ANNIE OAKLEY (AKA PHOEBE ANN MOSEY/MOSES)

ANNIE OAKLEY (AKA PHOEBE ANN MOSEY/MOSES)

Annie Oakley (aka Phoebe Ann Mosey/Moses)

(1860 – 1926)

Synopisis from Buffalo Bill Center of the West website

Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann “Annie” Mosey/Moses on August 13, 1860, in Darke County, Ohio, but would perform before royalty and presidents alike.

When Annie was six, her father, Jacob Moses, died of pneumonia leaving her mother, Susanna/Susan Wise Mosey/Moses, with six children. Annie’s mother remarried in 1866 but her second husband, Daniel Martin Brumbaugh (1810-1870), died soon after, again leaving her with a new baby (Emaline Brumbaugh, 1868-1937).

Between the ages of nine and about 14, Annie went to live with Superintendent Edington’s family at the Darke County Infirmary, which housed the elderly, orphaned, and the mentally ill. In exchange for helping with the children, Annie received an education and learned to sew from Mrs. Edington, which she would later use to make her own costumes. Perhaps this early experience of working in such a sobering place aroused Annie’s lifelong compassion for children.

When Annie returned home, Annie’s mother had married a third time to Joseph Shaw (1802-1887). Family finances however, continued to be marginal. Annie used her father’s old Kentucky rifle to hunt small game for the Katzenberger brother’s grocery store in Greenville, Ohio, where it was resold to hotels and restaurants in Cincinnati, Ohio. Annie was so successful at hunting that she was able to pay the $200 mortgage on her mother’s house with the money she earned.

Her noted shooting ability brought an invitation from Jack Frost, a hotel owner in Cincinnati who had purchased her game, to participate in a shooting contest against a well-known marksman, Frank E. Butler (1847-1926).

Butler was on tour and while on the road, he offered challenges to local shooters. Annie won the match with 25 out of 25 shots. Butler missed one of his shots. This amazing girl entranced Butler, and the two shooters began a courtship and they marriedn August 23, 1876.

Annie and Frank Butler first appeared in a show together May 1, 1882. Butler’s usual partner was ill and Annie filled in by holding objects for Frank to shoot, and doing some of her own shooting as well. It was at this time that Annie adopted the stage name of “Oakley.”

At a March 1884 performance in St. Paul, Minnesota, Annie met Lakota leader, Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull was impressed with Oakley’s shooting, her modest appearance, and her self-assured manner. They became fast friends. He named her “Little Sure Shot.”

In 1884, the Butlers joined the Sells Brothers Circus as “champion rifle shots,” but only stayed with the circus for one season. In 1885, they joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. This was a significant turning point in Annie Oakley’s life and in her relationship with Butler. Until this time either Butler had received top billing or they had shared it. However, with the Wild West, Oakley was the star. It was her name on the advertising posters as “Champion Markswoman.” Butler became her manager and assistant. Oakley and Butler prospered with the Wild West and remained with the show until 1901.

In 1887, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West toured England joining the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. When the show opened, Oakley received a lot of press due to her shooting skills and presence. It also helped her increase her collection of shooting medals, awards, and trophies.

In 1913, the couple retired, settling in Cambridge, Maryland. While in Cambridge, the Butlers welcomed a new partner, their dog, Dave. Dave was a constant companion to the Butlers. When they returned to the arena, Dave was to become an important part of the act—one trick was Annie shooting an apple from the top of Dave’s head. In 1917, they moved to Pinehurst, North Carolina. That same year, Buffalo Bill Cody died. Annie Oakley wrote a touching eulogy for Cody, and the passing of a golden era.

The United States was pulled into World War I in 1917, and Oakley offered to raise a regiment of woman volunteers to fight in the war. She had made the same offer during the Spanish-American War; neither offer was accepted. She volunteered to teach marksmanship to the troops. Oakley gave her time to the National War Council of the Young Men’s Christian Association, War Camp Community Service, and the Red Cross -- Dave being the “Red Cross Dog.”

Oakley began making plans for a comeback in 1922. Attracting large crowds in Massachusetts, New York, and major cities, she had plans to star in a motion picture. Unfortunately, at the end of the year, she and Butler were severely injured in an automobile accident. It took Oakley more than a year to recover from her injuries. By 1924, she was performing again, but her recovery did not last long. By 1925, she was frail and in poor health. She and Butler moved to her family’s hometown in Ohio. They attended shooting matches in the local area, and Oakley began to write her memoirs, which were published in newspapers across the country.

In 1926, both Annie Oakley and Frank Butler died -- Annie on November 3 and Frank on November 21. Both died of natural causes after a long and adventuresome life.