Mattie Blaylock - Wikipedia [2] He began campaigning and the Prescott Miner reported on October 6, 1874, that "J.H. Death of Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp, widow of Wyatt Josephine wanted to keep what she viewed as their tarnished history in Tombstone private. Blaylocks early childhood consisted of little more than Sunday school and strict adherence to contemporary household rules, and her parents subscribed to the notion that sparing the rod would spoil the child. Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp (1860 - December 19, 1944) was the common-law wife of Wyatt Earp, a famed Old West lawman and gambler. Blaylock left Colton and returned to Pinal City, but the silver boom had died out and the bulk of the town's population had moved on. Much of her life from about 1874 to 1882 (when she lived in the Arizona Territory) is uncertain; she worked hard to keep this period of her life private, even threatening legal action against writers and movie producers. "[2] Considering that Josephine reported in later life at having first arrived with the Markham Troupe on December 1, 1879, and that Josephine joined Behan in Tombstone that same year, her reference to "my bad experience of a few years ago" means she must have been in Arizona for some time before 1879. Instead, Earp left Colorado in late 1882 and arrived in San Francisco where Virgil was seeking treatment for his arm. [118], Beginning in about 1994, critics began to challenge the accuracy of the book, and eventually many parts of the book were refuted as fictional. Much of what is known about Blaylock and her life is legend, and after her early death, she became a secret piece of Earps past and one of Wyatt Earps four wives. It is undisputed, however, that he was arrested in a brothel raid in 1872. [31], Other researchers have questioned what she did prior to 1883. Perhaps she became addicted to the substances and no longer knew her limits. The German Jews were usually more affluent, were better educated, and spoke German, while the Polish Jews, who spoke Yiddish, were typically peddlers and much more religious. I developed St. Vitus Dance and was unable to attend school very much again. Earp's former wife, Mattie Blaylock traveled with other Earp family members in April 1882, to Colton, California, waiting for Wyatt to telegraph her and invite her to join him. From 1891 to 1896, the Earps lived in at least four different locations in San Francisco: 145 Ellis St., 720 McAllister St., 514A Seventh Ave. and 1004 Golden Gate Ave.[70] After moving to southern California in about 1903, they also lived in several different locations. Let's save Wyatt's women for last and begin with Virgil, who is the second best-known Earp brother. At the age of 22, he entered the law enforcement profession by beating his half-brother Newton in a race for constable of Lamar Township, thirty-five miles north of Joplin, Missouri. [35] Married women of the era were expected to avoid working outside the home, or risk being considered "public women," a euphemism for prostitute. [2], The events that Josephine "Sadie" Marcus claimed took place when she was 18 years old in 1879 don't correlate with known facts, but do closely correspond to the events in 14 year old Sadie Mansfield's journey to Prescott in 1874. [112] Josephine died at age 83 on December 19, 1944, in the same bungalow she and Wyatt shared at 4004 W. 17th Street in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. [2] What is known for certain is that she traveled to Tombstone using the name Josephine Marcus in October 1880. [10], As a girl, Josephine loved going to the theater. [79][80][81], The Earps moved back to San Francisco in 1891[82] so Josie could be closer to her family. The family was settled at a farm near Iowa. While Sarah would turn back within months after life on the road proved difficult, Blaylock forged ahead and adopted the name Mattie.. Mattie was considered Earps common-law wife and in the 1880 census, the 30-year-old was listed as Mattie Earp, wife of Wyatt Earp. On July 3, 1888, she took a lethal dose of laudanum in Pinal City, Arizona. Josephine eventually sold virtually all of her jewelry to Baldwin. [26]:49 In a set of extraordinary coincidences, Sadie Mansfield and Sadie Marcus had very similar names and initials and were known by their friends as "Sadie." Of the countless prospectors who rushed west to mine silver, only a few became rich. Her father was a baker. Mattie Blaylock (left) and Wyatt Earp (center) as portrayed by Dana Wheeler Nicholson and Kurt Russell in. [71]:117 Other researchers and writers aren't even sure she