Doc Holliday
"Doc" Holliday: A man in search of normality.John Henry Holliday, perhaps one of the most legendary gunfighters of the west, lived in reality a life built on necessity and simply followed it and made due with the blows that were dealt to him. Born August 14, 1851 to Alice and Henry Holliday, John Henry Holliday entered the world already at a disadvantage with a serious birth defect. The defect known as a cleft palate and a partially cleft lip, basically made suckling his mother's breast impossible. Dr. John S. Holliday, John's uncle and an accomplished surgeon, delivered John, cleared his air passages, and taught his mother the proper way to feed the him due to the defect. With out the aid and instructions of Dr. Holliday, John could have easily choked to death as was common with children that had this genetic defect. Ironically one of the tools to feed the young child effectively was a shot glass, which in many ways never left his side. At only eight weeks old John was under the careful care of his uncle once again. Dr John Holliday, along with family friend Dr. Crawford Long, operated on John's mouth and lip with success. This was only the beginning of a turbulent childhood that was
Doc then headed to Breckenridge where, while playing cards with a local gambler by the name of Henry Kahn, a fight broke out between the two men. This led to the destruction of his partnership with Dr. He assumed the alias of Tom Mackey in order to start a new life and, perhaps, calm the lifestyle that had kept his sickness active. Instead of going directly to Tombstone, he went back to Las Vegas to finalize some business affairs. Yet John's childhood was not only speech therapy, playing with his cousin Robert was his favorite activity and would persist to be for most of his young life. Although only ten years old John became the "man of the house" and with weapons ready at all times was well prepared to defend it. The verdict enraged Ike, Clanton, and his crew known as the Cowboys. The move most likely saved both his assets and his life, since General Sherman and the bluecoats went right through Griffin in their "march to the sea. This, coupled with pneumonia, which he caught several times, led to a fast decline in Doc's health. His father, Henry Holliday, did not help matters much by remarrying only three months after his mother's death to a neighbor simply eight years John's senior. Doc didn't let the paint dry in Cheyenne before he was off to Dead Wood where he spent the winter of 1876. Following his graduation in March of 1872, Doctor John Henry Holliday left Philadelphia and headed south, back to Atlanta, Georgia. This time with Billy Allen, who was looking to settle some old debts.
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