goldwaters in Prescott and Phoenix and the Jacobs inbeing buried in the Tombstone Boot Hill cemetery - let Tucson he not only served in the Arizona Legislaturealone having a section all to themselves. That is, untilshot and killed in ambush - a fate suffered also by but was also quite instrumental in the futurefairly recent times when some amateur historiansthe better-known and more notorious gunfighter development of a sleepy mining community into theroaming through the cemetery came across a cairnJim Levy, both of whom were buried outside of "The Most Western Town in Arizona." Wickenburg(a large set of stones surrounding a granite marker)Tombstone. Phillips was able to return fire and fatally was involved in building the first church in the townwith Hebrew lettering on it, and searching a bit furtherwound the miscreant before succumbing to his that bears his name - and also bringing the railroad tobehind the cairn they came across a separate Jewishwounds. While his killing took place months after town - a railroad that would bring President Williamsection of graves. It is not too far away from the gravesWyatt and Doc left town, there is an interesting OK McKinley to Wickenburg in a brief town visit whileof Marshal Fred White, killed by Curly Bill Brocius, anCorral connection in the fact that Deputy Phillips was, Henry Wickenburg was still alive. Sadly Wickenburgincident that directly led to the ascension of the Earpat the time, serving under Wyatt Earp\'s rival - both too, like Herman Ehrenberg, met up with a violentBrothers, and those of the McLaury brothers, killed byromantically and politically, Cochise County Sheriff end.While his death is ruled as being a suicide, therethe Earps and Doc Holliday in that famous gunfight.Johnny Behan!is a belief that he may very well have met up with foulIt was soon established that there were indeed Jews play (Wikipedia entry).buried in Tombstone, even as far back as the time of theAnd speaking of Johnny Behan. . .OK Corral incident (there is a "Mr. Rosenthal" buried And for another prominent Wickenburg Jewishthere in October 1881 - roughly around the time of theMore about Jim Levy or Leavy further down the settler, miner, and one-time (1870) Justice of thegun battle - no, he wasn\'t involved in the fight nor wasnarrative - but for now, there\'s Josephine Marcus Earp, Peace Marcus Goldbaum, there would be tragedy. he a casualty of the gun battle) (Warshaw, Eileen B.,arguably the most famous of the Jewish residents Goldbaum, now retired and having moved south toWhat Became of the Jews of Tombstone, Jewish Life). of Tombstone, the woman who was at first Johnny Tucson, chose to go mining in Apache territory inBehan\'s gal pal and later, the paramour and wife of Southern Arizona in the summer of 1886a timeAt the time of the famed gunfight at the OK CorralWyatt Earp.when the Apache were on the warpath and were(October 1881) the population of Tombstone stood being pursued by General Crook. An army searchat over 5,300 men, women, and children, and ofThis writer does not intend to delve in detail into party found his body in the Whetstone Mountains,those 300 to 500 were Jews. If you took that higherthe life of Josie Earp as not only have there been presumably killed by Geronimos band or anotherfigure that meant at least 10% of Tombstone\'scountless books written about her and Wyatt and group of hostile Apache. His grisly fate and those ofpopulation were of Jewish origin - a fairly hightheir life together (which may not have been a "bed of his pets were noted by one of the soldiers, E. L. Vail: percentage considering both the Tombstone androses" - or happily ever after as the historical narrative the general Arizona population as a whole. Theysuggests) furthermore, much of what Wyatt and Josie When I reached Apache Springs, close beside it Iwere merchants, bankers, clothiers, restaurateurs,wrote in their books must be taken with a grain of found the body of a man who had been murdered bytheatrical impresarios, and miners. While Tombstonesalt as both tended to exaggerate and embellish their the Indians, and as a grim joke, they had killed hisnever boasted a synagogue, there are, according tolives and particularly their life together. And whenever little black dog and laid it by his side. They had alsoSouthern Arizona Jewish Historian Eileen Warshaw,challenged or questioned both Wyatt and Josie often killed a large white burro which was still tied to itsevidence of services being held in town. threatened legal action. It is no secret that it was Josie stake. The mans cabin nearby had been ransacked,who upset with what Stuart Lake had written about flour, beans, and everything Indians did not wantAnd yes, there were Jewish lawmen too - a deputyher, pretty much prevented the publishing of his Wyatt were scattered about. I at once went back to the troopby the name of Kiv Phillips patrolling the town wasEarp biography while Wyatt Earp was still alive. Its 18 September 2023'