Olive Oatman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Olive Oatman
Olive Oatman c. 1863
Born	Olive Ann Oatman September 7, 1837 La Harpe, Illinois
Died	March 21, 1903 (aged 65) Sherman, Texas, U.S.
Resting place	West Hill Cemetery
Nationality	American
Other names	Olive Oatman Fairchild, Oach
Alma mater	University of the Pacific
Spouse(s)	John Brant Fairchild ​ ​ (m. 1865)​
Children	Mary Elizabeth Fairchild (adopted)

Olive Ann Oatman (September 7, 1837 – March 21, 1903) was an American woman. She became famous for being captured by Native Americans when she was a teenager. This happened in the Mojave Desert area.

Olive was born in Illinois in 1837. Her family was traveling to California with a group called Brewsterites. A small group of Native Americans attacked her family. They killed many family members. Her brother Lorenzo was left for dead. Olive and her younger sister Mary Ann were taken captive.

They were held for one year by a group, likely the Tolkepayas (Western Yavapai people). Then, they were traded to the Mohave people. The Mohave treated them well. Lorenzo tried hard to find his sisters. Sadly, Mary Ann died from hunger. Olive stayed with the Mohave for four years.

Five years after the attack, Olive returned to American society. Her story became very popular. It was told in newspapers, books, plays, and movies. Olive became well-known partly because of the blue tattoos on her face. The Mohave people had given her these tattoos. This made her the first known white woman with Native tattoos.

Olive's Early Life

Olive Oatman was one of seven children. Her parents were Mary Ann and Royce Oatman. She grew up following the Mormon religion.

In 1850, the Oatman family joined a wagon train. It was led by James C. Brewster. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Brewster had disagreements with the church leaders. He decided to lead his followers, called Brewsterites, to California.

About 85 to 93 Brewsterites left Independence, Missouri, on August 5, 1850. The group split up near Santa Fe. Royce Oatman and other families took a southern route. They went through Socorro and Tucson. Near Socorro, Royce Oatman took charge of their group.

They reached New Mexico Territory in early 1851. The land was not good for their plans. Other wagons slowly gave up on reaching the Colorado River. The Oatman family eventually traveled alone. They reached Maricopa Wells. There, they were warned that the path ahead was dangerous. They were told that Native Americans in the area were hostile.

The other families decided to stay. But the Oatman family continued alone. They were attacked in what became known as the "Oatman Massacre." This happened near the Gila River in what is now Arizona.

The Oatman Family Attack

The Oatman Family Massacre site.

Mary Ann and Royce Oatman had seven children. Mary Ann was pregnant with their eighth child during their journey. The children were from one to 17 years old. Lucy Oatman was the oldest.

On the fourth day after leaving Maricopa Wells, a group of Native Americans approached them. They asked for tobacco and food. Royce Oatman did not have much to share. The Yavapais became angry. During the meeting, the Yavapais attacked the Oatman family. Most of the family was killed.

Only three children survived the attack. Lorenzo, who was 15, was left for dead. Olive, 14, and Mary Ann, 7, were taken as slaves.

After the attack, Lorenzo woke up. He found his parents and siblings dead. But he did not see Mary Ann or Olive. Lorenzo bravely tried to find help. He reached a settlement where his wounds were treated. He then rejoined the wagon train. Three days later, he returned to the site of the attack.

Lorenzo helped bury his family. He said, "We buried the bodies of father, mother and babe in one common grave." The ground was rocky, so they piled stones over the bodies. Lorenzo Oatman was determined to find his sisters. He never gave up searching for them.

Captured and Living with Native Americans

The Oatman Family grave.

After the attack, the Native Americans took some of the Oatman family's things. They also took Olive and Mary Ann. Olive later said her captors were Tonto Apache tribe members. But they were probably from the Tolkepaya tribe (Western Yavapais). They lived in a village in the Harquahala Mountains.

When they arrived, the girls were treated in a scary way. Olive thought they would be killed. But instead, the girls were used as slaves. They had to find food, carry water, and collect firewood. They were often beaten.

While the girls were with the Yavapais, another group of Native Americans came to trade. This group was the Mohave. The daughter of the Mohave Chief Espaniole saw the girls. She saw how badly they were treated. She tried to trade for the girls. The Yavapais refused at first. But the chief's daughter, Topeka, kept trying. She returned again to offer a trade.

Finally, the Yavapais agreed. They traded the girls for two horses, some vegetables, blankets, and beads. The Mohave took the girls. They walked for days to a Mohave village. This village was along the Colorado River. It is near what is now Needles, California.

The family of a Mohave leader named Espaniole took them in. The Mohave tribe was richer than the first group. Espaniole's wife, Aespaneo, and daughter, Topeka, cared for the Oatman girls. Olive often spoke of her love for these two women.

Aespaneo gave the Oatman girls plots of land to farm. A Mohave tribesman named Llewelyn Barrackman said Olive was likely adopted into the tribe. This is because she was given a Mohave nickname. Only those fully accepted into the tribe received such names.

Olive later said she and Mary Ann were held captive by the Mohave. She claimed she was afraid to leave. But this might have been influenced by Reverend Royal Byron Stratton. He helped publish Olive's story after she returned to white society. For example, Olive did not try to contact a large group of white people who visited the Mohaves. This happened while she was living with them. Years later, she met a Mohave leader, Irataba, in New York City. She talked with him about old times.

Anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber wrote about Olive's time with the Mohave. He said the Mohave told her she could leave for white settlements whenever she wanted. But they were afraid to go with her. They feared being punished for keeping a white woman for so long.

