Olive Oatman was one of seven children born in Illinois to a Mormon family. The family was traveling from Illinois to California with a company of Mormon Brewsterites. They were attacked by a small group from a Native American tribe. The Yavapais clubbed the family to death. All were killed except for three of the children: Lorenzo, Olive, and Mary Ann. Olive and her younger sister, Mary Ann, were captive for one year and then traded to the Mohave people.
About Olive Oatman in brief
Olive Oatman was one of seven children born in Illinois to a Mormon family. The family was traveling from Illinois to California with a company of Mormon Brewsterites. They were attacked by a small group from a Native American tribe. The Yavapais clubbed the family to death. All were killed except for three of the children: Lorenzo, age 15, Olive, age 14, and Mary Ann, age 7, taken to be slaves. Olive and her younger sister, Mary Ann. were captive for one year and then traded to the Mohave people. Five years after the attack, she was repatriated into American society. She had become an oddity in 1860s America, partly owing to the prominent blue tattooing of her face by theMohave, making her the first known white woman with Native tattoo on record. Her story was retold with dramatic license in the press, as well as in her own memoir and speeches. The town of Oat man, Arizona, is named after the family and the massacre that occurred therein. It has been said that the remains of the slain family were reburied several times and finally moved to a common grave in one common grave. In a detailed retelling which was reprinted over decades, he said, “We buried the bodies of father, mother, and babe in oneCommon grave in the river’s banks.” The Oatmans were killed on the banks of the Gila River about 80–90 miles east of Yuma, in what is now Arizona. In 1850, the family joined a wagon train led by James C.
Brewster, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose attacks on, and disagreements with, the church leadership in Salt Lake City, Utah, had caused him to break with the followers of Brigham Young in Utah and lead his followers to California. The party had reached Maricopa Wells, when they were told that not only was the stretch of trail ahead barren and dangerous, but that the Native Americans ahead were very hostile and that they would risk their lives if they proceeded further. The other families chose the southern route via Socorro and Tucson. They reached New Mexico Territory early in 1851 only to find the country and climate wholly unsuited to their purpose. The other wagons gradually abandoned the goal of reaching the mouth of the Colorado River. During the encounter, the Yavpais attacked the OatMan family. They became irate at his stinginess. After the attack,. Lorenzo awoke to find his parents and siblings dead, but he saw no sign of little Ann and Olive. He eventually reached a settlement, where his wounds were treated. Lorenzo eventually rejoined the train and three days later returned to the emigrant train and returned to his family. In 1851, the party of Brewsterite emigrants, numbering between 85 and 93, departed Independence, Missouri, on August 5, 1850. Dissension caused the group to split near Santa Fe.
You want to know more about Olive Oatman?
This page is based on the article Olive Oatman published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 09, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
