Famous graves in Arizona: Big Nose Kate, Cochise and other notables

Every grave tells a story. Here are some of the people, and their stories, buried in Arizona.

Big Nose Kate

She was born Mary Horony in Hungary but her tombstone in Prescott reads Mary K. Cummings. She had a few names along the way but most people remember her as Big Nose Kate, paramour of dentist turned gunslinger John “Doc” Holliday.

The couple met in Fort Griffin, Texas, in 1877 where Kate was working as a prostitute. They formed a relationship — often turbulent — and traveled together the next few years.

After the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, which Kate claimed to have witnessed from the window of their boarding house, she and Holliday went their separate ways. In later years, Kate lived in Globe, Cochise and eventually ended up as a housekeeper in Dos Cabezas.

In 1931, the 80-year-old Kate became one of the first female residents admitted to the Arizona Pioneers’ Home in Prescott. She lived there until her death, five days shy of her 90th birthday. She’s buried at the Arizona Pioneers’ Home Cemetery, 1300 Iron Springs Road, Prescott.

MORE:Who's buried in Scottsdale?

Cochise

Even though the Apache leader resented encroachment of his homeland, he was a pragmatic man. At first he tolerated the influx of Anglo settlers eager to explore lands newly acquired by the United States after the Mexican-American War.

The tenuous peace was probably always doomed but the spark that ignited outright violence occurred in 1861 when Cochise was detained and falsely accused of kidnapping a rancher’s son. In the ensuing years, Cochise and his warriors raided settlements and fought with soldiers who always seemed outmatched by the tactics of the Apaches.

Cochise honored a peace treaty forged in 1872 and remained on the short-lived Chiricahua Reservation until his death two years later. He was buried among the granite outcroppings of the Dragoon Mountains in an area now known as Cochise Stronghold. Tom Jeffords was the only white man to know the location of Cochise’s grave but never revealed the secret.

The Cochise Trail near Tombstone climbs the toothy Dragoons to the stronghold and gives visitors a chance to see why these mountains were so cherished by the Apaches.

Details: Coronado National Forest, 520-364-3468, www.fs.usda.gov/coronado.

Tom Jeffords

Theirs was one of the most remarkable friendships of the Old West — and one that affected the course of history.

Tom Jeffords was an Army scout, Indian agent and prospector who formed a close bond with Apache leader Cochise. Jeffords was able to arrange a meeting between Gen. Oliver Howard and Cochise. In 1872, a treaty was signed that allowed the tribe to stay on their homeland and ended a decade of bloody conflict.

Jeffords died in 1914 and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery, 3015 N. Oracle Road, Tucson.

MORE:Who's buried in Surprise?

Warren Earp

The youngest Earp did not join his brothers for that fateful walk through the streets of Tombstone in October 1881 that ended in a blaze of gunfire near the O.K. Corral.

Later, after Virgil was shot from ambush and Morgan was murdered while shooting pool, Warren Earp saddled up with his brother Wyatt for the famous Vendetta Ride, tracking down the men they deemed responsible.

Warren landed in Willcox where he worked as a stage driver and had a few scrapes with the law. By all accounts he was a disagreeable, quarrelsome sort.

On July 11, 1900, Earp and John Boyett, a local rancher, argued in the Headquarters Saloon. It ended with Earp dead on the floor, a bullet through his heart. Despite the fact that Earp didn’t have a gun, Boyett was not charged with a crime. It seemed no one was unhappy with the outcome.

Warren is the only Earp buried in Arizona. His final resting place is Pioneer Cemetery, 454 N. Third Ave., Willcox.

MORE:Who's buried in Glendale?

Lt. James Barrett

The westernmost battle of the Civil War took place in the shadow of Picacho Peak because brash Lt. James Barrett didn’t follow orders.

With Confederate troops occupying Tucson, a column of Union soldiers approached Picacho Pass, guarded by a handful of rebel sentries. Wanting prisoners, the Union captain sent Barrett around the mountain to cut off escape.

Instead, Barrett charged the Confederate encampment. Saddles were emptied in the first volley and fierce fighting ensued. Finally, the Union patrol withdrew and the Southerners slipped away. There would be no surprise attack on Tucson.

