Before she became a global superstar, Annie Oakley was simply Phoebe Ann Mosey, a young girl relying on her remarkable ability with firearms to support her family by hunting. That raw talent eventually propelled her to become history’s most famous female sharpshooter and the premier attraction of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.
Dubbed “Little Sure Shot” by Chief Sitting Bull, Oakley captivated worldwide audiences and brought attention to the American Old West alongside her husband, Frank Butler.
This is the incredible true story of her life, her legendary shooting tricks, and the lasting legacy of America’s first female superstar. In the process, she used her great vision, dexterity, excellent eye-hand coordination, and ability to perform under pressure to do what we all dream of. She found a way to make a living doing what she loved.
Table of contents
Oakley’s Early Life
Phoebe Ann Mosey was born on a farm in the western part of Ohio (Darke County) on August 13, 1860. (Some texts note the family name was “Moses,” but Phoebe went by “Mosey.”) She was the sixth of seven surviving children born to her parents. Her father died when she was quite young.
To help provide the family with food, Phoebe set traps in the woods. One day when she was 6, she reportedly took her father’s gun and killed a squirrel. Over time, her aim became so good that almost all of the dead animals she brought home were shot through the head, leaving as much meat as possible available for consumption.
Her mother remarried but was widowed again. Phoebe (who seemed to go by Annie as a child) was placed in the care of the superintendent of the county poor farm. His wife needed help, and it was customary for young girls from poor families to be placed in another household for childcare and housekeeping. Annie did not like it where she was, but it must have brought the family a little money. It was also helpful to her mother to have one less child to worry about.
Eventually, Annie’s mother married for a third time. While the family was still very poor, Annie had the opportunity to return home again.
Annie never had time to attend school regularly. (While children who lived in a town would have attended a few years of school, many did not have that opportunity.) Instead, she hunted and helped with chores. She killed enough game that she could sell it to local hotels and restaurants. With this added income for the family, her mother worked to pay down the mortgage on the farm.
Locals Knew Of Her Shooting Ability
Over time, Annie’s shooting ability became well known. In 1875, 28-year-old marksman and traveling showman Francis E. Butler brought his act to Cincinnati, Annie was visiting her sister who lived nearby.
When Frank Butler arrived in any town where he was to perform, he usually made a bet for anyone in the community. He offered one hundred dollars to any of the local people who could shoot better than he could.
Annie was only 15 at the time, but a local hotelier knew what a good shot Annie was because he often bought game from her for the hotel restaurant. He arranged for the two to compete at a shoot-out in Greenville, Ohio. Annie won.
Butler was smitten. The two were married in June of the following year.
Started Married Life in Oakley, Ohio
Annie Mosey and Butler started married life in a section of Cincinnati known as “Oakley.” It was from there that she eventually took her stage name.
Butler continued to travel and perform as part of a two-man act, and Annie assisted. One day Butler’s partner was ill. Annie stepped in and soon became the favored performer.
In 1883, the Butler & Oakley act joined the Sells Brother Circus. Their reputation was becoming well known. When Bill Cody, the owner of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, heard about them, he determined to see the act for himself. Shortly after, he made Butler and Oakley an offer, and they all shook on it. That handshake deal lasted for 17 years.
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
In 1885, Butler and Oakley began performing in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Buffalo Bill soon began to give Annie higher billing in the Wild West Show ads. People loved hearing the stories of her dead-on marksmanship. It was even better if they could see her do it.
Annie sewed her own costumes so that she could look good but have freedom of movement. She made her skirts shorter than what were worn in that day, but she always wore leggings to be certain she never showed any skin.
In both 1887 and 1889, Cody took the entire show to England and Europe to perform. On their return, they performed at Madison Square Garden and in 1893, the Chicago World’s Fair.
Fame Comes at a Cost
Like superstars of today, Annie Oakley paid close attention to her reputation. Because her profession was not considered “feminine,” she knew that could be an issue so she dressed conservatively and went out of her way to appear as a proper lady.
In 1903, a careless newspaper reporter got wind of the arrest of a woman named “Any Oakley.” (The person arrested was a 28-year-old performer named Maude Fontanella who sometimes performed under the name “Any Oakley.”) The woman was arrested for stealing a man’s pants in order to buy cocaine. The reporter fixated on her stage name and ran with the idea that the woman arrested was “Little Sure Shot” herself.
In fact, Annie, age 48 at that time, and Frank were living in New Jersey. The couple was nowhere near Chicago, the site of the arrest. Hearst newspapers loved sensational headlines, so the Chicago newspaper ran the front page headline, “Famous Woman Crack Shot Steals to Secure Cocaine.” Papers across the country that took the Hearst wire service also printed the story.
