Virgil E. was Wyatt's nephew, the son of his half-brother Newton. He was named after Virgil W. Earp, oldest of the fighting Earp brothers (and the man who was actually in charge on October 26, 1881). Uncle Wyatt lived until 1929, so young Virgil would have been able to get to know him pretty well.
This episode was in 1958, the last season before the show was canceled in the rigging scandal. I have not been able to determine whether Virgil was fed the questions ahead of time, but they actually weren't that hard for anyone well read on the Old West.
For more insight concerning Virgil E. Earp, check out the story on the bottom righthand column of this 1905 edition of the San Francisco Call (link is here for better readability):
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