BJ’s Tombstone History Discussion Forum

I’ve read that after failing to establish his dental practice in Dallas, Doc traveled to Jacksboro, TX, to play poker and got into trouble there. My great-grandmother lived near Jacksboro (in a town called Holliday, NO relation) and I’ve been through that town many times. It’s just a wide spot in the road. A little drier than Dallas, but not by much. I think Doc got a lot of bad advice about climates from people. Hard to imagine he could scare up a profitable game in that community.

Doc Holliday’s travels… — B.J., Wed Jul 13 14:44
….. at least until about 1882 seem more related to him trying to find poker games without being arrested, jailed or fined. If you follow Holliday’s travels prior to Tombstone , he has a long and repeated... more
- Doc in Texas — Sarah Stegall, Sat Jul 23 11:27
- - Doc's Dentistry — B.J., Thu Aug 11 21:32
    appears more related to gaining income for the purpose of buying into poker games. Of course, this is nothing more than an educated speculation on my part.
- To Clarify… — Karen M, Wed Jul 13 23:51
  I was referring to when he left his dental practice in Griffin Georgia after being diagnosed. That was when he reportedly headed west, at least in part, for “drier climes” as advised by his doctor. Which... more
- - The incident at the river — Sarah Stegall, Sat Jul 23 11:21
    If the son of a white man prominent in the community killed a black kid right after the Civil War, he wouldn’t need to flee. He could reasonably expect to be acquitted—or not even charged—since the local... more
  - - “right after the Civil War” ??? — B.J., Sun Jul 24 22:08
      Sarah, have you ever heard of ‘temporal tunnel vision’ ? What you are describing did not occur until later, at least not until after the yankee occupation of Georgia ended.
  - - I wouldn't chance it during the reconstruction era (nm) — DL Staley, Sat Jul 23 21:37
    - - Re: I wouldn't chance it during the reconstruction era (nm) — B.J., Sun Jul 24 21:49
        Very accurate summary. The yankee occupation army had a very tight grip on the former confederate states. Basically it was a martial law environment with southerners being subjected to a military... more
- - Where are you Doc? — Eddie Lanham, Sat Jul 16 4:56
    Karen, At a young age, I became interested in Doc. We were both born in Griffin, and attended the same church. The preacher at the 1st Presbyterian told me that a famous man named John Henry Doc Holliday... more
  - - Thank you Eddie — Karen M, Thu Jul 21 22:30
      Apologies, I did not see your message until just now. I will keep an eye out for it, thanks for the heads up! So do you think Val Kilmer got the accent right? Or at least a feasible representation?... more
    - - Val — Eddie Lanham, Fri Jul 22 4:24
        His accent was more Charleston South Carolina. Hollywood seems to take accents to the extreme.
      - Re: Val — B.J., Thu Aug 11 21:02
        Years ago, one historian familiar with period local accents said that an accent could vary between northern and southern Georgia. I don't remember who posted that, but it was very interesting.

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