Annie oakley facts & history

Born Phoebe Ann Moses or Mosey , the woman who would be known as Annie Oakley developed her superb marksmanship abilities as a teen, earning enough to pay off the mortgage for her mother's home. She married fellow marksman Frank Butler in and would later become a star attraction for Buffalo Bill 's Wild West Show for years, renowned for unparalleled shooting tricks.

A revered global figure, Oakley retired in and died in Ohio on November 3, She is remembered as one of the leading women of the American West.

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Both Moses' father and her stepfather died when she was a child, and she went to live at the Darke County Infirmary, where she received schooling and sewing instruction while helping in the care of orphaned children. She returned to living with her mother and her second stepfather in her early teens, when she was able to help the family by hunting game for a grocery store.

She earned so much from her skills that by the time she was 15, Moses was able to pay off the mortgage on her mother's home. After beating him in a Thanksgiving shooting competition, the following year, Moses married Frank E. Butler, a top shooter and vaudeville performer.

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The two embarked on a union that would last more than half a century. They began working together professionally in , after Butler's male partner fell ill and Moses took his place. She took on the stage name of Oakley, believed to be taken from a Cincinnati locale. Oakley met Native American leader Sitting Bull in , and he was so impressed with her manner and abilities that he "adopted" her and bestowed upon her the additional name "Little Sure Shot.

The couple toured with the show for more than a decade and a half, with Oakley receiving the spotlight and top billing while Butler worked as her manager, assisting Oakley with her stunning displays of marksmanship. Audiences were wowed. She could shoot off the end of a cigarette held in her husband's lips, hit the thin edge of a playing card from 30 paces and shoot distant targets while looking into a mirror.