Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Mosey. She grew up to be an international celebrity for her marksmanship. As a child, she needed to help hunt for the family and she became a remarkable sharpshooter. Eventually she changed her name to Annie Oakley and toured with traveling shows.
Her level of marksmanship was extraordinary. The work required great vision, dexterity, excellent eye-hand coordination, and the ability to function under pressure. What’s more, Oakley did what we all dream of. She found a way to make a living doing what she loved.
Simply put, she was America’s first female superstar.
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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.
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 to be placed with a family for childcare and housekeeping. Annie did not like it there 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. When 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 offered up a bet. He offered one hundred dollars to any of the local people who could shoot better than he could.
Annie was 21 at the time. A local hotelier knew what a good shot Annie was because he often bought game from her. 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 is from there that she 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 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.
How Good Was Annie Oakley?
How good a shot was Annie? Remarkable.
She taught herself to shoot with both her left and her right hands. She could work with a pistol, a rifle, or a shotgun interchangeably.
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 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
During their later years, Annie and Frank were visiting Cambridge, Maryland, when Frank fell in love with an English setter. They took him on the road with him. Frank said the black and tan dog had “soulful eyes.” The couple named him Dave and he became part of the family unit.
Frank and Annie sometimes went hunting, and Dave became comfortably around gunfire.
When Frank and Annie noted what a calm dog Dave was, they added him to the act. One of the highlights of every performance was Annie shooting an apple off Dave’s head as he sat patiently, unflinching.
She never missed.
Patriotism During World War I
During World War I, the Butlers offered their services to raise money for the war effort. Oakley traveled for the National War Council of the Young Men’s Christian Association and the Red Cross. At stops along the way, she gave demonstrations of her shooting ability.
Dave went with them on these trips, and the dog became exceedingly popular with the troops. The press liked him, too, and took to calling him “Red Cross Dave.”
In 1923, when the Butlers were in Leesburg, Florida, Dave was hit and killed by an automobile. For the couple, this was akin to losing a child. To remember the dog, Frank published a popular story titled “The Life of Dave, As Told by Himself.”
Still Performing
Turning 60 did not stop Annie Oakley. 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 but a year later (Annie required a steel brace for her leg), she was performing again. When she returned to performing, she continued to set new records.
The next year her health began to decline, and 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 had grown up in poverty and had not always had the luxury of living at home, she gave generously to causes related to women and orphans.
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.
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!