Olive Oatman: Survivor part 2

Olive Oatman, along with her sister Mary Ann had been captured by a savage tribe, while the rest of her family was massacred. As I mention in my last post, her father had decided to venture alone to their destination even though the rest of the wagon train preferred to heed the warning of others not to go further. His stubborn choice changed Olive’s life forever. If you missed part one about her early life, you can read my July post here. She and her sister were traded a year later to the Mohave tribe because the chief’s daughter, Topeka, saw they were being mistreated.

Closing of one chapter and opening another 

After fully assimilating into the tribe and living with them five years, her life changed again. Her brother Lozenzo, who survived the attack, had been searching for her. When he heard there was a white woman among the Mohave tribe, he asked the army for help. A messenger was sent and after threats of annihilation, Olive agreed to return to civilization. After reunited with Lorenzo, their story was printed in papers around the globe. The tattoo on her chin certainly made their tale popular. The siblings had no money, and this left them vulnerable.

 

Taken advantage of for money

In 1857, Reverend Royal Byron Stratton made a deal with the Oatman siblings to help write their story. A new genre was very popular at the time: survivors from Indian kidnappings. Stratton saw dollar signs. He co-wrote the book, changing any scenes that showed the natives as kind and caring. Whites at this time believed they were vicious savages, and that is what he portrayed in the book. It became a bestseller with 30,000 sales. Lorenzo and Olive went on a speaking tour promoting their book. Olive recounted stories from the book exactly as Stratton had written them. She was trying very hard to put her past behind her, but Stratton’s narrative haunted her.

She’d reconnected with a childhood friend. Susan Thompson shortly after her return to the white man’s world. Years later, Susan told others Olive was grieving a great loss with her return to her white family. She claimed Olive said she left a husband and two sons behind. 

One of many books of her life

We will never know for sure, as Olive often declared “to the honor of these savages let it be said, they never offered the least unchaste abuse to me.”. Which leaves the reader to interpret what that truly means. It was a difficult time to be a white woman who had been taken by Indians. Claiming slavery was less degrading than admitting you had married into another race.

Olive finds her protector

Olive continued to struggle with her new life when she met John Brant Fairchild at a lecture she and Stratton were giving in Michigan. By this time, Lorenzo had gotten fed up with the spectacle and abandoned the speaking circuit. John was just what Olive needed to set her free from Stratton’s hold on her.

John Fairbanks

They married on November 9,1865 in Rochester, New York. Fairchild, a wealthy rancher, had lost his brother during an Indian attack while on a cattle drive in Arizona in 1854, the same time Oatman was living among the Mohave. Interesting to note Stratton did not receive an invitation to the wedding. Olive cut all ties with him when she married. John even went so far as to burn copies of her book to help her move on. It is believed he encouraged Olive to part ways with the opportunist. John’s care for her made all the difference.

The Fairchild’s move

Olive and John Fairchild moved to Sherman, Texas, where his business savvy  brought them much success. He founded the City Bank of Sherman, and they lived a quiet life in a large Victorian Mansion. Olive wore a veil to cover her tattoo, not wanting to draw attention to it. Her favorite undertaking was charity work. She loved helping the local orphanage. The childless couple adopted a little girl, and they named her Mary Elizabeth after their mothers, but called her Mamie.

Her brother Lorenzo died on October 8, 1901. The two had grown apart over the years. She followed him in death on March 20, 1903, after suffering a heart attack. Her husband followed in 1907.

Olive’s mental health struggles

Olive struggled often with melancholy, seeking help for her mental condition, she traveled as far as Canada seeking a cure. Haunted by her past, and the trauma surrounding her families’ death, then being put on display, it’s no wonder she had a nervous breakdown. John did all he could to ease her burden as they sought help for her.

Honoring Oatman

Throughout the southwest there are towns named after Olive Oatman, as well as a marker where the massacre took place.

A mother’s heart

My thoughts are simple, from a mother’s perspective. If Royce Oatman had heeded the warnings of others, he and his family might have lived a long and happy life. And if Stratton hadn’t seen dollar signs and left Olive alone, she might have visited her Mohave family or returned permanently. But history shows us time and time again that pride goes before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction.

What are your thoughts regarding Olive Oatman and the various chapters of her life?

Cindy Ervin Huff is an Award-winning author of Historical and Contemporary Romance. She loves infusing hope into her stories of broken people. She is addicted to reading and chocolate. Her idea of a vacation is visiting historical sites and an ideal date with her hubby of fifty years would be live theater. Visit her website www.cindyervinhuff.com. Or on Social media:

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