Olive Oatman: The Biography (A Complete Life from Beginning to the End)

History Hub presents a brief biography of Olive Oatman from beginning to end, whose remarkable story impacts our lives even today.

Olive Ann Oatman was born on September 7, 1837, in La Harpe, Illinois. She is the daughter of Royce and Mary Ann Oatman and was naturally introduced to the Mormon religion. When she was 14 years of age, they joined a cart train led by James Brewster, an individual from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Because of contradictions between the groups, they split close to Santa Fe, province of New Mexico. At the point when the gathering showed up in Maricopa Wells, Arizona, they understood that proceeding with the trip would be hazardous and unfruitful. A few families chose to remain aside from the Oatman family, who boldly moved with their journey alone. Much to their dismay, this trip would be their last since Native Americans slaughtered the entirety of the family close to the Gila River banks. The Yavapai clan abducted the Oatman sisters and regarded them as slaves in a town close to Congress, Arizona. After a year, the Mojave clan turned into their hero after the Yavapai clan exchanged the Oatman kin for horses, blankets, and trinkets.

In contrast to the Yavapai clan, the Mojave clan treated the sisters similarly and as though they are part of the family. The tribe welcomed them by inking their jawlines, a piece of their custom. Unfortunately, her sister died because of starvation when an outrageous dry spell occurred in Mojave town from 1855 to 1856. Later on, Olive found that Lorenzo, her sibling, endured the slaughter and searched for her and her sister, Mary Ann. The get-together of the two siblings made the feature over the West. Royal B. Stratton wrote a book about Olive and Mary Ann, which sold 30,000 copies and turned into one of the bestsellers during that time. Oatman continued carrying on with an ordinary life and got married to John B. Fairchild, a cattleman, in November 1865. They began the new chapter of their lives in Sherman, Texas, and adopted a young infant lady named Mamie. At 65 years old, Olive Oatman Fairchild passed away due to cardiovascular disease on March 21, 1903. Her remains lie at the West Hill Cemetery in Sherman, Texas.


Discover in this short yet concise biography the remarkable story of a life who impacted future generations. This book also contains 30 questions for an in-depth discussion into the life of Olive Oatman.

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