The monument in what was formerly the A Mountain Cemetery for one Emmett Dolphus Kelly is impressive and commands interest from any visitor. This man must have meant a great deal to someone. A marker such as this is not erected to a person of no consequence.
The monument itself does not reveal the interesting history of Emmett Kelly and his brother Eugene A. Kelly. These early residents came to Brewster County in 1890 and purchased property from E. L. Gage. During the time frame when these men arrived in Brewster County, public lands were readily available for lease by the public. Eugene and Emmett owned and operated a cattle operation called "Kelly Brothers". As the Kelly Brothers, they leased public lands from the State of Texas in Brewster County in 1891.
These brothers were well acquainted with guns, violence, and death. For many years, their families who resided in DeWitt and Lavaca Counties had been involved in a vicious feud called The Sutton-Taylor Feud. This one claimed many lives and dispersed numerous other family members to "parts unknown". In the book The Taylor Party, (1992) by Eddie Day Truitt, the author examines and discusses this feud at length. Ms. Truitt chronicles the lives of various members of this family and the violence and often self-destructive life-style of the group. It is interesting to note from this publication that not many of the Kelly men lived to an old age. Emmett Kelly was only 40 years of age when he died in Alpine.
Both Emmett and Eugene were located in Runnels County in the 1880's and were involved in the cattle business. Could it be that these two men were continually moving westward from the dangers of their old habitations? Research reveals that the Kelly family members never quite felt free from being hunted.
Early criminal records of Brewster County reflect that these brothers continued a hard and dangerous life when they located in Alpine Various cases reflect arrests for gambling, disturbing the peace, carrying an illegal weapon..
So, on to the important question: How and why did Emmett D. Kelly die? Traditional stories in the Kelly family state that Emmett was killed in a saloon, but the reason for the killing was unknown. The old criminal cases in the basement of the Brewster County courthouse answered many questions about this incident. In case #161 State of Texas Verses Walter Jones, Jones was charged with the murder of one E. D. Kelly on May 22, 1892. The documents do not indicate that the murder actually occurred in the Buckhorn Saloon in Alpine, but family members state the saloon was the site of the murder. In addition to this, other of the criminal charges filed against these brothers were the result of incidents taking place in the Buckhorn.
In answer to the murder charges files against him, Walter Jones claimed that Kelly was being loud and abusive and used threatening gestures toward his gun. Jones claimed self-defense in the shooting. In following the progress of the case, one will discover that a series of events led to the total dismissal of all charges against Jones. As the main witness for the prosecution disappeared before the trial, the District Attorney could not go to trial. The case was concluded on March 9, 1893 and resulted in all charges against Jones being dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Eugene continued to reside in Brewster County and had other charges filed against him and did assault Walter Jones during that period of time.
Eugene, brother of Emmett, moved from Brewster County in 1898 and relocated in Ector County.