In the high desert of Arizona, just northwest of Tombstone, rests the tombstone of Edward Schieffelin (1847–1897). It is about 25 feet tall in the shape of a prospector’s claim. Its inscription reads: “Ed Shieffelin, died May 12, 1897, aged 49 years, 8 months. A dutiful son, a faithful husband, a kind brother, a true friend.”
What it doesn’t mention is “a determined prospector.” The symbolic shape of the tombstone, however, may make that claim quite clear.
Schieffelin’s father, Clinton, had caught the fever of the California Gold Rush and left Pennsylvania for the West Coast in 1852. Four years later, he called the family to join him. By the age of 10, Schieffelin had caught the fever as well and began panning for gold. He showed his first find to his uncle, who informed him it was actually “fool’s gold.” No matter. Schieffelin kept his sights on prospecting.
When he turned 22, he left the family in Oregon for the prospecting trail. Over the next 12 years, his hope for gold, silver, or some precious mineral took him to California’s Surprise Valley and Owens River, then the Great Salt Lake, southern Nevada, Idaho, and finally the Grand Canyon. Throughout this time of finding practically nothing, Schieffelin had to earn his “grubstake” somehow, often by doing wage labor such as driving mules.
After disaster befell him at the Grand Canyon, where an accident caused the loss of his boat and equipment, as well as the tragic drowning of a companion, Schieffelin left the Grand Canyon to join his brother, Albert, in Nevada. But soon he was affected by a literal fever and returned to Oregon to receive care from his family. In a matter of weeks, though, he recovered and asked his father for $100 to return to prospecting: This time he went to Arizona.
In 1877, Schieffelin joined a group of Hualapai Indian scouts who were hired by the Army to help against the Apache. It was another way to earn his “grubstake” so that he could also prospect the area. The scouts and Schieffelin were stationed at Camp Huachuca (now Fort Huachuca) about 15 miles north of the Mexican border. When not scouting, Schieffelin began prospecting the hills. It is assumed that it was Dan O’Leary, the civilian guide for the scouts, who told Schieffelin the only thing he would find in the hills was his tombstone. Indeed, he did.
He made what he thought was a promising “float”―pieces of ore that held silver. No one believed it was promising. He staked his claim anyway. He traveled to northern Arizona to find Albert at the McCracken Mines and convince him to come back with him. His brother wasn’t a believer either.
No one believed until the assayer for the McCracken Mines, Richard Gird, arrived and agreed to assay Schieffelin’s find. He liked what he saw and wished to begin prospecting immediately.
The three men made verbal agreements to split the finds evenly. They traveled to Schieffelin’s claim and began prospecting. The find proved tremendous. In a short amount of time, the Schieffelin brothers and Gird discovered massive veins of silver that started a silver boom. As word spread, others came pouring in—but not until the Schieffelin brothers were able to sell their claims for a total of $600,000. Gird decided to remain a while longer. When he sold, he stayed true to their verbal agreement, giving the Schieffelin brothers approximately $132,000.
Schieffelin remembered what he had been told at Camp Huachuca. He named his claim Tombstone, and the resulting city adopted the name. Despite going from poverty to incredibly wealthy, Schieffelin still continued prospecting. The fever never left him until he died in 1897. Even in death, however, he wished to be buried at his claim in prospector clothes, alongside his pick and canteen. His family and friends abided by his wishes. The 25-foot-tall tombstone can still be visited just outside of the city of Tombstone.
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