Annie Oakley

Courtney

Annie Oakley was born August 13, 1860. Her real name was Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee, but everyone just called her Annie. The name everyone knows her from, though, is Annie Oakley, and it came to be after she mad it big onstage. She was born in Patterson Township, Darke County, Ohio.

Annie never had any formal teaching, but ran free and wild and a kid. Her parents were Quaker, and they had seven children, of which she was the fifth. Her mother and father were originally innkeepers, but that quickly ended with a fire. They moved to Ohio to farm. Annie’s father died in 1866 from pneumonia and over-exposure to freezing weather. Annie’s mother promptly remarried and had another child, but her second husband died. After this death, Annie was sent to a poor county farm, where she learned to embroider and sew. She was sent away to another family, where she was mentally and physically abused. When she finally got back to her home, she found that her mother had remarried a third time.

Annie Oakley had many accomplishments, mostly to do with guns and horse riding. She was so good at shooting that Chief Sitting Bull dubbed her “Little Sure Shot”. She began shooting when she was nine, getting food for her poor family. Word was spread about how good of a shot she was, and soon she traveled to compete against a sharp-shooter, Frank E. Butler (1850-1926), Annie won the match, and his heart. They were soon married, and Annie became Frank’s assistant. But a little while later, Frank realized that Annie was better than him, so they switched places.

1885 was the year they joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, ran by Buffalo Bill Cody. She became well known all around America for the amazing tricks she could perform. She once shot a cigarette right out of the Crown Prince of Germany, Wilhelm’s mouth.

Inn 1901, Annie was in a sever train crash, and she suffered spinal injury. It slowed her down, and she was even paralyzed but Annie eventually made it out to perform again. When she was 62, she shot 100 clay targets in a row.

Annie Oakley died November 3, 1926 when she was 66.