was in town that day. While Blaylocks first few years as a drifter are largely undocumented, by around 1872, she was working as a prostitute in Fort Scott, Kansas, then later settled in Dodge City where shed meet Earp. [70]:59 The next month, in July 1881, Josephine Behan was reported to be leaving Tombstone by stage. [111] She received some royalties from the movie and one-half of the royalties earned by Stuart Lake's book about her husband. In 1939 Josephine sued 20th Century Fox for $50,000 in an attempt to keep them from making the film titled Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. Her confusing recollection of events show how easily Josephine mixed fact and fiction. [27]:117[61] In Josephine's version of her life story, she left San Francisco to join Behan to Tombstone in October 1880,[62] and was hoping he would fulfill his promises to marry her. They arrived while the city was recovering from the disastrous earthquake of October 21, 1868. Researchers have found that the two names share extremely similar characteristics and circumstances. [8] She had been using laudanum and alcohol to excess for some time. Eventually, she ended up in Dodge City, Kansas. Retrieved on June 20, 2011. Legend states she never heard from Wyatt again. Celia, or "Celie" as she was known as a child, attended Sunday school, learned Biblical parables, and was taught to live by the Ten Commandments. I can remember shedding many tears in out-of the way-corners. They recorded events in her life but found Josephine was evasive about her early life in Tombstone. Boyer and other modern researchers argue that she actually lived with Behan. Earp developed a reputation as a sportsman as well as a gambler. She met Wyatt in 1881 in the frontier boom town of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, when she was living with Johnny Behan, sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona. Earp and partner Charles E. Hoxie built the Dexter Saloon, the largest in Nome. The Markham troupe is documented as leaving San Francisco on board the Southern Pacific Railroad, not a ship nor a stagecoach, in October 1879 for Casa Grande, Arizona, the end of the line. It was a working-class, ethnically mixed neighborhood, where smoke from factory chimneys filled the air. [11], Throughout her later life, Josephine worked hard to manage what the press and public knew about her and Wyatt's life in Arizona. [92][93] Although gambling was illegal, the police were paid by John Considine, owner of the three largest gambling concessions, to look the other way. [1] She was their third child and second daughter. [36]:101, In a remarkable set of coincidences, the known life of Josephine Sadie Marcus overlapped the life of an otherwise unknown prostitute named Sadie Mansfield. [citation needed]. [2], Later that same month, on October 24, 1874, the Arizona Miner reported, "Al Zieber, Sergeant Stauffer and a mixed command of white and red soldiers are in the hills of Verde looking for some erring Apaches, whom they will be apt to find." Blaylock was said to have suffered from headaches, and while in Tombstone, Arizona, she became addicted to laudanum, a then-common opiate and pain killer. Around the age of 16, she left home with her younger sister, Sarah, and moved west. His second wife was Mattie Blaylock, who became addicted to pain killer medicine. The nine-man jury found her not guilty. [21] No public record of their marriage has ever been found. After her death, historians have conflicting views of how Earp spent his time. [17], Josephine finally changed her mind and asked Wyatt's cousins to burn their work, but Cason held back a copy, to which Glenn Boyer eventually acquired the rights,[116][117] and is now in the custody of the Ford County Historical Society in Dodge City. Wyatt Earp took up with the beautiful, young Sadie, even as his drug-addicted wife, Mattie, lay in bed with crippling headaches. Enchanted by a performance of Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. "[20] While Blaylock was living with Earp, she suffered from severe headaches and became addicted to laudanum, an opiate-based pain reliever widely available at the time. For Josephine Earp, the pen was mightier than the sordid. She said that she had believed Behan was planning to marry her, but he kept putting it off, and she grew disillusioned. Now after this I'm not going to redeem any more of your jewelry." Wikimedia CommonsMattie Blaylock ran away from home when she was 18. [43] (In the 1920 census, Sadie reported to the census taker that her family was from Hamburg, Germany, bordering Prussia. Josephine had to walk