As most of you know I like to listen to audio books while I knit and recently I listened to "Annie Oakley". I remembered there was a movie about her and that she was in the Buffalo Bill's show but really didn't know a lot. Here is some tidbits...She began her marksmanship as a young girl around 9 years old and brought home dinner to the family only to later sell the surplus she bagged to the local store and totally support her family. No one taught her to shoot but somehow she had this amazing gift.
She entered a Thanksgiving shooting competition in 1875 and beat a top shooter and vaudeville performer by the name of Frank Butler. He was smitten with her and they married and toured the country with him letting her become the star and he the manager. A union that spanned more than a half a century and led them all over the world.
After Annie met "Sitting Bull" in 1884 he was so impressed with her abilities that he adopted her and gave her the name "Little Sure Shot" which followed her the rest of her life.
Petite in stature with thick chestnut colored hair she stood out from the crowd and once they saw here shoot they were totaled enthralled. She became a true star and was known world wide. She had never had the opportunity to go to school while living at home so that was a big pursuit when she was not in shows and she excelled in every area.
At the end of a long career and returning home from overseas, she was severely injured in a train accident upon which her hair turned white overnight and required several surgeries to heal. She had planned on retiring just prior to the accident but wanted to see if she could still do it and there she was in her 60's still shooting.
She continued to set records even in 1924 after a bad car accident they left her with a brace on her leg but in 1925 she began to decline and died on Nov. 3, 1926. Butler was so grieved by her death that he stopped eating and died 18 days later.
There had no children and the couple was often captured with a pet
After Annie met "Sitting Bull" in 1884 he was so impressed with her abilities that he adopted her and gave her the name "Little Sure Shot" which followed her the rest of her life.
Petite in stature with thick chestnut colored hair she stood out from the crowd and once they saw here shoot they were totaled enthralled. She became a true star and was known world wide. She had never had the opportunity to go to school while living at home so that was a big pursuit when she was not in shows and she excelled in every area.
At the end of a long career and returning home from overseas, she was severely injured in a train accident upon which her hair turned white overnight and required several surgeries to heal. She had planned on retiring just prior to the accident but wanted to see if she could still do it and there she was in her 60's still shooting.
She continued to set records even in 1924 after a bad car accident they left her with a brace on her leg but in 1925 she began to decline and died on Nov. 3, 1926. Butler was so grieved by her death that he stopped eating and died 18 days later.
A true love story
The book was okay and led me to do more research of which I have shared.
4 comments:
Oh Monica thank you for sharing this information. I have always loved Annie Oakley and did not know these things about her. Do you know who Moses is that is buried between Annie and Frank? And did she never take the name Butler. That was very forward thinking of Little Sure Shot. No marksman just a trickster. Darn!
This was an interesting post, many details of which I was unaware.
I LOVED this post and will be looking for this audio book at our local library tomorrow so Louis Dean and I can hear it on our trip to Colorado this weekend. Perfect post timing!!!
I love to learn and your blog always gives me what I love. Thanks for sharing the facts about this remarkable woman. Peace
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