Dockroyd Bronte was born at Thornton in 1819, just prior to the Bronte family moving to Haworth. The midwife who delivered him was called Mrs Sponson, but she was transported to Botany Bay the following month for child-stealing, and so will not be mentioned again.
A sickly child, nevertheless from an early age Dockroyd showed great prowess with his father's pistol, regularly firing it from his sick-bed at the rooks in Haworth churchyard, and on more than one occasion setting fire to the curtains with the muzzle flash.
By 1828, medical knowledge had advanced considerably, to the extent that Dockroyd's ailment could be diagnosed. It was found that he was allergic to heather pollen. There being no cure at the time, and with the Parsonage being situated at the edge of the moor, it was decided to send Dockroyd to America, where the air was of a more wholesome nature. He left Haworth for ever in 1830.
Arriving in Atlanta in the Spring of 1831, Dockroyd's health improved immediately, and for the first time he was able to attend school. This was greatly to his liking, and he made rapid progress, often gaining top marks in exams.

 

 

 

 

In 1837 Dockroyd left school and began work in a laundry. It was about this time that he began evening classes in dentistry. He gained his doctorate two years later, and decided to move West and seek his fortune.

"Doc" Bronte as he was now known, set up business as a dentist in the small frontier town of Tombstone in 1840. His was a bustling little practice, but despite pressure of work, he still found the time to practice pistol shooting, often nipping out into his garden at the back of the surgery and loosing off a dozen well-aimed shots at stray cats. Doc also took a keen interest in local affairs, being on the committee of the Tombstone Dahlia Society and Membership Secretary of the Model Railroad Club.

After a hard day's toil at the surgery extracting molars, Doc liked nothing better than to pop down to the local saloon, "Fat Betty's" and relax. He could be found there most evenings, talking railways and gardening with his cronies over a milk stout. He had a wide circle of friends, the closest of whom were Wyatt Earp, a keen gardener who was also the Sheriff of Tombstone, and another medical man, Doc Holliday, who had an extensive railway layout in his waiting room. The three men were inseparable, and were often to be found having informal shooting competitions in a local quarry.

 

 

 

One evening in 1880, Wyatt had an idea. Why not, he postulated, combine gardening and railways by building an outdoor layout? His chums immediately agreed and work was started the next weekend on a piece of spare land on the outskirts of Tombstone. However, the leader of the Arizona Cattle Rustling Union objected as the garden railway obstructed the entrance to his ranch, the OK Corral. Ike Clanton was an unpleasant fellow and his family equally odious, and night after night the garden was wrecked, lines pulled up and shrubs uprooted. The three pals did their best to repair the damage but it was a wasted effort.

Things finally came to a head in 1881 during Bowling Tide. Doc Bronte, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday decided to have it out with Ike Clanton. However, the Clanton gang were having a barbecue outside the OK Corral and saw them coming up the drive. Mistaking the intentions of the three buddies, the Clantons opened fire on them. In the ensuing gun battle, Doc Bronte was hit by a hail of slugs, and fell, mortally wounded, into a horse trough where he drowned.