Hello,
My husband's family here in North Carolina pronounces the name "Arp". I ran across a man from the Wilson, NC area a few years back and he has done extensive research on the Earp family for his wife (who was the "real" Earp. He said that he learned that the original pronunciation was "Arp" according to sources that he has uncovered through the Wake Forest University archives. It was through years of missed pronunciations and then the movie industry that the pronunciaiton was changed to ERP. I don't know if there is any validy to this, however, I heard it from other non related sources. I am a visiting/heritage craftsman in the NC State Fair Village of Yesteryear (living history facility) each Fall at our State Fair and my last name always generates a lot of comments. There are many Earps from all parts of the country who just happen to be visiting and stop by for a visit. Others too have heard that Old Wyatt himself pronounced it Arp. It doesn't matter to me, I'll answer to ANYTHING!
Just curious if others had heard this before. If I can locat the man, I'll get his E-mail address so others may communicate with him.