Wednesday, August 8, 2001
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Wednesday, August 8, 2001 |
| 'Doc' Holliday
gets his day Saturday in Griffin
By CAROLYN CARY
You know him as Wyatt Earp's pal. History knows him as "Doc" Holliday, a former Fayetteville resident and dentist who went west for his health and took up cards, whiskey and a deadly handgun. Years after the famous 1881 shoot-out with the Clantons at Tombstone, Arizona's OK Corral, former Marshal Earp said of Holliday, "He was the most skillful gambler, and the nerviest, fastest, deadliest man with a six-gun I ever saw." The man a Denver newspaper of the day labeled as one of the West's deadliest gunfighters died 114 years ago in Colorado at age 35 of tuberculosis. He may be famous, but Fayette and Spalding county folks know him as Henry and Alice Jane Holliday's only son, John Henry, and they're throwing him a party in nearby Griffin Aug. 11 on the 150th anniversary of his birth. The celebration of his birth will take place at Jasmine's in Griffin at 6:30 p.m. this Saturday in the upstairs banquet room. Doc's parents, Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice Jane McKey (pronounced Mackey) took out their marriage license in Fayette County Jan. 8, 1849. She was living in south Henry County, and it is believed that is where they were married. They settled down in Griffin and their first child was Martha Eleanora. Unfortunately, she died at age 6 months and is buried in Griffin. Their next child and first son was John Henry, born Aug. 14, 1851. His baptismal certificate, on record at the First Presbyterian Church in Griffin, notes that on March 21, 1852, John Henry Holliday was baptized. The Holliday and McKey families emigrated to Fayette County from Laurens, S. C., in the late 1830s or early 1840s. In the 1850 Fayette County census, John Henry's grandfather was listed as a hotel keeper. Before John Henry was born, it had been determined that if the baby was a boy he would be named for his father. His uncle, Dr. John Stiles Holliday, a doctor in Fayetteville, was called to Griffin to deliver his nephew. It was evident at birth that the new boy had a cleft palate. Dr. Holliday taught Alice the proper way to feed her new son with the aid of an eyedropper and a small teaspoon. If not fed properly, the newborn could choke to death. The new father prevailed upon his brother to perform surgery as soon as the infant was able. Dr. Holliday sought advice concerning the future surgery from his wife's cousin, Dr. Crawford W. Long, the first physician to use ether as an anesthetic. When John Henry was 8 weeks old, the two doctors performed the successful surgery. Grateful for saving their son's life, the new parents named their baby for his physician uncle. Determined that her son would not speak with an impediment, Alice spent many hours teaching her son to speak sounds correctly. She was assisted in this endeavor by ladies of the First Presbyterian Church. Dr. John S. Holliday built the home in Fayetteville in 1855. The historic house, currently being remodeled, is just off the courthouse square on Ga. Highway 54 West. He had a son, Robert, who was just one year older than John Henry. The two were inseparable while growing up and both attended and graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, Doc graduating March 1, 1872. Near the end of the War between the States, Doc's father felt it best to move his family to south Georgia, near Valdosta. Soon after their arrival, Alice became ill and died Sept. 16, 1866. It is believed she died from tuberculosis. By the time Doc graduated from dental school, he too was beginning to feel ill, experiencing weight loss and a nagging cough. When it did not go away, and after considerable discussion with family members, it was decided he should go west for his health. Carrying a recommendation to a dentist in Dallas, Texas, in September 1873, Doc Holliday boarded a train and began his trip west, expecting to make his living as a dentist. Information for this article was taken from "Doc Holliday, A Family Portrait" by Karen Holliday Tanner; "In Search of the Hollidays" by Albert S. Pendleton Jr. and Susan McKey Thomas; and "The Chronicles of Tombstone" by Ben T. Traywick.
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