Byron Waters’ 1881 Run-in With Nicholas Earp

Among the legion of noteworthy and colorful personages in the rich history of San Bernardino County, three of those who occupied positions of prominence during the first century of the county’s existence, Nicholas Earp, Byron Waters and John C. Ralphs can all be said to hold their own when it comes panache and character.
All three were alpha males who left an indelible impression on the communities around them, which in more ways than one were shaped by their [character] and the forcefulness of their individual will.
As fate would have it, the three came together on the streets of San Bernardino in the late fall of 1881. Perhaps predictably, this resulted in something of a personality clash. All three survived, though one came out of it something the worse for wear, two sustained a blot on their legal records, and the resultant tiff is something still being talked about in San Bernardino nearly two score and a hundred years later.
On the basis o simply being the father of  legendary lawmen Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp, Nicholas Porter Earp earned his way into American history. But he was remarkable in his own right in a multiplicity of roles throughout his life, including serving as a lawman himself in the roles of a constable and justice of the peace, as well as as a farmer, cooper, teacher, bootlegger and wagon-master. as a akrable would earned his
Nicholas Earp was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina in 1813…
To read this exciting article, find a copy of the San Benardino County Sentinel, distributed in all 24 of the county’s incorporated municipalities and 47 of its unincorporated communities.

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