past the brothel every day on her way to school. But was apparently restless there. A few women of the era chose to remain single as a means to maintain their independence from men, and Josephine was among them. Later in life Josephine described her first years in Arizona as "a bad dream". Actor Kevin Costner, who played Earp in the 1994 movie Wyatt Earp, offered to buy a new, larger stone, but the Marcus family thought his offer was self-serving and declined. There, she met Wyatt Earp around 1873 and soon became his romantic companion. Wyatt Earp had a total of three wives. [18]:36, During the later years of her life, in addition to burnishing the life and legend of husband Wyatt Earp, "she scripted a history of make believe to hide a number of things of which she was not terribly proud. Her poor lifestyle would see her age out of favor, while her laudanum addiction saw her die of suicide by opium poisoning on July 3, 1888. Grace recalled that Josie, who had never had many domestic skills, did very little housekeeping or cooking for Wyatt. Born Celia Ann Blaylock in 1850 in Johnson County, Iowa, she was raised on a small farm near the town of Fairfax. The divorce also cited Behan's threats of violence and unrelenting verbal abuse. Corral is quiet, and it's had an unremarkable existence for the two years it's been standingalthough . [98]:83 Wyatt and Josie Earp summered in Los Angeles and lived in at least nine small Los Angeles rentals as early as 1885 and as late as 1929, mostly in the summer. She approached several publishers for the book, but backed out several times due to their insistence that she be completely open and forthcoming, rather than slanting her memories to her favor. Previously, Matties grave was unmarked. She also told the Earp cousins that Pauline Markham had a maid named Julia. After Morgan Earp was killed in March 1882, Virgil, along with the Earp women, escorted his body home to Colton, California. She met Wyatt in 1881 in the frontier boom town of Tombstone in Arizona Territory, when she was living with Johnny Behan, sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona. [54] In 1874, 14-year-old Sadie Mansfield worked under the watchful eye of Madam Josie Roland as a prostitute in a brothel on Granite Street, between Gurley and Alarcon streets, and near the Yavapai County Courthouse where Sheriff Behan worked. Wyatt Earp along with his brothers and their wives move to Tombstone to start a new life putting his life as a lawman and gunslinger behind him. The family was forced to move in with Josephine's older sister Rebecca and her husband Aaron "south of the slot" (south of Market Street) at 138 Perry Street between 3rd and 2nd at Harrison in a tenement on the flatlands. Grace Spolidora was a teenager during the Earp's many visits to her family's home near Needles, California and sometimes went to San Diego with them. She Lied About Everything, except Marrying Wyatt Earp - Messy Nessy Chic [21], Wyatt died on January 13, 1929. She was the third of six children born to parents Henry and Elizabeth Blaylock. This was the same date that Wyatt Earp and his brothers arrived. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. Blaylock continued to work as a prostitute. Mattie was considered Earp's common-law wife and in the 1880 census, the 30-year-old was listed as Mattie Earp, wife of Wyatt Earp. Wyatt never sent for her and she moved to Pinal, Arizona, where she resumed life as a prostitute, eventually committing suicide by taking an overdose of laudanum. He was reputed to own a six-horse stable in San Francisco,[74] although it was learned later that the horses were leased. Three days later, Sieber and Sgt. She enjoyed some brief success as a juvenile actress on the San Francisco stage during the 1870s. As the oldest, Martha Jane Blaylock was the first to be married in 1860, when she was 17. Blaylocks teenage years featured community picnics and barn dances that she and her sisters enjoyed. Corral, during which Wyatt and his brothers killed three Cochise County Cowboys. Tombstone Ending Explained: Legend Passes Into Cinema [27], Josephine is quoted in I Married Wyatt Earp that she received a letter and $300 from her father, urging her to return to San Francisco. Josie had two miscarriages during her life and was apparently unable to have children. "[19], As late as 1936, Josephine took legal action to suppress certain details of her and Wyatt's life in Tombstone. Finding Behan in bed with the wife of a friend of theirs, she kicked him out. In 1868 she ran away from home at age 16, taking her 13 year old sister Sarah, with her. He became a deputy before