Mattie Blaylock was a woman who lived a turbulent and short life in the Wild West. She was the common-law wife of the famous lawman and gambler Wyatt Earp for about six years, but she was abandoned by him after the notorious Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. She died of a suspected suicide by opium poisoning at the age of 38. This article will explore the life and death of Mattie Blaylock, and how she became a forgotten figure in the history of the American frontier.
Early Life and Meeting Wyatt Earp
Mattie Blaylock was born as Celia Ann Blaylock in 1850 in Johnson County, Iowa. She grew up on a small farm with her parents and two sisters, who were strict and religious. She was unhappy with her life and yearned for adventure and freedom. When she was 18, she ran away from home with her younger sister Sarah, but soon found out that life was not easy for young women in the 19th century. She became a prostitute and worked in various towns along the Kansas-Iowa-Missouri border area. She adopted the name Mattie, probably to hide her identity from her family.
She met Wyatt Earp in 1876 in Dodge City, Kansas, where he was a deputy marshal and a gambler. Earp had just ended his relationship with another prostitute named Sally Heckell, who called herself Sally Earp. Mattie and Wyatt became romantically involved and moved in together. They lived as common-law husband and wife, although they never legally married. Mattie followed Wyatt wherever he went, from Dodge City to Deadwood, South Dakota, to Tombstone, Arizona. She was loyal and devoted to him, but he was not faithful to her. He had affairs with other women, including the actress Josie Marcus, who would later become his third and final wife.
The O.K. Corral and the Breakup
In 1881, Wyatt Earp and his brothers Virgil and Morgan were involved in a famous shootout with a group of outlaws known as the Cowboys at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone. The gunfight lasted only 30 seconds, but it left three Cowboys dead and three Earps wounded. It also sparked a feud that resulted in more violence and deaths, including the assassination of Morgan Earp in 1882. Wyatt Earp and his surviving allies embarked on a vendetta ride to hunt down and kill the Cowboys who were responsible for his brother’s murder.
Mattie Blaylock was left behind in Tombstone, along with Josie Marcus, who was the mistress of the Cowboy leader Johnny Behan. Mattie hoped that Wyatt would return to her, but he never did. He chose Josie over her, and they left Arizona together in 1882. Mattie was heartbroken and felt betrayed by Wyatt. She tried to contact him, but he ignored her letters and requests for money. She also suffered from headaches and depression, and became addicted to laudanum, a narcotic painkiller that contained opium.
Death and Legacy
Mattie Blaylock drifted from town to town, working as a prostitute and a cook. She ended up in Pinal City, Arizona, where she lived in a tent with another woman. On July 3, 1888, she took a lethal dose of laudanum and alcohol. Her death was ruled as “suicide by opium poisoning” by the coroner. She was buried in an unmarked grave in the Pinal Cemetery.
Mattie Blaylock’s relationship with Wyatt Earp was largely hidden from the public by his later wife Josie, who wanted to protect his reputation and hers. Josie also wrote a memoir that portrayed Wyatt as a hero and omitted Mattie’s existence. Mattie’s story was rediscovered by historians and biographers in the 1950s, when they found a coroner’s report for “Mattie Earp” and a deathbed confession in which she said, “Wyatt Earp had ruined my life.”
Mattie Blaylock was a woman who loved and lost Wyatt Earp, and who paid a high price for her choices. She was a victim of the harsh realities of the Wild West, and a forgotten figure in the history of the American frontier.
