J.M. Kirkpatrick Dodge City Attorney and Abstrator

My great grandfather J.M. Kirkpatrick moved to Dodge City sometime around 1878 . His brother had proceeded him and owned the furniture store and mortuary there. J.M. became a prominent attorney and was well respected even serving as County Attorney for a time. 

He was the abstractor for all of the sales of property in the area and was said to be able to recall by memory all the transactions that took place in town over the many years he was in business. 

He and his brother Edward were there during the Dodge City Wars and told of knowing Wyatt Earp and the other gunfighters well. Their recollections were that those men were of the most vile sorts and they ran the gambling an prostitution in town also. J.M. was supposedly a Phoenix Lodge member and Wyatt Earp was said to play cards with them at the Lodge as  member also. 

He bought the abstract business from a man named Swineheart who moved to Creede Colorado and we met his great grandson and became friends before we had found that information out. Funny how that came about. 

Snake Whips - Boys Use Rattlesnakes For Whips

Bill and Bert Gillette were twin brothers born to my great grandfather A.R. Gillette. From the start, they were onery as can be and there are many stories to that affect. Here are two for your enjoyment.

They lived out south of Dodge on the farm and so, there were many rattlesnakes in those days. These boys liked to chase them down and grab them by the tale and whip them snapping their heads off.

One day, I think it was Bert, missed his timing and the snake came back and bit him and he almost died. Grandma Gillette laid down the law and there were no more snake snapping after that. They probably did it without her knowing. I knew them well and spend a lot of time with them in my childhood. They were godly men and kind and gentle as I recall. I knew Bill best of all as he spent time at my Grandmother Mable Hoofnagles house along with Alice Bradley.

Another time, Bill and Bert were going on a date and had their dates with them in the car. Traveling to Dodge to see a movie, they spied 8 skunks running down a well, They stopped the car and proceeded to climb down in the well and kill the skunks getting sprayed in the process.

In those days, a skunk would be worth as much as $1 for the hide and that was huge money. Probably in the depression or right before. They got back in the car, stinking to high heaven and drove on to town. The went in the show and the audience was going WHO EEEE>>>>WHOEEEE...but they sat through the whole thing and then went home.

Can you imagine their dates. We have never had to suffer like those people did and be hungry so its hard to imagine today.