Will Rogers

This page relates to the humorist; for others with similar names see William Rogers (disambiguation).

Beginnings

Rogers was born in Indian Territory in what would later become the state of Oklahoma. His father was Clement Vann Rogers (1839-1911) and his mother was Mary America Schrimsher, both of whom were Cherokee. He used to quip that, "My ancestors didn't come over on the Mayflower, they were here to greet the boat!" Will grew up as a cowboy, with a special knack for rodeo tricks, including bareback horse riding and rope twirling.

Related Topics:
Indian Territory - Oklahoma - Cherokee - Mayflower - Cowboy - Rodeo

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He received sporadic formal education between 1887 and 1898, when he left home to become a cowboy on the Ewing Ranch in Lipscomb County, Texas, near the town of Higgins. For a time he attended the Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri. After managing his father's ranch from 1899 to 1902, he sailed for South America, where he spent five months with the gauchos of the Argentine pampas. Later in 1902, the still-restless Rogers sailed for South Africa, where he took a job breaking in horses for the British Army. While in South Africa, he began his show business career, where he joined "Texas Jack's Wild West Show", to be billed as "The Cherokee Kid".

Related Topics:
1887 - 1898 - Lipscomb County, Texas - Kemper Military School - Boonville, Missouri - 1899 - 1902 - South America - Gaucho - Argentine - Pampas - South Africa - British Army

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