Annie Oakley

 

by:  Emerson

My real name is Phoebe Ann Moses, but you can call me Annie Oakley. Even though I came from humble beginnings, I became the best sharpshooter around!

I was born in Ohio on August 13, 1860, in Ohio. Sadly, my dad died when I was five, leaving my mom poor with 6 kids. She remarried twice and had more children, but I had to live at the county poorhouse for several years. I didn’t get to go to school, so I learned to read and write as an adult. We were so hungry, one day I took my dad’s old gun and shot a rabbit for dinner. Turns out, I was a natural! I was so good, I sold small game to the local grocery store who resold the meat to hotels and restaurants in Cincinnati 80 miles away! I was so successful at hunting; I was able to pay my mom’s $200 mortgage at just 15 years old!

It was quickly discovered that I was talented enough to try my hand at competition shooting. Jack Frost, a hotel owner who often purchased my meat, invited me to a shooting contest against Frank E. Butler, who was known for doing tricks with his guns. I was only 16 years old at the time, but I beat him! I hit 25 out of 25 attempts, but Frank missed one, so he only got 24 out of 25 attempts. He was so smitten with me and my shooting skills, we ended up getting married August 23, 1876.

I met Chief Sitting Bull in 1884, and he really took a liking to me. He treated me like a daughter and is the one who gave me the nickname “Little Sure Shot”, due to my small stature and surprising accuracy. I was pretty small at only 5 feet tall and 100 pounds, but that didn’t stop me from being successful! Frank and I joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in 1885 and traveled the world. I got to be the star of the show and featured on all of the advertising posters! I learned how to sew as a child at the poorhouse, so I made all of my own costumes for the show. I even performed for Queen Victoria of England! Some of my famous acts included shooting a rifle over my shoulder using a hand mirror to see behind me, splitting playing cards in half along the edge while in midair and then filling the card with holes before it hit the ground, and shooting moving targets while riding a horse in a dress. I also shot corks out of bottles and glass balls out of the air. Another fun fact about me is I often gave lessons and taught many women how to shoot a gun properly.

After I died in 1926 at 66 years old, I continued to be quite famous! People wrote comics and books about me, created a TV show based off my wild west character, and even wrote a play called “Annie Get Your Gun”. It is so fun to see that my legacy has lived on!

Sources:

Annie Oakley: Little Sure Shot by Jennifer Kroll

Centerofthewest.org

Thehistorycenter.org