settling in Dodge City as assistant marshal. They likely headed west to one of the growing towns along the Kansas-Iowa-Missouri border area. In the 1880 United States Census Blaylock is listed as Wyatt's wife though there is no record of a legal marriage. Earp developed a reputation as a sportsman as well as a gambler. Doc Holliday saved Wyatt's life in Dodge City. She often appeared on stage and in publicity photos wearing a corset and pink tights: shocking attire for the 1870s. In the summer of 1878, Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate, said to be his wife, arrived in Dodge City intent on relieving the cowboys who had recently arrived at the end of a cattle drive of their hard-earned wages. At this point, Matties profession was listed as keeping house. [25] She would not even talk about the key events of 188182, their key years in Tombstone. Wyatt Earp: Tombstone, Siblings & OK Corral - History This podcast is dedicated to Nick's wife, Linda. The moment came between March and October of 1868, when the two adult sisters left town without money or permission from their parents. Celia Ann Mattie Blaylock was a prostitute and the common-law wife of Wyatt Earp, a western frontiersman famous for his participation in the 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Josephine is quoted in I Married Wyatt Earp as saying that on October 26, 1881, the day of the shootout at the O.K. This family lived only a few blocks from where Josephine lived with her family. She was peculiar. [1] She maintained a relationship with Johnny Behan's son, Albert Price Behan, whom she had grown to love as her own son. [26]:4748, In February or March 1879: The Prescott Weekly Journal-Miner reported that John Behan was visiting San Francisco. It is a very good read and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about the life and times of Wyatt Earp. In the 1880 United States Census Blaylock is listed as Wyatt's wife though there is no record of a legal marriage. Pinafore more than a dozen times from December 24, 1879 through February 20, 1880. [6] They traveled via ship to Panama, went over the Isthmus of Panama, and caught a steamship to San Francisco. Blaylock's relationship with Earp was rediscovered by Earp researcher John Gilchriese and author Frank Waters in the 1950s, when they uncovered a coroner's report for "Mattie Earp", and a deathbed conversation in which she told someone, "Wyatt Earp had ruined my life. [42]:275298 In December 1883, they visited Galveston, Texas, and in March 1884 they were in Salt Lake City. In spite of my bad experience of a few years ago the call to adventure still stirred my blood. [11], Josephine thought Johnnys marriage proposal was a good excuse to leave home again. He lost an election for Mohave County deputy sheriff in Gillet in 1879, but was elected as Mohave's representative to the Tenth Territorial Legislature. She took the unusual step of asserting in her divorce petition that Behan "at divers times and places openly and notoriously visited houses of ill-fame and prostitution at said town of Prescott. Earp begins an affair with a . That's why Mattie started taking laudanum for her headaches, which was a 19th century cure-all for everything, from colic to menstrual cramps. [citation needed], Josephine told others that when she and her friend Dora arrived in Arizona she learned that "some renegade Yuma-Apaches had escaped from the reservation to which they had been consigned and had returned to their old haunts on the war-path." One was Lawrence Kasdan's sober biopic with Costner in the lead role, simply called "Wyatt Earp," which was beaten to the punch and box office receipts by "Tombstone."Directed by George P. Cosmatos, the man who brought us "Rambo: First Blood Part II," the film became a popular modern Western classic, hitting the broad beats of true historical . They had an estimated $80,000, a relative fortune (equivalent to about $2,610,000 today). But, no other corroborating evidence has been found supporting the thesis that Josephine used May Bell as a stage name, and she never claimed so. Their farm lay near a main railroad stop where drifters asked for food and water. [28] When Stuart Lake was researching his book Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal he heard stories about Sadie's personal history. Wyatt Earp, one of the most famous figures to emerge from the colorful 19th-century history of the American West, is best remembered known for his participation in a notorious 1881 gunfight at. In my confusion, I could see no way out of the tragic mess.
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