The Sharpshooter Fires Back
Annie Oakley was devastated and furious. She later recalled, “The terrible piece nearly killed me. The only thing that kept me alive was the desire to purge my character.”
Oakley knew that an apology from the newspapers would not be satisfactory. She hired an attorney to take the newspapers to court. Many newspapers backed down immediately and published apologies.
William Randolph Hearst, however, doubled down. He refused to retract the story and hired private detectives to go to Annie’s hometown in Ohio to dig up dirt on her past. They found nothing, and she pressed on with her lawsuits.
Over the next seven years (1903–1910), Annie Oakley filed 55 separate libel lawsuits against newspapers across the country. The local news in each location gave the story ample coverage. Annie Oakley was big news. The lawsuits took time (she crisscrossed the country for court appearances), and the attorneys she hired were costly. Out of the 55 lawsuits, Annie won or settled 54 of them.
Ultimately, William Randolph Hearst’s company paid her $27,500 in damages (a massive sum at the time). Despite winning almost all of the cases, she lost money overall. The legal costs were considerable, and Annie Oakley was at the height of her earning power. With so much time in court rooms, it reduced her opportunity for paid appearances.
She never regretted it, however. Her reputation was everything.
How Good Was Annie Oakley?
How good at shooting was Annie? Remarkable.
She taught herself to shoot with both hands, and she could work interchangeably with a pistol, a rifle, or a shotgun.
At performances, glass balls were frequently the target of choice for marksmanship performances. One day, using a .22 rifle, Annie hit 4472 glass balls out of 5000 tossed for her.
And at a distance of 90 feet, Annie could shoot a dime tossed in the air. She also could slice the thin edge of a playing card and puncture the card with five or six more shots as it floated to the ground.
To see a very brief demonstration of Annie’s ability, click here. This was filmed in Thomas Alva Edison’s film studio, known as Black Maria. The Library of Congress video is short but shows Annie aiming at two different targets….it’s impressive!
Wild West shows did not offer full-time employment to Butler and Oakley. There were only certain times of year when shows could tour profitably. For that reason, both husband and wife came up with other ways to make money. Both made some money by setting up local shooting competitions with cash prizes. But Annie also made money teaching.
When women and girls saw her perform, they were fascinated. Annie always told crowds that being a good shot simply required determination and practice. She never lacked for pupils and taught women to use rifles, shotguns and revolvers.
Oakley Writes to President McKinley
In 1898, when it appeared that the United States might enter into a war with Spain, Oakley wrote to President William McKinley. She offered the government “the services of a company of 50 lady sharpshooters who would provide their own arms and ammunition should the U.S. go to war with Spain.”
McKinley did not accept the offer, but Annie was sincere. Because she worked with so many pupils, she knew she could put together a regiment.
In 1901, Annie Oakley was badly injured in a train accident. She fully recovered, but it took five operations on her spine to do so.
In 1902, she returned to performing, but she opted out of the Buffalo Bill show. Instead, she performed in a stage play written for her: The Western Girl.
Dog Added to Act
In their later years, while visiting Cambridge, Maryland, Frank fell head over heels for a striking black-and-tan English Setter. They adopted the pup whom Frank described as having “soulful eyes,” and named him Dave. (Earlier in his career, Frank had used a white poodle in his act.)
Frank and Annie sometimes went hunting and took Dave with them. When they noted how calm he was, they decided to add him to the act. Dave woud sit calmly with an apple on his head. Annie would step back to take aim and cut through the apple. Dave never moved, and Annie never missed!
Still Performing
Turning 60 did not stop Annie Oakley from an active working life. At age 62, she competed at an event in Pinehurst, North Carolina. From 16 yards away, she hit 100 clay targets in a row.
In 1922, Butler and Oakley were again in a serious car accident. It took time for them to recover. Annie required a steel brace for her leg, but a year later she was performing again. She continued to set new records.
The next year her health began to decline. She died in 1926 at the age of 66. Butler was so devastated by her death that he refused to eat and died 18 days later. She is buried at Brock Cemetery, 12 miles north of Greenville, Ohio, with Frank by her side.
Because she grew up in poverty and had not always had the luxury of living at home, she gave generously to causes related to women and orphans.
Annie Oakley’s story became a well-told-tale via stage and film. The best-known tribute to her is likely Annie Get Your Gun, the Irving Berlin’s musical in 1946. Ethel Berman played the original part, and in the late 1940s, Betty Hutton played Annie in the film version of the story.
For another story about a woman who defied tradition, read about Annie Edson Taylor: An American Daredevil. She successfully went over Niagara Fall in a barrel.
To see a video of Annie Oakley, click here. Annie Oakley: What is the True Story?
Hello Kate,
*This news is absolutely fascinating to read! Of course very few women have been given credit for their talent & bravery– least of all their bravery during the time of war.
Thank you for posting!