Carole Thayer was an American businesswoman who owned the Soledad silver mine in Tombstone, Arizona during the Wild West era. In 1884, she married the gambler and duelist Raoul de Morency, leaving Tombstone with him and marrying him.
Biography[]
Thayer talking to De Morency at her mine
Carole Thayer was married to the owner of the Soledad silver mine in Tombstone, Arizona, and she had an unhappy marriage to him due to his obsession with silver. One day, her husband insisted on doing a showing with a few Native Americans rather than wait for workers to gauge the mine's safety, and he was killed when the mine collapsed on him. Thayer, now widowed, inherited her husband's prosperous silver mine, which drew in $80,000 a month. In 1884, she met the French gambler and duelist Raoul de Morency in St. Louis, and De Morency began to romance her; Thayer invited him to return to Tombstone with her, and De Morency stayed at Thayer's house. De Morency repeatedly attempted to convince Thayer to marry him, secretly desiring her wealth.
Thayer and De Morency leaving Tombstone together
When Sheriff Clay Hollister showed her a telegram from St. Louis revealing that De Morency was a serial gambler and duelist who had killed four men in pistol duels, Thayer grew enraged at the idea that De Morency might not love her simply because of her beauty, said that she already knew about De Morency's past, and asked Hollister how many men he had killed and since when gambling was a crime. She then angrily told Hollister to leave her home. Thayer later bore witness to De Morency's duel with the Tombstone Epitaph editor Harris Claibourne and his subsequent duel with Sheriff Clay Hollister, and Hollister forced De Morency to leave town and forego his vengeance against Claibourne, or else he would use the shot he withheld during the duel to shoot De Morency in the right wrist and end his dueling and gambling careers. De Morency accepted Hollister's terms and apologized to Thayer, but Thayer, who was smitten with him, agreed to leave town with him. The next day, the two bade farewell to the Sheriff and Claibourne, with De Morency apologizing to the two men and announcing that he and Thayer planned to marry. They then left Tombstone for good and started a new life together.