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Mattie Blaylock | |
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Born | Celia Ann Blaylock 1850 |
Died | July 3, 1888 | (aged 37–38)
Cause of death | Suicide by poisoning |
Other names | Celie |
Occupation | Prostitute |
Years active | 1873–1888 |
Spouse | Wyatt Earp (common-law husband) |
Celia Ann "Mattie" Blaylock (January 1850 – July 3, 1888) was a prostitute who became the romantic companion and common-law wife of Old West lawman and gambler Wyatt Earp for about six years. Knowledge of her place in Wyatt's life was concealed by Josephine Earp, his later common-law wife, who worked ceaselessly to protect her and Wyatt's reputation in their later years. 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."