Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley (birth name Phoebe Anne Oakley Mozee, 13 August 1860 – 3 November 1926) was a United States sharpshooter in the American West.

Biography

She was the daughter of Quakers, Susan and Jacob Mozee (?-1866), who were from Pennsylvania. A fire burned down their tavern so they moved to a rented farm in Patterson Township, Darke County, Ohio. Her father fought in the War of 1812 and died in 1866 from pneumonia and overexposure in freezing weather. Annie was the fifth of seven children. Her mother remarried, had another child and was widowed a second time. During this time Annie was put in the care of the superintendent of the county poor farm, where she learned to embroider and sew. She spent some time in near servitude for a local family where she met with mental and physical abuse. When she reunited with her family, her mother had married a third time.

Related Topics:
Pennsylvania - Darke County, Ohio

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Oakley began hunting at the age of nine to support her siblings and her widowed mother. She soon became known as a marksman. After defeating a sideshow marksman named Frank E. Butler (1850-1926) aka Francis Butler, she married him in 1876 in Ohio, and became his assistant in his travelling show.

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They joined the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in 1885, and she was advertised as "Little Miss Sure Shot", a nickname given to her by Sitting Bull. Oakley had such good aim that she knocked the ashes off a cigarette in the mouth of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

Related Topics:
Buffalo Bill - 1885 - Sitting Bull - Cigarette - Kaiser Wilhelm II - Germany

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In 1901, she was badly injured in a railway crash, but recovered and resumed her career.

Related Topics:
1901 - Railway

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The musical Annie Get Your Gun is loosely based on the life of Oakley. From 1954 to 1956, Gail Davis played her in the Annie Oakley television series.

Related Topics:
Annie Get Your Gun - 1954 - 1956 - Gail Davis - Annie Oakley - Television

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