Mary Ann Oatman

Mary Ann Oatman (1844–1851) was the sister of Olive Oatman and a survivor of abusive abduction by an unknown tribe—possibly the Yavapai people, though many historians argue that it is impossible to know.[1]

Mary Ann Oatman
Olive (left) and Mary Oatman, Captivity of the Oatman Girls, 1857
Born1844
Died1851 (aged 6–7)
Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Parent(s)Royce Oatman, Mary Ann Oatman
RelativesOlive Oatman

Mary Ann Oatman was born to Roys Oatman and his wife, also named Mary Ann, in Illinois. The Oatmans were members of the Mormon religion. Believing that they were immigrating to a divine country, the Oatmans travelled to Arizona, where they were massacred by a tribe, possibly the Yavapai. The only survivors of the Oatman family massacre were Mary Ann, her sister Olive and brother Lorenzo, who had been injured and left for dead. He is known to have survived after finding a nearby settlement and receiving medical treatment.[2]

In 1851, the sisters were traded to the Mohave tribe for a couple of horses and bags of beans. The Mohave chief and his family welcomed the Oatman sisters with love and care, giving them food and providing them with a family life. Mary Ann after 3–4 years with the Mojave died of starvation during a famine in which many Mojave died as well. Olive stated that Mary Ann died "about a year" before her own release in 1856. The date of Mary Ann's death is significant because it suggests that the Oatman sisters had assimilated into the Mohave tribe; a team of men under the command of Amiel Weeks Whipple had been in the area in February and March 1854 to survey a railroad route, and the sisters had not communicated with them.[3] Shortly before dying, she tried to comfort her sister by telling her "I have been a great deal of trouble to you, Olive. You will miss me for a while, but you will not have to work so hard when I'm gone."

References
  1. Braatz, Timothy (2003). Surviving Conquest. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 253–4.
  2. Blattman, Elissa (2013), "The Abduction of Olive Oatman", National Women's History Museum
  3. McGinty, Brian (2014). The Oatman Massacre: A Tale of Desert Captivity and Survival. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 102. ISBN 0806180242
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