When people hear the name Wyatt Earp, they think of the Wild West.
They think of dusty streets, revolvers, outlaws, and the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
They think of one of the most famous lawmen in American history.
But few people know the name of the woman who stood beside him long before he became a legend.
Her name was Mattie Blaylock.
And while history turned Wyatt Earp into an icon, Mattie slowly disappeared into the shadows.
Yet for years, she was one of the most important people in his life.
This is the story of the woman history forgot.
Before The Legend
Long before Hollywood movies, bestselling books, and television shows transformed Wyatt Earp into a symbol of the American frontier, he was simply a man trying to survive.
Life had already dealt him a devastating blow.
In 1870, Wyatt married a young woman named Urilla Sutherland. Their happiness was short-lived.
Only months after their wedding, Urilla died from typhoid fever while pregnant with their child.
The loss shattered Wyatt.
Friends later described him as a man consumed by grief.
Unable to cope with the tragedy, he drifted across the expanding American frontier, taking whatever work he could find.