Barrett paid for his insubordination with his life. He was one of three Union soldiers killed. All were buried where they fell. The bodies of the two enlisted men were later moved but the lieutenant was never found. He sleeps on the valley floor beneath the creosote and poppies to this day.

A stone memorial to Barrett was erected in 1928 and later moved to Picacho Peak State Park. It sits along the Civil War Trail, a short,easy loop with signs and maps.

Details: Picacho Peak State Park is about 60 miles south of Phoenix at Exit 219 of Interstate 10. $7 per vehicle. 520-466-3183, azstateparks.com/picacho.

John Heath

In 1884, a mob took John Heath out of a Tombstone jail and strung him up from a telegraph pole.

As the alleged mastermind of a robbery in Bisbee, Heath had been sentenced to life in prison, which the locals considered too lenient. The robbery had resulted in three deaths, including that of a pregnant woman, and became known as the Bisbee Massacre.

The coroner’s report declared that Heath died from “emphysema of the lungs — a disease common in high altitudes — which might have been caused by strangulation, self-inflicted or otherwise.”

Heath’s grave is in Tombstone’s infamous Boothill Graveyard. It’s near those of the five men convicted of committing the robbery and killings. They were legally hanged a month after Heath’s sudden passing.

Details: Boothill Graveyard, 408 State Route 80, Tombstone. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. $3 per person, free for age 15 and younger. 520-457-3300, www.tombstoneboothillgiftshop.com.

MORE:Who's buried in Phoenix-area cemeteries?

Hi Jolly

When Lt. Edward Beale was building a wagon road across the Southwest in the late 1850s, his column included 22 camels. It was an experiment to see how the beasts would do in harsh American terrain.

Driving the lead camel was Syrian-born Hadji Ali, nicknamed Hi Jolly by the soldiers. After the expedition was complete, Hi Jolly kept a few camels and operated a freighting business. He eventually released the last camel near Gila Bend.

He lived in Quartzsite until his death in 1902. He is buried there at the Hi Jolly Cemetery, at Elsie and Hi Jolly lanes. A stone pyramid topped by a camel marks his grave.

More grave sites

• George W.P. Hunt, Arizona’s first governor, occupies a tomb on a butte in Papago Park overlooking the Phoenix Zoo. His wife, her parents and sister keep him company.
• The grave of Jacob Waltz, in Pioneer & Military Memorial Park in Phoenix, is easier to find than his mine. The German-born prospector, better known as the Dutchman, claimed to have found a rich gold mine in the Superstition Mountains and people have searched for it ever since. The historic cemetery is open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursdays at 1317 W. Jefferson St. www.azhistcemeteries.org.
• Charles Poston is buried beneath a pyramid-shaped monument atop a hill near Florence. Called the Father of Arizona for his efforts to procure Arizona’s territorial status, Poston died in 1902.
• The men who died in the Gunfight at the O.K Corral — Billy Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury — lie side by side by side in Tombstone’s Boothill Graveyard.
• Joseph Bonanno, Mafia crime boss, is buried at Holy Hope Cemetery, 3535 N. Oracle Road, Tucson.
• The grave of Mattie Blaylock, the common-law wife of Wyatt Earp who died from an overdose of laudanum and alcohol, is in the cemetery of Pinal City, a ghost town west of Superior.

Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com. Or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RogerNaylorinAZ or Twitter @AZRogerNaylor.

READ MORE:

• Who's buried in Valley cemeteries? | Scottsdale cemeteries | Surprise cemeteries 
• Glendale cemeteries | Mesa cemeteries | Chandler cemeteries | Tempe cemeteries

Meet Roger Naylor

Arizona Republic contributor and author Roger Naylor has two upcoming presentations. Both include a slide show, Q&A session and book signing.

• He will discuss his latest book, "The Amazing Kolb Brothers of Grand Canyon" at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, at Rim Country Museum in Payson. The museum is at 700 S. Green Valley Parkway. 928-474-3483, www.rimcountrymuseum.org.
 
• Naylor will also talk about his Kolb Brothers book at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at Tempe Public Library, 3500 S. Rural Road. 480-350-5500, www.tempe.gov/city-hall/community-services/tempe-public-library.