Mary Ann Oatman (1843 – c. 1855) was the sister of Olive Oatman. She is notable for surviving a gruesome attack on her family, “the Oatman Massacre” by south-western Native Americans who, according to historian Brian McGinty, were likely Tolkepaya, of the Yavapai, in what is now Arizona. Mary Ann and her sister Olive were both abducted. Following their abduction, the sisters were traded to the Mojave tribe. The date of her death is uncertain. According to Olive Oatman, Mary Ann died of starvation as a result of a severe drought. Early Life and The Journey from La Harpe to Bashan Mary Ann Oatman was the fourth of seven children born to Roys and Mary Ann Oatman, for whom she was named. She was born in 1843 in La Harpe, Illinois. The Oatmans were early converts to the Latter Day Saints Movement, more commonly referred to as Mormonism, founded by Joseph Smith in the 1820s. After Smith’s death in 1844, Brigham Young became the new leader of the movement. As the result of the succession crisis over this change in leadership, several new sects of the Latter Day Saints Movement splintered from the main organization. The Oatmans joined one of these sects, known as the Brewsterites. The Brewsterites were founded in 1837 by James Colin Brewster and differed from the original movement in several distinct ways. At age eleven Brewster claimed to have had visions given by an ancient Hebrew prophet named Esdras. In these visions, he was told that Joseph Smith was a liar, and that the church must be reorganized with him as the leader. Unlike Smith’s teachings, Brewster’s sect forbade the practice of polygamy. Further, Brewster also claimed his visions allowed him to know “directions to the Mormons’ true ‘gathering place.’” The Saints “would build their ‘Zion’ at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado rivers, at a place Esdras referred to variously as the ‘Land of Bashan...’” Believing that they were immigrating to a divine country, the Oatman's set off from Illinois to Arizona on August 9th, 1850. The trip began with James Brewster and fifty Brewsterites. After some tensions on the trail, the group split Brewster and his followers headed over the Sangre de Cristos toward Santa Fe and the Oatmans, Thompsons, Wilders, Meteers, and Kellys heading toward the Rio Grande valley. Thirty-two members stayed with Brewster while eighteen members followed the Oatmans. The Oatman