By Bradley G. Courtney

John Henry “Doc” Holliday’s two separate stints in Prescott in 1879 and 1880 weren’t noted in the local newspaper, the Arizona Miner. The first stretch was with Kate, who he sometimes called his wife. However, in the late winter of 1880, Doc broke it off with Kate, left Prescott, and returned to Las Vegas, New Mexico, for a few months. He returned to Prescott as a single man, probably in May. Doc then rented a room from businessman Richard Elliott, and was housemates with acting governor John Gosper.

In 1884, after a shooting incident in Colorado, Prescott locals would recall that Doc became a “well-known sporting man” during his two stays, meaning that the dentist turned full-time gambler made an impression on Whiskey Row. There’s no record regarding what saloons or other places Doc patronized, but we can be sure he went where faro was played.

The most notable thing Doc did in Prescott wouldn’t become well-known until the late 20^th century. He had one of the only two verified photographs of himself taken by a pioneer photographer named Daniel Francis “D. F.” Mitchell at his Capital Art Gallery at 147 North Cortez Street.

D. F. Mitchell of Massachusetts arrived in Prescott in June 1876 by stagecoach. By September the Miner reported that he was producing photographs of Arizona scenes, as well “[h]uman likenesses, true to nature, he makes a specialty of. Go and ‘secure the shadow.’” In the July 25, 1879, Miner, it was gratuitously reported that “D. F. Mitchell, the photographer, is kept quite busy making the handsome faces that are so great in this section of the world. Get your picture taken, and give it to your sweetheart.”

Most likely Doc stepped into Mitchell’s studio during his second and longer sojourn in Prescott in 1880. Did Mitchell know who Holliday was? Probably not. In the archives of Sharlot Hall Museum are many duplicates that Mitchell made of his photographs. Doc’s isn’t one of them. The raw truth, Holliday wasn’t yet the legend the famous shootout in Tombstone would make him. Of course there’s no way Mitchell could’ve predicted that his photograph of a dentist from Georgia would become his most famous.

The image went unnoticed for decades until in 1973, in a small privately published family history, In Search of the Hollidays by Albert Pendleton, Jr. and Susan McKey Thomas (who was related to Doc), it was revealed that there existed a full-length photograph of Doc that he’d sent to his mother’s sister, his Aunt Ella. And it was signed, “Yours truly, J. H. Holliday.” He may’ve had copies made, but there was only one in the family’s keepsakes almost 100 years after the photo was taken. Furthermore, on the back of the photograph was the name of the photographer, D. F. Mitchell of Prescott, Arizona.

A couple of observations can be made from the image. One, although Doc was only 28-years old at the time, he seems older. It’s well-known that he suffered from tuberculosis, and it had clearly taken a toll on him. This may explain why Holliday has often been portrayed by older actors in movies and television shows. Two, Doc’s apparel tells a story. He’s wearing a double-breasted paletot that a banker or lawyer may’ve dressed in at the time rather than what a flashy gambler or gunslinger may have worn. Those who knew him mentioned that this was typical of the man.

Doc Holliday finally made his way to Tombstone in September 1880 where eventually he became a key player in perhaps the most famous drama in Wild West history.

Brad Courtney wishes to thank Dennis McGowan for his help in researching D. F. Mitchell.

“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.