Another sign that Olive and Mary Ann were not forced to stay was their tattoos. Both girls had tattoos on their chins and arms. This was a Mohave custom. Olive later said she was tattooed to show she was a slave. But this does not fit Mohave traditions. Tattoos were given to their own people. They believed these marks helped them enter the land of the dead. Slaves were not tattooed. Also, Olive's facial tattoos were very even. This might mean she agreed to the tattooing.

Olive's notes from her lectures in the 1860s mention her younger sister. Mary Ann often wished to join their parents in a "better world." Mary Ann died of hunger while living with the Mohave. This was around 1855–56. Mary Ann was ten or eleven years old. It is said there was a drought in the area. The tribe had very little food. Olive herself might have died. But Aespaneo, the tribe's matriarch, saved her. She made a special gruel to keep Olive alive.

Olive later spoke kindly of the Mohave. She said they treated her better than her first captors. She likely felt like one of them. She was given a clan name, Oach. She also had a nickname, Spantsa. This Mohave word means "unquenchable thirst." She chose not to show herself to white railroad surveyors. They spent almost a week trading with the tribe in February 1854. Olive did not know her brother Lorenzo had survived. She believed she had no other family. The Mohave treated her as one of their own.

Olive's Return to Society

When Olive was 19, a Yuma Indian messenger named Francisco arrived. He brought a message from Fort Yuma. There were rumors that a white girl was living with the Mohaves. The fort commander asked for her return. Or, he wanted to know why she chose not to return.

At first, the Mohaves hid Olive. They did not want to give her back. They even denied that Olive was white. During the talks, some Mohave showed their love for Olive. Others feared punishment from white people. The messenger, Francisco, went to other Mohave homes nearby. Soon after, he tried again to convince the Mohaves. This time, he brought trade items. These included blankets and a white horse. He also warned that white people would destroy the Mohaves if they did not release Olive.

After much discussion, the Mohaves agreed. Olive was part of this discussion. She was then taken to Fort Yuma. The journey took 20 days. Topeka, the daughter of Espaniole and Aespaneo, went with her. Before entering the fort, Olive was given Western clothes. An army officer's wife lent them to her. Olive had been wearing a traditional Mohave skirt with no top. Inside the fort, Olive was greeted by cheering people.

Olive's childhood friend, Susan Thompson, later said Olive seemed sad when she returned. Susan believed Olive had married a Mohave man. She thought Olive had given birth to two boys.

However, Olive denied these rumors during her life. She said she was never married to a Mohave. She also said she was not mistreated by the Yavapai or Mohave. In Stratton's book, she stated that the "savages" never harmed her in an "unchaste" way.

Within a few days at the fort, Olive learned amazing news. Her brother Lorenzo was alive! He had been looking for her and Mary Ann. Their reunion was big news across the West.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1857, a pastor named Royal Byron Stratton found Olive and Lorenzo Oatman. He helped write a book about the Oatman Massacre and the girls' captivity. It was called Life among the Indians: or, The Captivity of the Oatman Girls Among the Apache & Mohave Indians. The book sold 30,000 copies, which was a lot for that time.

Stratton used the money from the book to help Olive and Lorenzo go to the University of the Pacific. Olive and Lorenzo traveled with Stratton. They promoted the book and gave talks. Olive was a unique sight. Her famous blue chin tattoo was visible. People came to hear her story and see the tattoo. She was the first known white American woman with a tattoo. She was also one of the first women to give public speeches.

In November 1865, Olive Oatman married John B. Fairchild. They met at one of her lectures in Michigan. Fairchild had lost his brother to a Native American attack in Arizona in 1854. This was when Olive was living with the Mohave. Olive and John moved to Sherman, Texas. It was a growing town. Fairchild started the City Bank of Sherman. They lived a quiet life in a large Victorian house.

Olive started wearing a veil to cover her famous tattoo. She also became involved in charity work. She especially helped a local orphanage. Olive and John never had their own children. But they adopted a little girl. They named her Mary Elizabeth, after their mothers. They called her Mamie. Olive's husband later tried to find and burn copies of Stratton's book.

Death and Lasting Impact

Grave Marker at West Hill Cemetery in Sherman, Texas

Olive's brother Lorenzo died on October 8, 1901. Olive lived less than two more years after him.

Olive Oatman Fairchild died from a heart attack on March 20, 1903. She was 65 years old. She is buried at the West Hill Cemetery in Sherman, Texas.

The town of Oatman, Arizona, is named after the Oatman family. It started as a small mining camp in 1915. Two gold prospectors found gold there. It was once a busy mining and gambling town. Later, it became a ghost town. Today, the town is a popular tourist stop.

The historic town of Olive City, Arizona, was also named in her honor. It was a steamboat stop on the Colorado River during the gold rush. Other places in Arizona named after the family include Oatman Mountain and Oatman Flat. Oatman Flat Station was a stagecoach stop from 1858 to 1861.

In Popular Culture

The character Eva Oakes in the TV show Hell on Wheels is loosely based on Olive Oatman. Eva was captured by Native Americans and has a blue chin tattoo. She was also raised Mormon. But there are not many other similarities between Eva and Olive's real life.

Novelist Elmore Leonard wrote a short story called "The Tonto Woman." It was about a white woman who was captured and tattooed like Olive Oatman.

In an episode of The Ghost Inside My Child, a family claims their daughter Olivia is the reincarnation of Olive Oatman.

In 1965, actress Shary Marshall played Olive Oatman in an episode of Death Valley Days. Tim McIntire played her brother, Lorenzo. Ronald W. Reagan played Lieutenant Colonel Burke. In the story, Burke helps Lorenzo search for his sister.

See also

In Spanish: Olive Oatman para niños